Take Five: Profiles of Five Great Natives

Good things come in small packages. Plant profiles in groups of fives, for instance. It seems a reasonable amount. Here's a post easily filed away for the next time you're at a nursery shopping for plants and say: "Hey, what was that plant?" Now you can look up your "Take Five" blog posts (this will be a new series if it sounds like a reasonable idea). I thus present a small grouping of what is either looking good or blooming in the garden this week.

Number One: AMERICAN CRANBERRY BUSH

  Viburnum trilobum, or American cranberry bush

Although it can be described as a backdrop to your more spectacular specimens, I  think it holds its own with its layered branches of laceap white blooms.

 In addition to the gorgeous layered flowers, it does have three solid seasons of interest. Spring for leaves and blossoms, summer for blossoms, fall for spectacular color and bright red berries. This is a great tree for wildlife, too. The pollinators dig the flowers and birds adore the berries.

A bit difficult to see in this photo, but the flowers hold horizontally and in the shade it's especially useful for brightening it up back there. The top reaches the sun, so it does well where I have it sited. It took a while and was in near total shade for about three years but it kept going - now reaching about 8 feet high.

These blooms will turn to vibrant red berries in the fall that don't last long as birds devour them. The fall color on the leaves is spectacular - the main reason I got this plant.

Here are the stats for Viburnum trilobum or American cranberry bush:

• zone: 2a - 8b
• type: deciduous shrub/small tree
• height: 6 - 15 feet
• spread: 5 - 10 feet
• full sun, part sun, part shade,
• moderate moisture
• bloom time: early to mid spring
• flower color: white
• style: woodland
• characteristics: native to the northern U.S., attracts songbirds, pollinators, native, showy fall foliage, showy flowers, showy fruit
• I bought mine at Bosky Dell Natives. I have found it at Portland Nursery.

Number Two: ORANGE HONEYSUCKLE

 Lonicera ciliosa or orange honeysuckle.

Technically, we've covered this before; however, I had not taken any good photos of the blooms. How lovely are these? Bright orange which is so fun for a woodland shade plant, and the hummingbirds love them.

The blooms start off creamy yellow and darken to orange as they age. They are just starting to unfurl and become trumpet shapes. The aphids tend to like this plant, but I blast them off with a stream of water and that seems to do the trick. This is not a honeysuckle for super hot dry locations, it is a woodland plant native to the West Coast, and I have seen it happy as a clam in forest of the Puget Sound area in full shade with a group of hummingbirds fighting over it. It can ramble along the forest floor or climb up a tree or fence. It is not invasive or aggressive, rather it might take a while to establish. A lovely addition if you can find it, I have one in full sun and one in full shade reaching to sun and they are both doing well. They also have their feet in fairly wet soil except during the summer. I do not give them supplemental water much in summer, only in the driest of times. In shade, they can handle drier soil.

• zone: 5a - 9
• type: twining deciduous vine
• 15 to 30 feet
• spread: 15 feet
• part sun, part shade, shade
• moderate moisture
• bloom time: early spring through July
• flower color: orange
• style: woodland
• characteristics: Western native, attracts hummingbirds, bumble bees, fruit in fall
• propagation: hardwood cuttings best
• available at Humble Roots Farm and Nursery. I have found it at Bosky Dell Natives

Number Three: PACIFIC NINEBARK

 Physocarpus capitatus or Pacific ninebark

 

These buds have yet to fully bloom, but it's still worth showcasing. They turn to fluffy white flower heads, and then in summer to papery red fruits with yellow seeds. In winter, the exfoliating bark (hence the name, ninebark) is exposed and quite interesting.

Its graceful, arching branches create a lovely canopy setting. It also takes well to pruning (that's the apple tree trunk, not the ninebark in the middle).

This shrub has the ability to knit soil together so is quite valuable for erosion control along stream sides, water ways and generally wet areas that require some solution.

Update: Here's its blossom opened up, about a week later. 

