Have you been considering adding trees to your property? Trees can provide so many benefits for you and your family by creating shade and helping lower energy costs, providing privacy from unsightly neighbors, and of course, the beautiful flowers to let you know that Spring has arrived. Choosing a tree can be a little overwhelming with all the different choices available. Here are five of our favorite trees for residential landscapes.
Jane Magnolia or Ann Magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ × Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’)
Both of these magnolias are part of a series bred by Francis DeVos and William Kosar in the 50s that are referred to as “the girls”. The main difference between them is the flower. Jane has whitish-pink flowers with more petals than Ann. Ann has deep pink flowers with fewer petals. Jane grows to 12-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide. Ann grows to 10-12 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide. Both trees bloom in the spring and sporadically rebloom in the summer. These are very pretty small trees to add to your landscape and fit well in a residential setting near houses and structures.
Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
Black gum, also called black tupelo, is a very nice shade tree that is underutilized in our area. The green foliage turns to intense red fall color with hues of orange, yellow, and purple in the fall. This striking tree is not messy. It also adds welcome diversity to the landscape. In our area, red maples are over planted, and they could be one disease or pest away from disaster. Whereas the Black gum is underutilized and can produce equal if not greater fall color displays with a much better chance of long-term success. Black gum gets 30-50 feet tall and is 20-30 feet wide at maturity. They are usually found in moist well-drained soil along streams and creeks but will grow in dryer ground.
Canada Red Cherry (Prunus virginiana ‘Shubert Select’)
This medium tree starts the spring with fragrant white flowers. Green leaves come next, then the leaves turn burgundy for summer and fall color. The tree also produces tiny chokecherries, which can be pitted and used in jams and jellies. Birds love the chokecherries too and will flock to your yard for them. This cherry tree grows 25-30 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide. Canada red cherry is water-wise and thrives in our area. It has a straight trunk and uniform growth.
Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja standishii x plicata ‘Green Giant’)
If you need a fast-growing screening tree, the green giant arborvitae is the one for you. It is much better than the other emerald green varieties that have multiple leaders, split, break, and die more than any other evergreen. Green giant arborvitae does not do that. The dense green foliage bronzes slightly in the winter. This tree can grow to a height of up to 40 feet or more and a width of 12-20 feet at maturity, so it will make a tall screen. The tree will grow up to 3 feet a year. In the summer, ½ inch long cones emerge green, then ripen to brown in the fall. These provide food for birds and small animals. Green giant arborvitae is also less attractive to deer than other arborvitae.
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
The redbud tree is a classic native tree for our region. Redbuds naturally grow as an understory tree along the edges of wooded areas. Mauve blossoms great the spring and bloom for 2-3 weeks. The leaves emerge reddish in color, turn green in the summer, and yellow in the fall. Newer varieties such as Hearts of Gold and Forest Pansy have great leaf color throughout the season. The tree grows to 20-30 feet tall and 15-35 feet wide.
Any of these trees can be a star in your landscape. Want to plant trees this season? Don’t fancy digging a big hole and planting them yourself? Let us do it for you. We have the equipment and know-how to give the tree the best chance to grow and shine. Contact us at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping to discuss your landscape needs. We can design your landscape and plant the perfect trees for your property, and also help maintain them along with the rest of your landscape.
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Fall is fast approaching. That means it is time to do your fall planting. Planting in the fall gives your plants a head start in the spring for perennials and gives the flower beds a burst of color from fall annuals.
Fall Vegetables
Planting in the fall is a race between the vegetables and the onset of winter. It is a little late to plant most things, but if you use transplants, you will probably make a crop before the first freeze. You may even get a crop of root vegetables, depending on when the first killing freeze comes. The Missouri Extension Service has a good map with planting dates and cultivars on their website. Here are some you can still plant.
Beans There are lots of different types of beans and many of them can be planted in the fall.
Beets You can harvest both the roots, or beets, and the tops.
Broccoli This member of the Cole family can be harvested smaller than usual before a freeze.
