Cortaderia selloana

Cortaderia selloana

Common name: pampas grass

Family: Poaceae

Leaf: long, slender, 3-6' long, 1cm broad with ver sharp edges, blueish-green

Flowers: dense, white, showy panicle, 8-16" long on a 6-9' long stem, Aug-October

Habit: tall grass growing in dense tussocks

Form: upright, oval

Height: up to 9'; Spread: up to 4'

Culture: USDA hardiness zones 7-11. Succeeds in most soils, preferring a damp soil in loamy or sandy-loam soil. Fairly drought tolerant. Prefers a sunny, protected location. Very tolerant of maritime exposure. Tolerant of temperatures down to -20 degrees C, but intolerant of long periods of cold weather, and wet winter weather. Leaves have very sharp edges, best to use rose gloves when dealing with it.

Uses: Container, massing, specimen

Origin: Southern South America

Callistemon citrinus

Callistemon citrinus

Common name: crimson bottlebrush, red bottlebrush

Family: Myrtaceae

Leaf: alternate, 1-4" long, hard flat, narrowly lanceolate/linear, with an acute tip

Flowers: very showy, bottlebrush, red/crimson spikes, appearing on the ends of the branches, and, interestingly enough, the stem continues growing up out past the topmost part of the inflorescence spike, spikes are 2-4" long, blooming any time of year, but mostly in May

Fruit: woody, cup-shaped capsules that persist on the plant, remaining unopened until that single branch/stem or plant dies (several years)

Habit: evergreen shrub; Form: mounded/rounded

Height: up to 14'; Spread: up to 8'

Culture: Plant in full sun in fertile, well-drained soils. Can even succeed in poor/lean soils in hot sun. Can tolerate water-logged soils and drought. Would benefit from protection in areas with a cold winter climate, though can tolerate temperatures down to -10 degrees C. Prefers soils leaning towards acidic. USDA zones 8-11. Cultivar 'Splendens' speculated to be a bit hardier. It is very tolerant of pruning- even older plants regrowing when pruned back hard to old wood. Does not need alot of irrigation, and in fact, the plant's growth is denser and tighter without it.

Uses: border, container, espalier, solo specimen, screen

Origin: Australia

Azara microphylla

Azara microphylla

Common name: box leaf azara

Family: Salicaceae

Leaf: dark green, glossy, 0.25-0.75" long, opposite, evergreen

Flowers: non-showy tiny, yellow, apetalous, blooming in clusters in the leaf axils in March (sometimes Feb) until April, with a "french toast" or vanilla fragrance,

Fruit: after a hot summer, small berries

Habit: arborescent shrub/small tree, multi-stemmed; Form: vase , upright oval to rounded

Height: 12-20'; Spread: 8-12'

Culture: Best grown in a protected/warm sheltered area in full sun to dappled shade. Can grow in average garden soil, provided soil is not dry nor too moist for too long. In a drought/ dry conditions, would be good to supplement with additional waterings. Does well planted against a wall (for additional warmth). Ideally this would be a west- facing wall, but can also tolerate a south-facing wall, provided it gets enough water.

Uses: Solo specimen, evergreen interest, fragrance

Origin: Chile, Argentina

variegated form

Astelia chathamanica

Astelia chathamanica

Common name: Maori flax, silver spear

Family: Asteliaceae

Leaf: long, linear, up to 5' long, grey-green, arising from the base, narrowly acute tips

Flower: relatively unshowy panicle arising from the center of the mound, with small white-green flowers

Height: 3-5'; Spread: 3'

Habit: clumping; Form: fountain-like mound

Culture: Best grown in full-shade to part shade in well-drained average to lean/sandy/gritty soils. Drought tolerant once established. Hardy to USDA zones 8b-10b

Uses: xeriscaping, containers, solo specimen, architectural punctuation/definition

Origin: New Zealand

Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana

 

Common name: monkey puzzle tree

Family: Araucariaceae

Leaf: thick, tough, scale-like, triangular, 3-4 cm long, broad at the base, with sharp edges and tips, persisting for 10-15 years, arranged what appears to be spirally along the stems (whorled), packed very densely-such that any bare branches are not at all visible

Flower: dioecious trees (male and female cones on seperate trees), female seed cones are  globose, large, 4-7" in diameter; male pollen cones are oblong and cucumber shaped, up to 5" long at maturity

Height: up to 130'

Habit: upright tree, with very straight central leader, branches at very regular intervals, horiszontal to gently ascending

Form: pyramidal in youth, left only with a "tufted top" 1/4- 1/3 of the tree at maturity

Culture: Grow in moderately fertile, moist, but well-drained soils in an open site, with protection from cold, drying winds. Tolerance of a wide variety of soil conditions, as long as they are well-drained. Best in full sun to part shade. Hardy to USDA zones 7-10. Performs best in Mediterranean-like climates with milder summers, than in places with hot, humid summers.

