Yews are one of the best evergreens for modern landscaping. Known botanically as Taxus, they range from the dwarfed varieties to those which grow 2′ to 5′ feet high, and some even attain 50′ feet. There are columnar and spreading varieties. In suburban plantings, yew may be used informally, provided loose varieties are chosen and … Read more
In recent years no evergreen has enjoyed a greater rise in popularity than the adaptable and versatile yew. For home gardens, both large and small, in the cold and warm sections of the country, yews have become an indispensable part of the landscape picture. If they were to be eliminated from all the evergreens, a … Read more
Growing rock plants from seed is a tricky business; in fact, it is among the most difficult of all gardener’s tasks! Alpine seed is different from that other plants in two important ways. It needs to be frozen in winter to germinate, and germination, with some species, takes a long time — sometimes as much … Read more
Masses of greenish-white florets cover Euonymus kiautschovicus in early September. In Bailey’s “Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture,” and in the 1927 edition of Rehder’s “Manual,” Euonymus kiautschovicus appeared under the gentler name of Euonymus patens. But this name has been replaced in current hand books by the older one, Euonymus kiautschovicus, which takes priority over it—a … Read more
It is impossible to overstate the case for junipers in home plantings. No other group of plants so well sets off today’s modern low houses and fills the gardener’s need for an informal, unstudied effect. And their soft and feathery look belies their rugged nature, which makes them just as useful in a windswept corner … Read more
There are only broadleaf evergreens that I would want to recommend with qualifications for the North. The varieties listed have been grown successfully by a small number of gardeners with unusually protected sites for them and who understand their requirements thoroughly. Throughout most of our region, broadleaf evergreens are somewhat winter hardy. The following list … Read more
In recent years, a disease, steadily increasing in severity, has ravished many pine plantings. The Austrian pine is the most seriously affected species in the Midwest, with older trees dying by the hundreds. The disease is called Sphaeropsis tip blight of pine and is caused by a fungus, Diplodia pinea. The pattern of infection reveals … Read more
In contrast to the needle evergreens, such as yew, pine, hemlock, spruce, and many others, the broad-leaved types are valued for their richly-textured foliage. Many have showy blooms, which add a note of contrast and accent wherever they are used. Since they vary in size and shape, these broad-leaved plants are easily adapted to entrance … Read more
Each fall, along about the first of October, several letters come to me requesting an answer to the question, “Why do my yews never have red fruit like those of my neighbor?” The answer is, unfortunately, that these gardeners have male plants that will never produce fruit, except for the one in a million chance … Read more
The evergreen trees described on “The Beginning Gardener” page were the kinds most often used as Christmas trees. There are others equally useful and beautiful—yew (Taxus), cypress (Cupressus), arborvitae (Thuja), larch (Larix), and bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum). The redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and big-tree (S. gigantea), and dawn-redwood (Metasequoia) have interesting historical and botanical backgrounds. These all … Read more