Cabbage These can survive a mild frost.
Cauliflower The new “rice” can be harvested as long as it is no longer green.
Kohlrabi Plant the Eder cultivar for earlier harvest.
Mustard Greens often taste better after a slight frost.
Lettuce Both loose leaf and butterhead lettuce will work.
Radishes These fast growing roots will produce before the first hard freeze. The greens are edible, too, and add some bite to salads.
Spinach Another green that does well in the fall.
Turnips Both the leaves and roots work well in the fall.
For specific tips on how to plant each vegetable, go here.
Fall Ornamentals
Ornamental plants brighten the landscape. The time is right to plant the following plants.
Chrysanthemum (Mums) start flowering in late summer and last until the first frost. They can be put in pots or in the ground.
Pansies are always in bloom somewhere. They bloom in September in Missouri, so grab a flat of them and add a little color to the fall flower bed.
Bulbs planted this month will grow good roots before the winter puts them into dormancy. The cold fulfills the ‘chilling’ requirements, so they bloom in late winter or early spring.
Kale comes in ornamental versions that are prettier than the ones most people grow for food. They are still edible, but can be a bit tougher than vegetable kale cultivars.
Lawn Renovations
Mid-August to mid-September is a good time to renovate your lawn. The following will make your lawn lush and thick in the spring.
Apply a post-emergent to your lawn to kill the weeds.
Dethatch your lawn.
Top dress your lawn with an inch of compost.
Use a rake to smooth the compost into a seed bed anywhere the lawn is not doing well.
Spread the grass seeds on the seed bed.
Keep moist for 14-21 days until it germinates.
Keep moist for 21-30 days before mowing for the first time. Let the ground dry out a little before mowing or you will leave ruts in the new grass.
Need some help getting ready for Fall? Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can remove fading annuals and replace them with fall colors. If you want a few vegetables but don’t want a vegetable bed, we can plant them in a corner of your flower bed. While we do not offer lawn renovations as a stand-alone service, we can refer you to a trusted partner we know does good work. Of course, if we manage your whole landscape, we can do the lawn renovations, too. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today to get on our schedule.
Selecting a new plant for your landscape can be a lot of fun. The plant must look good in the space it is planted, of course, but there are many other factors to consider. Not every plant will grow in a particular spot, no matter how good it would look. Here are some factors to consider that will help your plants to thrive in your garden.
Site Conditions
Site conditions are the environmental factors that affect how plants will grow in the specific space. These conditions are not easy to change, so the right plants must be put in place. Only then will you have a lush, healthy landscape.
Sun or Shade Sun, in this case, is defined as getting at least six hours of sun a day. Partial sun is less than six hours but at least four hours a day, and shade is less than four hours of sun a day. Deep shade is getting less than two hours of sun a day. Shade plants will burn up in full sun, while plants requiring full sun will die in the deep shade.
Wet or Dry How much water does the location get? Does the water linger in this spot, or does it drain quickly? If a spot is boggy, you will have to place bog plants that can tolerate the moisture. If the area almost never gets rain, you need plants that are drought tolerant that will not die of thirst. While an irrigation system can help, it cannot change the drainage rate or reduce the water in a specific location.
Soils The type of soil also factors into the moisture question, but soils do more than that. Clay soil means poor drainage and needs to be amended with lots of organic matter such as compost. Sand can drain too fast, so it also needs lots of organic matter. The soil where you are may be fertile, in which case many plants can grow there, or it may be lacking in nutrients. A soil test can tell you what your soil nutrient content and pH levels are. In our area most soils are heavy in clay, adding compost is a great way to amend the soils to improve drainage and nutrients. This can be done by hand around each plant individually or with a roto-tiller for an entire garden area.
Acid/Alkaline The pH of your soil is important. There are many plants that will only grow on acid soil, such as blueberries, and there are others that will only grow in alkaline soils, such as blackberries. Soil pH can also keep nutrients locked away where the plant cannot use them. Alkaline soils make iron absorption difficult for some plants. Many people get focused on the USDA zone (discussed below) and forget that the soil pH matters, too. Sphagnum peat moss is often suggested as a soil amendment to decrease soil pH and is often used when planting azaleas, rhododendrons, and hydrangeas.