• zone: 4 - 10
• type: deciduous shrub
• height: 6 - 14' (can be upright or spreading depending on how it is pruned)
• spread: 4 - 7'
• full sun or shade
• moderate moisture
• not picky about soil type
• bloom time: mid to late spring
• flower color: white, dome shaped blooms
• style: woodland
• characteristics: native, attracts butterflies (and their larvae) and bees, showy exfoliating bark, great for hedgerows and for creating shelter for birds
• valuable for erosion control in stream bank areas
• generally pest and disease free

Number Four: WESTERN AZALEA

  Rhododendron occidentale or Western azalea. It is one of only two species of rhododendron native to the West Coast of North America.

Deciduous and smells delicious.

Interesting buds in clusters ready to open.

Cheerful chartreuse foliage.

Ideal conditions are a moist, cool root zone with good warm air circulation above. If you can provide these conditions, it's worth growing.

These blooms smell like lilies, no kidding. The first time I smelled them I was blown away that something native to the wet Pacific Northwest could smell like it came from the tropics. I was told the key to growing these in either sun or part shade is that they need adequate water in the summer. Otherwise, they get powdery mildew. It sounds counter-intuitive, but that's the truth.

• zone:  7 - 9
• type:  deciduous shrub
• height: 3 - 9'
• spread:  3 - 5'
• full sun or part shade
• soil: acid, well-drained, moist
• moderate and regular moisture - in the wild, a cool moist root zone is ideal and that can be achieved with mulch and/or shade
• excellent air circulation helps prevent powdery mildew
• bloom time: mid-spring through summer
• flower color: pink to peach to yellowish colors
• style: woodland to bogs, creek edges, edge of ponds
• characteristics: native, attracts butterflies (hoary comma butterfly), bumble bees, wonderful scent
• can be slow growing
• I bought mine at Livingscape nursery in Portland, they can be found at Bosky Dell Natives and Portland Nursery and many others.

Number Five: MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK

  Tsuga mertensiana or mountain hemlock

Mine was challenging to find, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. This slow-growing tree was spotted at Cistus Nursery at a recent visit with my mom. Their irregular alpine shapes are choice for focal points or as a specimen tree in a garden setting. A grouping would be stunning, especially if you were going for an alpine look in the garden.

Needles of the mountain hemlock. More star-shaped than the more readily available western hemlock (see below for comparison). Rounder and spirally arranged and equal in length. They are very slow-growing, naturally growing at 4,000 - 7,000 feet in elevation.

By contrast, here are needles of the western hemlock. They are much flatter and unequal in length. The western hemlock grows to 130' by comparison, not 50' as does the mountain hemlock. This is a much different tree, much faster-growing. Easy to confuse the two.

• Zone: 5 - 8b
• Type: evergreen tree, alpine conifer
•  Height: 30 - 50' (usually only grows 15 - 20' in cultivation)
• Spread:  8 - 20' (usually only 1 - 4' in cultivation)
• full sun to light shade but does not tolerate extreme heat
• soil: acid, moist
• style: alpine woodland
• characteristics: native, nesting sites for birds, seeds from cones
• very slow-growing
• I bought mine at Cistus Nursery (rather it was a gift)
• no serious pests, but provide good air circulation

Here is what my Cistus tag says: Handsome, evergreen conifer, native along the Pacific Coast from southern Alaska to the mountains of central California. Can reach 20-30 ft tall x 10-15 ft wide in the garden. Enjoys cool temperatures and moist conditions; does well in part shade or in full sun if not allowed to dry out. Consistent summer water is best. Frost hardy in USDA zone 5. 

There you have it, a bit of detail for five great plant picks this week. Each is very different, with much to offer in the garden. For my "Take Five" series I won't only focus on natives as there are many other plants out there worth mentioning but these just caught my eye this time. Let me know what you think! What would you like to see? What do you think of the idea? Is five a good number? I'm full of questions tonight.

That's it for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always, thank you for reading and commenting and happy gardening!