Plants on Trial - Lonicera vines

It’s a shame that Honeysuckle vine has gotten a bad rap. Lonicera japonica, the Japanese Honeysuckle vine is to blame of course. It has proven to highly invasive, particularly in the South East. Birds love the fleshy fruit and deposit the seeds along fence rows and thus miles of fence lines in the East have been engulfed by this aggressive vine. As with most invasive plants, it is a regional issue. The USDA plant database shows it as being escaped in Michigan, however, I’ve never seen it to be a problem. The point is that there are many excellent vines in this genera that are well behaved and garden worthy depending upon where you live. In addition there are also native species that get neglected simply because of this guilt by association.

On my trip to England, I was fortunate enough to catch some of the early flowering varieties of Lonicera in bloom at the RHS trials in Wisley Gardens. The bright orange, red and yellow flowers drew me in and the thick, sweet fragrance lured me even closer and I ran from plant to plant clicking photos and sticking my nose into each bloom inhaling the rich aroma. These are twining vines and they need support to climb. They will not adhere to brick or bark as would ivy or climbing Hydrangea. And as a twining vines go these plants require more structural support than Wisteria or Clematis. At Wisley they loosely wrapped a tube of chicken wire around wooden poles with the vines planted in between the two. This worked brilliantly, as the British say.

It was a tad early to see the majority of these vines in flower, so what follows is a snapshot of some of the early flowering varieties.





The showiest plant in bloom was Lonicera x heckrotti (Goldflame Honeysuckle) which to the best of my knowledge is a hybrid that contains the genes of three species; our native Lonicera sempervirens, Lonicera etrusca a Meterianian species and L. implexa a species native to Africa. It is an everblooming vine with rose-pink tubular flowers adorned with an orange-yellow interior. The plants I sniffed were wonderfully sweet and intoxicating.

Lonicera x italica is another early bloomer. It too was fragrant but the blooms were not as showy as Goldflame.




Our native species Lonicera sempervirens was in flower. While it does not have the fragrance, I love the contrast between the intense orange-red flowers its attractive blue-green foliage. The flowers are more pendulous, more tubular than other and so you only get a slight glimpse of the yellow hues hidden within the tube.




Two Lonicera periclymenum (Woodbine Honeysuckle) cultivars were in flower. The cultivar ‘Munster’ sported yellow flowers with a hint of pink in the buds, while ‘La Gaserie’ was a lighter cream-yellow and pink in bud. Both plants had good fragrance. The cultivars ‘Belgica Select’ and ‘Graham Thomas’ were showing buds but were not in flower. The popular cultivar ‘Serotina’ was even further behind.

Lonicera x tellmanniana, Lonicera henryi, Lonicara x brownii and their cultivars were not yet in flower.

If you are interested in learning more about these interesting vines I would suggest you visit http://www.clematis.com.pl/wms/2494791.html. It is the website of ornamental vine expert and Clematis breeder Szczepan Marczyński.

I’ve visited Szczepan in Poland a few years ago and fortunately for me the Lonicera vines were in full bloom. Oh how I love fragrant plants.

Off to England

Later this week Dale and I are heading to England. The plan is to visit plant breeders, small specialty growers and hopefully find some new plants for North American gardens. We’ll start the tour with a stop a Wisley Gardens in Surrey. The Royal Horticulture Society conducts plant trials at Wisley so we will have a chance to see a number of plant trials and evaluate cultivars growing in side by side comparisons. It should be fun.

Another stop will take further north in Shropshire, where we’ll visit Chris Warner, the OSO EASY rose Breeder. We have been growing and trialing Chris’s roses for about 7 years but this will be the first time we get to see his breeding program up close and personal. While the rose market is difficult at the moment, we are getting great feedback from both growers and gardeners on the Oso Easy roses. This does not surprise me as Chris is one of the best rose breeders in the world. His plants have superb disease resistance, excellent hardiness, attractive glossy foliage, and unique vivid flower colors. Oso Easy Paprika seems to be the early favorite, but Chris is getting praises for all his roses. Our visit with Chris will give us insight into potential Oso Easy roses.

Do you know any of breeders or interesting nurseries in England that we should visit? If so – please send me an email. Perhaps we can fit in a few more stops.

Join us in supporting the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation.

I'm pround to announce that Proven Winners ColorChoice has teamed up with 720 WGN-The Voice of the Cubs and Chicago Cub Alfonso Soriano to raise awareness and find a cure for this disease.

Proven Winners ColorChoice is making a $5000.00 donation and is sponsoring the CNCF Grand Slam Gala on Saturday June 20th, after the Cubs-Indians game at the Cubby Bear Restaurant in Wrigleyville. Join us at the Grand Slam Gala, as some of the biggest names in Chicago sports are committed to making the 2009 CNCF Grand Slam Gala a memorable and meaningful annual event. Be part of the team that brings hope "home" to the children and families of neuroblastoma.