Plant In Layers
When creating a landscape, you do not want all the plants to be the same height. In nature, tall trees give way to smaller trees. Shrubs give way to shorter plants, and groundcovers are the shortest of all. Choosing a mixture of heights makes the landscape more complex and pleasing to the eye. Remember to put the tallest plants at the back and work your way down with the shortest plants in the front.
Variety
Landscapes look best when they feature a variety of plants. Having the exact same thing in every flower bed, for example, becomes monotonous. Here are some things to consider while mixing things up a bit.
Size As mentioned above, it is a good idea to plant in layers. More than that, you must consider how tall and wide the mature plant will be. If you plant a large tree too close to your house, it will damage the foundation with its roots. Small plants can be overwhelmed and shaded out by bigger plants. Make sure there is space for all the plants you are putting in.
Shape (habit) Each plant grows in a certain way. Some plants are very vertical, while others are mounds. Still others stay close to the ground or grow up structures as a vine. This is especially important when planting in a container. You want a thriller, or the showiest plant in the container, spiller, or a plant that will grow over the edge of the container, and fillers, which are the rest of the plants in the container. Too many thrillers, and they get in the way of each other.
Texture How does the plant feel when you touch it? A cactus has one texture, a hard and prickly one. Lamb’s-ear, an herb, feels as soft and furry as a lamb’s ear. There are many textures in between. This is especially important in shade gardens, where everything tends to be a shade of green. The different textures of ferns and hostas break up the monotony of the greens in the shade.
ColorThis is the easiest feature to focus on. You want a variety of colors but need to make sure that colors either go together or are deliberately contrasting. Use a color palette to paint your landscape. That way, even if you have a favorite color, you can use lots of different shades of plants in that color.
Seasonality Flowers bloom for different amounts of time. Some bloom once, while others bloom in spring and don’t stop until the first frost. Make sure that you pick plants that bloom at different times all through the growing season. Not only does this mean your landscape is always interesting to look at, but it also helps pollinators such as bees and butterflies find food during the year.
Contrast Sprinkle in some contrasting plants to liven a flower bed or landscape up. For example, the Japanese maple has brilliant red foliage all year. It contrasts nicely with green or gold trees and shrubs.
Formal vs Informal
Some gardens are very formal. They have a plan, with every plant in its place. Trees and shrubs tend to be sculpted without a branch out of place. They may be trimmed into topiaries of various things. Other gardens also have a plan, but plants are not shaped as formally and are allowed to grow into their natural forms. If you have a large landscape, you may have both. For example, you may have a formal cottage garden and an informal flower bed.
Maintenance
When picking plants for your landscape, remember to consider how much work a particular plant will be. Does it need pruning, or does it grow into its space naturally? Will your flowering plants need deadheading in order to continue to bloom? How much and how often will you have to water this plant? After it gets established, will it still need supplemental water? Landscapes are to be enjoyed. Will you enjoy this plant, or will it become a chore to take care of?
Hardiness
This is essentially whether your plant will survive the temperature extremes in your landscape. The USDA hardiness zones are helpful to see if your plant will manage the winter. The USDA zones do not tell you if the plant will survive the summer in your landscape. Always read the tag or catalog to see if the plant you want will grow in your zone. Zones can be deceptive, however, as plants can have the same hardiness zone but different pH needs, watering needs, etc.
Who knew there are so many factors to consider when choosing landscape plants? Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can help. We have many years of experience choosing and planting landscapes. We know what will grow here and what will not. Contact us for expert guidance in choosing plants for your landscape. We can maintain your landscape planting beds, too. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today for expert advice and assistance.
It has been a long, hard winter, and landscapes are greening up and coming to life this spring. Now that we are getting past the chance of overnight frost, you can use hardy annual color to brighten your outside living space in time for Mother’s Day. There are several annuals that can be planted now to bring some color to your landscape after a tough winter season. Here are five of our favorites that tend to do well in our climate during the summer season.