Uses: interesting landscape specimen for a large area, "living fossil"

Origin: Central Chile, Northern Patagonia, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

A. araucana in old age

Acaena microphylla

Acaena microphylla

Common name: bronze New Zealand burr

Family: Rosaceae

Leaf: up to 0.75", emerging a bronze-green colour in spring, pinnate and have serrated edges, opposite

Flowers: appearing in summer, are greenish or white, and carried on tiny spikes

Fruit: showy, copper-red burrs, 0.5" wide

Height: 2-4"; Spread: 12-23"

Habit: prostrate, evergreen, herbaceous perennial

Form: matting

Culture: Plant in full sun to part shade, in average to sandy, well-drained soils. Prefers soils that lean towards dry. Best in USDA zones 6-9. This is a fast growing, and sometimes overly successful plant, so best to be mindful of where you plant it because it will spread. Evergreen in mild winter regions. Can be clipped back and/or divided in spring. Very attractive, "lacy" foliage

Uses: Lawn substitute, groundcover, edging, between flagstones, excellent cover for small  spring flowering bulbs of all kinds.

Origin: New Zealand

Vinca major & Vinca minor

Vinca major and Vinca minor

Common name: Vinca major: greater perriwinkle; Vinca minor: littleaf perriwinkle, dwarf perriwinkle

Family: Apocynaceae

Leaf (Vinca major): evergreen dark green, opposite, glossy leaves up to 3" long, ovate to lanceolate

Leaf (Vinca minor): evergreen leaves up to 1.5" long, opposite, glossy, dark green, with entire margins, lanceolate

Flowers (Vinca major): solitary, tubular, phlox-like, pale blue flowers, up to 1.5" across, blooming on upright stalks from leaf axils in spring. Blooms intermittently throughout summer into fall.

Flowers (Vinca minor): solitary, lavender blue flowers, up to 1" across, blooming from from the leaf axils in spring. Blooms intermittently throughout summer into fall.

Habit: prostrate perennial with trailing, rooting stems; Form: mat-forming

Height: (Vinca major): 0.5-1'; Spread 1-2'

Height (Vinca minor): 0.25-0.5'; Spread: 0.5-1.5'

Culture: Easily grown in dry to medium moisture soils in full sun to part shade. Will tolerate close to full shade. Prefers rich, humusy soils in part shade. Vinca major is hardy in USDA zones 7-9, while Vinca minor is hardy to USDA zones 4-8. Plant 12-1" apart to cover a wide area.

Uses: groundcover in wide area, understory groundcover, containers, hanging baskets

Origin: (Vinca major): NE Asia Minor and adjacent W. Caucases

Origin: (Vinca minor): Europe to Souther Russia

Vinca major

Vinca minor

Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia

Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia

Common name: glorious yucca, curve leaf yucca
Family: Asparagaceae
Leaf: leaf blade mostly recurving, sword- shaped, broad, strappy, blue-gray, 20-40" long, flexible, margins narrowly yellow or brown
Flower: Inflorescence barely extending beyond rosettes, the stalk being up to 3' tall panicles of white to slightly greenish white bell-shaped flowers, flowering in spring
Fruit: leathery, elongate berry
Height: 8-10; Spread: 6-8'
Habit: evergreen shrub, in time growing a trunk-like base; Form: mounded, becoming somewhat arborescent
Culture: Plant in full sun to part sun in lean, poor, very-well drained soils. Does not like "wet feet". Does not transplant well at all, so be sure to plant and establish where you want it to be long term. Can be pruned to make the trunk look more visible if desired. USDA hardy to zones 7-11
Uses: solo specimen, architectural anchoring/definition, sunny borders, foundations
Origin: SE U.S.A.

