There were several good shots at analyzing Friday’s unhappy rhododendron. Mature leaf size can be determined by light levels, as both Lisa B and Tom & Paul suggested. Moving a plant from a low to high light environment could cause this change in leaf size. This rhododendron hasn’t been recently transplanted, however, so we can eliminate light levels as a cause. (And there was no other impediment to light, such as the presence of shading plants.)… Continue reading this article “The roots of the rhody problem”
Tag: shrubs
Friday puzzle: unhappy rhododendron
Today we have a diagnosis question. Consider this unhappy rhododendron:
While there is more than one problem with this poor thing, the one I’d like you to think about is why the newer leaves are smaller than the old leaves. (They are fully mature.) There are two parts to this question:
1) What is the physiological reason that the leaves are smaller? (In other words, what is directly causing this difference?)
2) Knowing this, what does this tell you about the underlying problem?… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle: unhappy rhododendron”
GP Hit List: Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet)
[And I don’t mean “greatest hits”, I mean “Mafia hit”]
Gardeners, yardeners, and designers are on a perpetual lookout for a good hedge species. Hedges are useful in so many ways: providing backdrop for a border, making good neighbors, containing football players, etc. In reference to the latter, the field at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia (cue woofing!) is known as “Between the Hedges”. In the extensive lore of UGA football, everyone makes like it’s some sacred plant, but (gasp!)… Continue reading this article “GP Hit List: Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet)”
Edgeworthia!
Some of my favorite plants are those that “do something” when little else is.
Do we really need more June-flowering perennials? No!
Well, yes. Never mind.
Edgeworthia chrysantha – “Paperbush” is the common name – is a deciduous suckering shrub , native to China. It usually maxes out around 4′ to 5′ tall and as wide. The large, matte bluish-green leaves resemble those of Magnolia virginia in shape and are also a bit silvery on the underside. … Continue reading this article “Edgeworthia!”
A Brief Discussion on the Wisdom of Barberry as Median Plant
We never know who to blame (or, rarely, thank) for roadside or median plantings. State D.O.T.? Local municipality? Subcontractor to either of the previous?
A few years ago, this appeared in the median of the Highway 460 bypass – the main road leading to Virginia Tech:
I am somehow reminded of Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons…
Two hedge rows. One of green Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii, cultivar unknown); the other of the purple form (Berberis thunbergii var.… Continue reading this article “A Brief Discussion on the Wisdom of Barberry as Median Plant”