THE Conference for Plant Professionals!

IPPS, the International Plant Propagators Society, provides education and information exchange among plant production specialists. Plan to attend the IPPS-Eastern Region annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio from October 14-17, 2009. Come to Cleveland to network with green industry professionals, benefit from a comprehensive educational program and attend tours of leading area nurseries where you can see firsthand how they employ innovative propagation and production techniques. Visit www.ipps.org/EasternNA for conference and membership details.

Gardening Gone Wild - Takes 10 with Tim

Thank you to Fran Sorin at the blog "Gardening Gone Wild". Fran interviewed me for the blog she co-authors with five other bloggers and recently posted "Take 10: Q&A with Tim Wood. You can read Fran's interview by clicking in the link above. You'll get to see a rather good looking picture of me comparing the blooms of Increidball Hydrangea with an Annabelle Hydrangea. Fran asked me some crazy, and some not so crazy, questions. For example "What is the one thing that people would be suprised to learn about me?"

On a different note, I've been created a Proven Winners ColorChoice Fan Club on Facebook. If you're into Facebook, simply seach the term "Proven Winners" and you'll find us. Join the club and share your experiences! Connect with others that have the same passion! Invite your friends!

Initially, I could not understand Facebook, but after doing it for a few weeks I now understand its value. The fan club page allows me to post videos, files, links to articles, photo albums etc. and it gives everyone the opportunity to share their opinions and comments. If you're a Facebook fan check it out!

Reblooming Shrubs- Part III

This the my last installment in the Reblooming shrub series. Cearly there are plenty of shrubs that bloom for a long period of time. I'm sure I left something out so please feel free to comment and share your favorite rebloomers.

Abelia x grandiflora is a superb rebloomer if you live in zone 6 or a warmer climate. Hummers and butterlies will visit the plant providing added enjoyment. This selection is called Bronze Anniversary. Its leaves emerage an attractive bronze-orange color then age to lime-green.

While most all Buddleia are reblooming if you dead head them Lo & Behold 'Blue Chip' starts blooming early and continues without having to deadhead. Additionally this selection non-invasive and is the only available cultivar that can be sold in Oregon.

Daphne transatlantica (D. caucasica) is a favorite of mine. It has small, fragrant, white flowers that start in April and can continue sporadically right up into fall.. It a small shrub about 3-4 feet tall and is one of the easiest daphnes to grow. I took this photo in the fall at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

One of you commented about Kerria japonica. You're right - it is a good reblooming shrub. It's a great shrub for the shade or semi-shade. This cultivar is called 'Alba' which is not white as the name would indicated but rather a butter yellow as opposed to the typical bright gold. It's hard to find but worth growing. I like it!

Reblooming Flowerings Shrubs: Part II

Typically perennials and shrubs bloom for three to four weeks, perhaps longer depending upon the weather. So utilizing plants that bloom for a long period of time, or that rebloom, is a real bonus. Once I started going through my pictures I was surprised at how many shrubs fit the bill. Certainly enough for a nursery or garden center to sell a rebloooming shrub program.

This weeks installment is made up entirely of Hydrangea. I sometimes get tired or writing about Hydrangea but it's difficult not to; it's such a vast and diverse genera. Additionally there is a lot of great breeding going on in Hydrangea.

Endless Summer Hydrangea is one of the most successful plant introductions in history. A brilliant marketing campaign has made this plant a household name. It has also piqued peoples interest in other reblooming Hydrangea and shrubs.

Forever and Ever TM Hydrangea comes from Europe. I've not seen all the plants in the collection but the red and pink mopheads look very good. Nice full flowers and dark foliage.

Let's DanceTM Moonlight Hydrangea is a personal favorite as I hybridized the plant. I'm still breeding Hydrangea and my goals are to improve the quality of the flowers (color and substance), thicker, darker leaves, wilt resistance and better stem hardiness.

On a side note, I got an email from someone that complained that I show and write about too many Spring Meadow plants and show nothing interesting or new that is not sold by Spring Meadow. I though I would respond by saying that I don't hide the fact I work for Spring Meadow Nursery - just read my profile. Additionally we grow thousands of different types of plants, primarily shrubs, but also vines and smaller trees. So it stands to reason I write about what I know best. If there are breeders or growers out there that have new plants and would like me to write about them - send me plants so I can grow them and know them.

Incincibelle TM Spirit Hydrangea is a new pink form of Hydrangea arborescens. After growing the plant I was surprised to learn that in addition to being the first pink mophead form of Hydrangea arborescens it was also a strong rebloomer. You can expect to see this Hydrangea in garden centers in the fall of 2009 or spring of 2010. Developed by Dr. Tom Ranney this shrub is very hardy, blooms on new wood (meaning that flowering is very reliable) and flowers from early summer until frost.