Begonias (Begonia x benaratensis)
Begonias
Begonias have pretty flowers May through September. It is treated as an annual here because it is sensitive to frost. The BIG SERIES is new for 2021. Begonia x benaratensis is a hybrid wax begonia. It has a compact, mounding, bushy habit with dark green to bronze leaves. The flowers are in shades of white, pink, and red. There are also bicolor plants. The BIG Series flowers earlier and tolerates heat better than other begonias. It can be grown in the sun, partial sun, and dappled sunlight. Begonias are poisonous to humans, cats, dogs, and horses, so be aware of where you place them if you are a pet owner. Hanging baskets could be a safer spot.
Salvia (Salvia officinalis)
sage
Salvia is in the mint family and has very fragrant leaves with spikes of densely packed flowers in blue, purple, pink, red, white, and yellow. It attracts bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Salvia is low maintenance and loves the sun. They require well-drained soil, so work well in raised beds. Sage is also a type of Salvia that grows into a nice bush about 4-5 feet tall. The blue flowers smell good, too. If you remove spent flower stalks it will cause the plant to bloom longer. Sage is drought-resistant.
Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri)
Impatiens
Impatiens are originally from Tanzania and Mozambique. They are planted as annuals here because they can’t tolerate the cold of our winters. Impatiens are short plants. Most of them top out around 18 inches. Impatiens grow best with morning sun and afternoon shade. They will tolerate full shade but won’t flower as well. They will not tolerate full sun. Impatiens bloom May through September. The leaves are dark green to bronze to variegated. The flowers come in many colors: white, pink, orange, red, violet, and purple. Impatiens are easily available in cell packs from most nurseries.
Sunpatiens
Sunpatiens
Sunpatiens are impatiens that have been hybridized into a plant that will thrive in full sun to part shade. It also tolerates hot and humid weather that would kill regular impatiens. These plants want evenly moist, well-drained soil, so do well in containers and in raised beds. They are very low maintenance. Sunpatiens plants come in three size categories: compact, spreading, and vigorous. The compact and the spreading both do well in containers. The vigorous need to be planted in a flower bed as they spread out and grow fast and would outgrow a hanging basket quickly.
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas)
Sweet Potato Vine
Ornamental sweet potato vine is the same species as the sweet potato tuber. The ornamental one has just been bred for its leaves, not its tuber. This vine thrives in the full sun but will tolerate part shade. These vines are grown for their leaves, which vary depending on the hybrid. They range from almost black to chartreuse green or variegated. Depending on the cultivar, sweet potato vines can be anywhere from 5-10 feet long so make sure you plant it somewhere that it doesn’t overrun the plants in its path. This plant can be toxic to dogs and cats, so beware.
Growing Annuals In Containers
You can plant any of these plants in containers, ranging from hanging baskets to large showy pots. Most containers look best with several different kinds of plants in them. Gardeners talk about plants as thrillers, fillers, or spillers. You need all three in a mixed container. Thrillers are the spotlight plant that pulls people’s eyes toward them. Fillers are the background plants that fill out a container. Spillers are plants with a trailing habit that flow over the edge of the container. Usually, there is only one thriller and one or two spillers in the container, and fillers make up the rest of the plants.
Plants in containers need to be watered more frequently. They also heat up faster. Be sure you fill your container with plants that have the same water and fertilizer needs, or some of them will die. It is also a good idea to get a container large enough to hold a good amount of soil. The more soil in the container the longer it will take to dry out. We also recommend using packing peanuts or gravel in the bottom of the containers to improve drainage.
Planting hardy annual cover is work. If you don’t have the time or don’t know what to get and where to put it, Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can help. We can plant the annual flowers for you. We can also help you decide what to get and where it would be the most effective in your landscape. We will even maintain the plants and pull them out when they are spent in the fall. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping now to schedule your consultation and have your landscape brightened up this season.
