Landscape Plant Recommendations - Wrap-up

By C Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

Crape myrtles do best in sunny locations with well drained soil. Sufficient water for developing roots is essential to landscape plants during the first two years after transplant in a new location. Once established, Lagerstroemia varieties tolerate drought very well. Some experts predict hot, dry conditions will continue throughout Tennessee during 2008. Water conservation to ensure there will be sufficient supply for drinking and other critical human needs may leave little or no water for home gardens and landscapes. It is difficult to say with certainty how long the trend of warmer than normal temperatures and scant rainfall will last. In my opinion, selecting plants that can survive without irrigation is the wisest course of action for homeowners.

Among crape myrtles, Chuck Johnson’s current favorite is Lagerstroemia x ‘Tonto’. This is a US National Arboretum Lagerstroemia breeding program product from a series given Indian names. It is highly mildew resistant. Tonto has a multi-stemmed growth habit. It grows between 8- and 12-feet high with a spread of 5 to 8 feet. Summer leaves are green. In autumn, Tonto’s foliage turns a bright maroon. Pretty exfoliating bark on the main stems provides winter interest. First year twigs are reddish in color. The showy flower clusters are a bright, true red which appear in July and continue until first frost.   

The “Whit” series are patented Lagerstroemia cultivars produced by Oklahoma’s Carl Whitcomb. Whitcomb’s research is known not only for the popular red-flowering crape myrtles mentioned earlier but also for other cultivated varieties having distinctive purple foliage and twigs, as well as a characteristic season-long profusion of bright-colored blooms. Burgundy Cotton is larger (12– to 20-feet high) with burgundy-colored twigs and new leaves. The foliage color changes to green as the leaves mature. When they first form, the outside of Burgundy Cotton’s flower buds are crimson red but the blossoms are white. Pink Velour is another crape myrtle produced by Dr. Whitcomb that is on the list recommended by Chuck Johnson. Its leaves are thick and leathery looking. In spring, this specimen’s leaves are the color of dark wine when first open then become a dark purplish green a few weeks later. Autumn leaf color is orange and brown. Bright reddish-pink blossoms cover the plant continuously from July through first frost.  Lagerstroemia x ‘Pink Velour’ has a mature height of 12 to 15 feet, is cold hardy at –5 to –8 degrees Fahrenheit, is highly resistant to powdery mildew, and is very drought tolerant.

Japanese maples: Chuck suggested Acer palmatum ‘Oshio Beni’ and A. p. var. dissectum ‘Orangeola’ in addition to Bloodgood and Emperor I as good Japanese maples for an upright growth habit. Oshio Beni forms a spreading canopy which may grow to between 20 and 30 feet high. Its leaves are broad and serrated. New spring foliage is a bright red-orange then turns a bronze, reddish-green. Autumn leaf color is bright scarlet. Orangeola is a dwarf that makes a cascading mound just 6 to 8 feet high. The leaves are the lace leaf, dissectum type. Spring foliage is orange-red. Fall leaf color is bright red. Garnet is a lace leaf, weeping variety whose garnet colored spring leaves fade to a purple-green in summer then turn red in the fall. The color is best in full sun. Maximum height is about 10 feet. Both Viridis (6 to 8 feet tall) and the slightly larger variety call Waterfall are lace leaf Japanese maples. They have bright green summer foliage that changes color to yellow-gold splashed with crimson in autumn. Each has a weeping, mounded shape. They grow slowly, taking years to reach mature height.            

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 “mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net”. Email questions may be answered either individually or through future newspaper articles.