Unique and Unusual Plants Thuja Green Giant 'Green Giant is a vigorously growing, pyramidal evergreen with rich green color that remains outstanding throughout hardiness range. It has no serious pest or disease problems and has been widely grown and tested in commercial nursery production. Green Giant is an excellent substitute for Leyland cypress. It grows rapidly to 12 to 15 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. They should be spaced 4 feet apart. Osmanthus Fragrens It is an evergreen shrub with white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow small flowers that are produced in clusters in the late summer and autumn. It has small purple to black fruit. This plant is known for its strong, sweet fragrance. Fothergilla Mount Airy. Prefers moist, acidic, organically rich soils and good drainage. May spread by root suckers to form colonies. This species is native to the southeastern U.S. It is a compact, slow-growing, deciduous shrub with a dense, mounded, upright-spreading habit which typically grows 2 to 3 feet (less frequently to 4feet) tall and as wide. Best ornamental features are its fragrant spring flowers, summer foliage and superior fall color. Features bottlebrush-like spikes (This is the large plant outside the front door at the Depot.) Weigela Sonic Boom This re-bloomer attracts hummingbirds. It likes full sun and average moisture. It blooms from spring into the fall. The plant stays reasonably short with 5 to 6 feet the mature size. The blooms are on the new wood and old wood. It sheds its leaves in mid to late fall. 1
Deutzia Yuki Snowflake. This small mounding plant is a very strong bloomer on old wood in the spring. It likes moisture, but not wet feet. Plant in full to part sun for best blooming. Edgewothia Paperbush. While paperbush is probably best suited for shaded locations, it can be grown in full sun. In either location, it requires plenty of water. At the first sign of drought, the leaves become limp, but they are easily returned to normal with a good drink. Large tubular buds appear in fall and bloom in early march and last for up to 3 weeks. Paperbush leaves are medium-green, oval or ovate in shape, and 1.5 wide by 5 6 long. Fall color is a clear butter yellow and develops late, typically with the first hard freeze. The stems and emerging leaves are covered with fine hairs. Calycanthus, Hartlage Wine: grows well in part sun to full dun. I have it growing under a red oak tree and it is very happy. Expect it to get up to eight feet tall at maturity and as wide as 6 feet. It survives as far north as zone 5, so it is comfortable here. Fragrant, wine-red flowers in May. Flowers are great in a bowl-type arrangement. 2
Red Twig Dogwood: known best for its red stems in winter. This shrub-sized dogwood likes moist soils and full syn for best color. It will tolerate some shade. Will grow to 10 feet or more if it is happy. Remove older stalks to encourage new growth for best color. Blooms are white but not significant. Pieris Snowdrift. Grows to 6-8 tall with an upright and spreading habit. Has dense foliage as an evergreen shrub. Has a slow growth rate. It prefers a moist, well-drained, cool, organic, acidic soil with part shade, but full sun can also be tolerated. Avoid locations with harsh winter winds. Blueberry Top Hat requires acid soil and regular water. White spring blooms and glowing orange fall color. As shown, it can be grown in pots on the deck away from deer. Blueberry, Pink lemonade: self-pollinating small shrub produces berries all season long. its sweet berry combined with its unusual color makes it a very successful landscape plant. The foliage turns yellow in the fall. Will grow into a hedge or in a pot on your deck. Maximum size is less than 6 feet with a 3 to 4 foot spread. 3
Beautyberry Early Amethyst (Native) Small flowers blossom in mid-summer in dense clusters along the new stems. The petals are bright pink to lavender. Later, clusters of small, but bright, violet berries dot the forest from August to January. Although beautyberry fruits most heavily with full sun, it will grow fine in partial shade also. Beautyberry is a rounded, bushy, multi-stem shrub that measures 6 to 8 feet tall. It has many spreading, oppositely arranged branches. The fruit and seeds are eaten and dispersed by more than 40 species of songbirds, deer, raccoons, opossums, armadillos, and numerous small rodents. The leaves are also a common food source for white-tailed deer. Forsythia: an old faithful garden plant that never disappoints you in spring. Does best in full sun where it will rapidly reach 10 feet. Carolina Jessmine. Sweetly-scented, golden-yellow flowers cover the cascading, fine textured foliage from February to April. The trumpet-shaped blooms are 1 to 1½ inches long and are attractive to butterflies. The shiny evergreen leaves are 1 to 3 inches long on 10-to-20-foot tall vines. In colder areas it may be semievergreen and the leaves may turn bronze in winter. Cameo Quince The showy, bowl-shaped blooms of Cameo begin to open in spring before the leaves emerge and continue as the leaves expand. The 2-inch, apple-like fruit is not particularly ornamental. A dense, spreading habit, full sun will produce the most blooms and fruit. Tolerates dry soils. Prefers moderately fertile, well-drained soil. 4
Bald Cypress tree (Native) A stately deciduous conifer adaptable to wet or dry conditions. Best known in wet areas, does well in city conditions as far north as Milwaukee. Prefers acid soils. Grows to 50 to 70 feet, 25 feet or more spread. The bald cypress has a pyramidal shape similar to other conifers, with a broad buttressed base. It reaches up to 100 feet in height in its native environment, but rarely more than 70 feet in culture. In wet situations it develops cypress knees : curious growths which rise out of the ground or water and are believed to help the tree breathe in swampy conditions. The short green needles turn brown and drop off in the fall. Its bark is fibrous and an attractive reddish-brown. The small, rounded cones are of little decorative effect. Cotoneaster Scarlet Leader. Evergreen to semi-evergreen. Blooms in late spring. Has a tendency to turn purplish in the winter. Stays low, usually under 2 feet, and spreads moderately fast to 6-8 feet wide. Makes penetration difficult for small animals, but can be home to reptiles. Prefers sun to light shade. Better flowering in the sunnier areas. Chamaecyparis Filiocides, Green Fernspray: slow growing dense spreading growth. Good feature in rock gardens or containers. 5
Cephalotaxis Fastigiata Plumb Yew. Grows best in well-drained soil. Requires part shade in or location especially from late afternoon sun. Tolerates the heat well. Cold hardy to zone 5 under normal conditions. Better to protect from cold wind at higher elevations. Eevergreen that grows as a shrub to 5-10 tall, but may reach as much as 20-30. Growth is slow, however, and it may take as much as 10 years for a plant to reach 4 tall. 6