'Cassata' -Not Your Typical Daffodil

photo by Susan C. Morgan, Horticultural Manager at the Dallas Arboretum

I found this among my daughter Susan's Facebook photos: Narcissus 'Cassata'. Cassata is her favorite daffodil -bar none.

The creamy white flower of 'Cassata' is a unique bright yellow split corona (cup) which matures to white. The reflexed "petals" from the split cup are ruffled and lie almost flat against the rear white petals.

Cassata blooms early to mid- spring among other narcissus. Plant size is 16 to 18" tall.

Bulbs will naturalize in USDA Zones 4 to 8.

Cassata is for sale in the fall catalog of Brent and Becky's Bulbs, a mail-order bulb emporium in Gloucester, VA. Check them out on thewebsite: http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/

'Bosque' Lacebark Elm - a Better Choice

(New planting of Allee elm pictured)

Recent storm damage has caused a re-evaluation, whether to continue to plant the cultivar Allee®, also called ‘Emerald Vase’. Urban foresters around the state of Tennessee report that limb breakage and clean up around Allee elms is greater than around other cultivars. Bosque seemed to fare much better.

Lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia) is a beautiful medium -sized street and shade tree. Its use in urban street plantings has become popular over the past decade. The three leading cultivars of lacebark elm are Allee®, Athena® and Bosque™.

The tree earns its name from the delightful orange or brown color mosaic or puzzle-like pattern over the main trunk (s) and branches. The autumn leaf color is rarely memorable and the small 1-2 inch leaves fall without much fanfare and leaf litter mess.
Get your lacebark off to a long and prosperous life by supplying extra water and light fertilize feeding the first two years. In the first two years after planting, a young tree needs deep watering every two weeks in the late spring and summer. An established lacebark elm exhibits exceptional drought tolerance.
If you or your city, town or village is planting lacebark elm in your housing subdivision, request that they select Bosque elm.

Tips on Planting an Apple Orchard

Apples are easy to grow with a little planning. Select the varieties based on what you like to munch on. Visit the local supermarket and buy several to sample. Some apples taste better in pies and in sauce. Some varieties have a short shelf life and must be consumed within a few weeks after picking or purchase. Favorites like 'Granny Smith' and 'Rome' are good for eating, baking pies and making sauce.
How long are you willing to wait? Apple trees grafted on seedling rootstocks begin bearing fruit in 7-8 years. Varieties grafted to dwarf (grow 9 feet tall) or semi-dwarf (12-15 feet tall) rootstocks begin bearing a crop within 3 years.

Young trees should be allowed to grow and never permitted to bear fruit. Space semi-dwarf trees 15-18 feet apart and dwarf trees at least 8-10 feet apart. Plant two or more different varieties for adequate cross pollination.
Plant trees either in late winter (before spring) or in the autumn in an open sunny site. Mulch trees to 2- 3" depth with a minimum 18 inches diameter around each tree trunk. In late fall pull mulch away and loosely wrap the tree trunk to a 2 foot height (add another foot if you live in heavy snow zone) with hardware wire (cloth) to prevent rabbits and pine voles (mice) from chewing on the tender sugary bark of a young fruit tree.
Finally, order trees early and request delivery before the first day of spring.
Check with your local Extension agent or agricultural university for additional information about growing apples.
Popular apple varieties:

Gala-yellow-orange to red /fresh/early
Empire -dark red over green background/ fresh, cooking/ early

Red Delicious -red/fresh/early midseason
Jonagold-yellow with light red stripes /fresh, cooking /midseason
Golden Delicious-yellow green to light yellow/fresh, cooking /midseason
Fuji -green with red stripes/fresh /late midseason
Stayman-blush to red /fresh, cooking/late
Rome-blush to red /fresh, cooking /late
Granny Smith -greenish-yellow/fresh,cooking/late

Native Viburnums

photo -Arrowwood viburnum in late summer

A trip to Carolina Native Plants Nursery in Burnsville, NC gave me this idea to list those viburnums which are U.S. natives in plant zones 6-7. All are worthy for planting in your landscape in full sun except where noted. All attract birds and other wildlife to your property.

• Mapleleaf vibrnum (V. acerifolium) - prefers dry shade sites
• Witherod viburnum (V. cassinoides)
• Arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum) - hardy north into zone 3
• Sheepberry, nannyberry (V. lentago) -hardy north to zone 3
• Smooth witherod viburnum (V. nudum)- superior cultivar 'Winterthur'
• Small viburnum (V. obovatum)
• Black haw viburnum (V. prunifolium) -in part shade areas
• Rusty blackhaw (V. rufidulum)
• American cranberrybush (V. trilobum)- try cultivar 'Wentworth'; hardy to zone 2

Fragrant Wintersweet in Bloom Now

It's mid-February and you may have already missed seeing the fragrant yellow blossoms of wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox). Its tiny flowers, 3/4 to 1 inch across, open in the coldest period of the winter season. Blooms are weather-proof, rarely injured when nighttime temps dip below freezing in zones 6 and 7. Bloom injury likely occurs as evening temps approach zero °F.
Wintersweet is a 10-15 foot tall and wide shrub, and grows well in any soil type provided it is adequately drained. Summer foliage is lustrous dark green, turning yellow-green in fall before dropping its leaves.
Every 5 to 6 years, a tall, often leggy fragrant wintersweet requires a complete rejuvenation. Prune the entire shrub back to within 4-6 inches from the ground after blooms have vanished in late March. It will grow back rapidly and bloom again next January.

Thermotropism in Plants

How cold is it outside this morning? Look out the window....perhaps your rhododendron is telling you.

On very cold winter mornings some broadleaf evergreen shrubs, like rhododendron and daphniphyllum in my landscape, droop down and/or curl up. (see photo). This is a specific response by some plants to sub-freezing temperatures, called “thermotropism”.
Scientists do not fully understand the cause of this foliar response. It may have something to do with leaf cell hydration. Thermotropism also may protect leaves during periods of high irradiance by sunlight. It may protect from cold temperature injury during daily thawing and re-freezing inside the leaf of some broadleaf evergreens.

On most days, leaves unfurl to their full natural position by late morning as temps rise above 32 °F (0 °C). Remember to water evergreen shrubs every 2-3 weeks if natural rainfall and snowfall are more than 60% below seasonal averages.

Privacy Screening - Avoid Using Leyland Cypress

(Pictured-- Leyland cypress screen)
'Green Giant' arborvitae and Cryptomeria (Japanese cedar) have proven more dependable over the years than Leyland cypress across Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Leyland cypress is susceptible to three serious foliar diseases.
Some people love the faster growth of Leyland cypress. Leyland cypress may be weak-wooded, as reported by some gardeners this current frigid winter. Fast growing species tend to be weak-wooded. This may be the problem with the heavy snow and high wind storms this past winter.
Ask yourself "do you really need to construct a 50-60 foot green wall so you can hide from the sight and noise of your neighbors". A 10 to 12 foot screen is usually what most people need.
I would sway you to choosing a shorter and slower growing needle evergreen like Emerald™ arborvitae, any tall-growing evergreen holly (Ilex spp.) or an evergreen flowering shrub like Pragense viburnum.