New Hybrid Bleeding Hearts

Dicentra 'Luxuriant' 

Bleeding hearts bloom in April into May (in Tennessee - zones 6 and 7). In cooler northerly locales, flowering may continue into summer.  The bright red, pink or white, heart-shaped, pendant flowers are supported on arching stems.

Bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.) are truly one of nature’s glorious delights in the spring - early summer garden (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Old fashion bleeding hearts (D. spectabilis), indigenous to Asia, grow taller and wider compared to their North American counterparts wild bleeding heart (D. exima) and Dutchman's breeches (D. cucullaria).

A number of new cultivars have been released in recent years that are hybrid crosses between D. peregrine (native to Japan) x D. exima (native to eastern North America) x D. formosa (native to Western U.S.). These bleeding heart grow more compact and robust, are longer flowering, exhibit blue-gray foliage, and offer more floral color choices.

Four notable hybrid cultivars include 'Luxuriant' (D. eximia  x D. formosa  - deeply-cut,  grayish-green foliage and cherry red blooms. ‘King of Hearts’ (D. peregrina x D. formosa subsp. oregana x D. eximia) - very compact grower only 9 inches high and 14 inches wide. 'Fire Island' (D. peregrina x D. exima) - white tipped magenta red flowers from late spring into midsummer and 12 inch x 20 inch mound of frosty blue foliage. ‘Valentine’ - a vigorous hybrid form with showy cherry red/white tipped flowers.

New hybrid forms tend to grow more vigorously and are spaced 24-36 inches apart. Good soil drainage is essential for bleeding hearts. Plant in a humus-rich mildly acidic soil along with more hours of sunlight, preferably in the morning. Lightly mulch around plants in a woodland garden. In late winter feed a slow-release fertilizer at the low package rate.

In southern locales hybrid forms generally die back (go dormant) by mid-summer unless regularly irrigated. Crowded clumps should be divided either in very early spring or after flowering.

Spring flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Aphids, slugs and snails occasionally feed on the leaves. Plants are deer and rabbit resistant.

Bleeding hearts are great companions with other woodland plants such as ferns, lungworts (Pulmonaria spp.), brunneras, coral bells (Heuchera), and foam flowers (Tiarella).

Note: in recent times the genus Dicentra has been changed to Lamprocapnos.

Growing Pentas To Attract Pollinating Bees And Butterflies

Want to attract more butterflies to your garden this summer? Pentas (Egyptian starflower) (Pentas lanceolata) is what you should be planting. Pentas are one of the best pollinator-attracting plants around. Flower colors range from red, pale lavender, pink and white. 

Pentas blooms all summer long, even during the hottest weather conditions. The large clusters of star-shaped blooms attract butterflies, bees and an occasional hummingbird. These annual flowers perform well both in garden beds and in large containers. Keep plants deadheaded and remove any spent blooms to encourage constant flowering.

Pentas plants are annuals in most U.S. climates (zone 10 hardy). The overall habit of these plants is neat and compact. If plants get too long and woody, cut them back by one-half and feed them with a water soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro™, Jacks™, or Schultz™. Tall leggy transplants should be tipped back to develop more branching.

Overall, pentas are very easy to maintain. Newer varieties have improved disease resistance and grow shorter, e.g. more compact in habit. Pentas are troubled by few diseases and should be inspected for insects like aphids (in cool springs) and spider mites (dry hot summer periods).

Pentas prefer to be planted in full sun and in moist, well-drained soil. Pentas will dry out in hot summers and should be irrigated weekly during these times.

Leading cultivar series are Graffiti™ and Kaleidoscope™ (compact growers); Butterfly, Starla, and Northern Lights (taller growing).

Cardinal Flower – A Hummingbird Magnet

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a hardy perennial native in USDA zones 5-8. Clumps should be divided every 2-3 years to retain plant vigor. Soil moisture determines its height and vigor.

