Plant Selections of Landscape Designer Cindy Rose

By C Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

Japanese maples: Landscape designer Cindy Rose at Gardens-to-Go Nursery and Garden Center in Crossville recommends Red Dragon (Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Red Dragon’). Breeders of red Japanese maples select plants for deep, purple-red leaves that keep their color in high heat without getting leaf-scorch or turning green in direct sun. Crimson Queen is a variety of lace-leaf, weeping, red Japanese maple which has historically been favored by landscapers. Red Dragon is a similar looking specimen that is said to be even better at holding its deep, burgundy leaf-color in the face of sunshine and hot temperatures. Red Dragon was more recently developed in Holland. It grows to about 5 feet and is wider than it is tall, at maturity. (Personally, I find Crimson Queen’s two-toned green and red summer leaves prettier than foliage on those varieties which stay all purple during the summer.)

Cindy mentioned Seiryu, as well. Acer palmatum ‘Seiryu’ (as this variety is known botanically) also has lacy-looking leaves but displays a more upright, vase-shaped form than Red Dragon or Crimson Queen. This Japanese maple grows to be a large shrub up to 12 feet tall with a spread of 6 feet. Seiryu’s young leaves start out green with a reddish tinge, become bright green in summer then turn yellow-orange with crimson splashes in autumn.

Butterfly (Acer palmatum ’Butterfly’) has multi-colored, variegated leaves all season long. The leaves on this kind of Japanese maple are not the lace-leaf, dissectum type but are dainty and graceful. Butterfly’s summer leaves look blue-green along the veins at the center of each lobe and have edges that could be described as either white or cream-colored. There are subtle leaf color changes with the seasons: in spring new leaves have pink border markings around the white part, then later in the year the white markings turn to magenta making each autumn leaf a lovely contrast of green surrounded by red. Butterfly shows its best leaf color in a location that gets part-shade exposure and makes a very small tree about 7 feet in height.

Other Small-sized Selections: Ms. Rose suggested some homeowners may wish to try different small flowering trees to fill blank spaces in their landscapes where Japanese maples or Crape myrtles damaged by the 2007 freeze had to be removed. Selections Cindy feels should get more landscape usage in Tennessee are the Franklin tree (Franklinia altahama) a North American native, Galaxy magnolia (Magnolia x ‘Galaxy’) a late blooming variety introduced by scientists at the United States National Arboretum, Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus) which has handsome dark green, leathery looking foliage, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) a native plant with decorative features for all four seasons and which is a wildlife-friendly selection, as well as the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) another native which some hummingbird experts believe to be a primary spring food source for ruby-throated hummingbirds migrating from their southern nesting areas to their North American breeding grounds.

Mark Your Calendars:  Those interested in learning about “Lawns and Turfgrass” and/or “Freeze Damage, Pruning, Etc.” should plan to attend the Master Gardener Fall Clinic which features those topics and will be held on Saturday, September 29 from 9 am until noon at Crossville’s Community Complex (Fairgrounds) Youth Building. Bring your yard and garden questions for the “Ask a Master Gardener” session. There is no charge for admission.              

Plateau Gardening is written by Tennessee Master Gardeners about home landscapes and gardening in our state’s Upper Cumberland Region. For answers to specific yard and garden questions or to learn how to become a Master Gardener contact UT Extension Cumberland County, P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557, (phone 931-484-6743). Email inquiries to mgardener@volfirst.net. Email may be answered either individually or in future newspaper articles. Visit the companion website web.infoave.net/~mgardener/ to view photos and seasonal tips or to see Cumberland, Putnam, and Smith County growing conditions.