Cardinal flower prefers half-day direct morning sunlight, particularly in more southern climes. The brilliant red flowers bloom from late July through most of September, making it a standout on their own or mixed with other perennials. Deadheading (pruning off the old floral stems) extends out its flowering period.

Cardinal flower grows 3 feet high and 2 ½ feet wide, and is taller when planted at the edge of a pond or water garden. This lobelia is at home in a rain garden, particularly when summer moisture is plentiful. Fertilize with a water soluble product monthly or feed bi-monthly with agricultural grade fertilizer (10-10-10 or equivalent) from late winter to the end of the flowering period.

Select these two cultivars -- ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ exhibits bright green foliage which turns a deep olive color on the leaf upper surface and maroon on the underside; flowers are bright red. ‘Monet Moment’ bears exquisite rose-pink flowers. Blooms on both cultivars are exceptionally larger than species.

Northern Catalpa

Northern catalpa or Indian cigar tree (Catalpa speciosa) has enormous presence in any landscape setting. Finding a 70 - 80 foot tree with a massive trunk and thick sinuous limbs is not uncommon from Ohio south thru Tennessee. In summer its huge heart –shaped, pale green leaves may be easily reach 8 - 12 inches long and wide. Birds often seek shelter under the foliage canopy.

Catalpa offers a spectacular flower display lasting two weeks or more in May. The tree is common along roadsides, particularly in bottomlands, often growing in poor soil. Numerous two- inch long white flowers are borne on large terminal spikes, many unfortunately hidden beneath the enormous catalpa leaves. Each flower has small gold spots within its frilly edged corolla. Narrow cylindrical cigar fruits, 8 - 15 inches in length are easily visible in the fall and winter months.

Catalpa trees are often visited by the catalpa sphinx moth whose larvae (caterpillars) are prized by fishermen for bait. Hummingbirds are a major pollinator, attracted to the floral nectar.

This fast growing tree finds only limited value in a residential neighborhood due to its coarse leaf texture. The brittleness of small limbs demands almost constant clean-up.

Keep Your Eye on Red Buckeye

Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) is the perfect small tree for an urban landscape. This native tree/large shrub flowers young in a full or part sun location. Numerous 5- to 9- inch long flower panicles are positioned on the tips of branches as decorative red candles in late April and May here in the southern Appalachian region (zones 6 thru 8).

Flowers open just before or after the leaves begin to emerge. Flower color on individual trees may vary from dark pink to scarlet red. Most trees are at their showiest in late April and early May. Hummingbirds arrive to pollinate the 1 ½ inch tubular blooms.

Lustrous palmately compound leaves dress the branches in rich green over the spring and early summer months. Disease and insect problems prove of little consequence, except that the greenery becomes scorched and spotted by late summer. Leaves drop prematurely in September, far ahead of other landscape trees.

Lo and Behold 'Blue Chip' Buddleia is a Winner

photo taken at JC Raulston Arboretum in June 2009

Lo & Behold® ‘Blue Chip’ is a very dwarf butterfly bush (buddleia) for the summer garden. Take advantage of its compact 3 x 4 foot height and width by planting it in the garden or in a container on a sunny patio deck or patio by itself . In large containers mix in shorter growing summer annuals such as trailing petunia, scaevola or alternanthera.

Lo & Behold® ‘Blue Chip’ maintains its clean growing habit all season long. Gardeners with limited space can attract butterflies and hummingbirds to their garden with this colorful buddleia. It produces loads of fragrant blue flowers which bloom continuously. It thrives in the summer heat and humidity and the foliage stays blemish-free.

'Blue Chip' is non-invasive. It's self-cleaning and will bloom from mid-summer to frost without deadheading. Each proceeding spring, you won’t need to drastically prune 'Blue Chip' as you would the larger growing buddleia varieties. Plants are deer resistant and drought tolerant.
‘Blue Chip’ was still blooming in my Southern Appalachian garden in late October .