Yucca filamentosa

Yucca filamentosa

Common name: Adam's needle, Spanish sword

Family name: Asparagaceae

Leaf: basal rosette of rigid, sword-shaped, spine-tipped green leaves, up to 30" long, with long filamentous curved threads along the margins, foliage clump is 2-3.5' tall

Flowers: solo stalk, rising dramatically from the center of the clump, usually 5-8' tall, a terminal panicle of pendulous bell-shaped creamy-white flowers, showy 

Fruit: capsule

Height: 4-8'; Spread: 2-3'

Habit: nearly stemless/stalkless broadleaf evergreen shrub; Form: mounded

Culture: Grow in light, dry to medium soils in full sun. Tolerant of poor, sandy soils. Sometimes exhibits tolerance of part shade. Keep in mind that once you plant this, and it is established, it will be nearly impossible to get rid of- it has extremely deep roots and can regrow from those. After flowering, it will produce offsets and thereby slowly colonize. It will only flower rigourously after it has become a bigger, mature clump. 'Golden Sword' variety is variegated, and can sometimes revert back. Winter hardy in USDA zones 5-10.

Uses: Borders, dry garden areas, dry slopes, rock gardens, adds architerctural height and definition/anchoring in a space.

Origin: United States

Y. filamentosa 'Golden Sword'

Skimmia japonica

Skimmia japonica

Common name: Japanese skimmia

Family: Rutaceae

Leaf: leathery, oval to obovate, dark green leaves, up to 5" long, clustered somewhat whorled at branch ends, yellowish-green undersides, sharply aromatic when crushed

Flowers: Dioecious. clusters of mildly fragrant white flowers in spring, on rounded terminal panicles (2-3" across), at the branch tips, blooming mid-spring (April). Male flowers are usually more fragrant and larger than female flowers, though female flowers bear the attractive fruits

Fruits: red berries, showy, on female plants, ripening in October, persisting through winter

Habit: dense, broadleaf evergreen shrub; Form: mounded

Height: 3-4'; Spread: 4-5'

Culture:Best grown in part shade to full shade in moist, fertile, organically-rich soils that are well-drained. Does well in "sun-dappled" conditions. Leaves can burn in full sun. If fruiting is desired, remember to plant the male plant near the female. A ratio of one male per six females will produce good fruiting. Can propagate by cuttings. USDA zones 6-8.

Uses:shrub borders, woodland gardens, foundations, hedge, good understory shrub for sun-dappled landscape areas with trees above, containers

Origin: Japan, China

Sarcococca confusa

Sarcococca confusa

Common name: sweetbox

Family: Buxaceae
Leaves: glossy, dark green, ovate leaves with an acute apex, alternate, simple, leathery, surface undulating

Flowers: very sweetly fragrant, clusters of 5, small creamy-white flowers, with prominent stamens in winter (Jan- March)

Fruit: black berries

Height:3-5'; Spread: up to 3'

Habit:evergreen shrub; Form: mounded/rounded

Culture: Plant in part shade to full shade, in organically rich, well-drained soils. May tolerate full sun, provided irrigation is good.  Prune for symmetry/ shaping after flowering. USDA zones 7-9. Tolerant of urban pollution, relative neglect.

Uses: winter fragrance, winter greenery, low hedge, shrub

Origin: China

Rubus rolfei 'Emerald Carpet'

Rubus rolfei 'Emerald Carpet'

Common name: creeping Taiwan bramble, creeping raspberry

Family: Rosaceae

Leaf: simple, lobed (3-5 lobes), alternate, leathery, lustrous, pinately lobed, undulate, wrinkly (rugose)

Flowers: solitary, white, 5-petals, blooming July- Aug.

Fruit: orange, aggregate of drupes (like a raspberry), Aug-Sept.

Habit: spreading; Form: creeping, mat-like

Height: 0.5-1.25'; Spread:up to 2'

Culture: Best grown in full sun to part shade in fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Does succeed in full shade as well. Leaves are evergreen, though can loose leaves in the harder winter climates. Susceptible to honey fungus. Winter hardy in USDA zones 6-9.

Uses: groundcover, mass planting, slope

Origin: garden origin

Photinia x fraseri

Photinia x fraseri

Common name: Fraser photinia

Family: Rosaceae

Leaf: leathery, elliptic to oval, dark green leaves, 3-4" long, with finely serrated margins, evergreen, emergent foliage reddish

Flowers: small, 5-petaled white flowers, up to 0.3" across, blooming in late April, in wide, corymbose panicles that are 5-6" diameter

Fruit: red pome that persists over winter

Habit: large evergreen shrub; Form: rounded, mounded

Culture: Winter hardy to USDA zones 7-9. Hardy down to Zone 6 with some protection. Grow in full sun to part shade in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Can tolerate full shade but more susceptible to leaf spot and will probably flower less. Somewhat drought tolerant once established. Does not like wet, poorly drained soils. Can be propagated by leaf cuttings. Site in areas with good air circulation. Can prune in winter to thin out a bit (to promote better air circulation). Can prune after emergent red foliage begins to fade in spring to encourage more new red growth, if this is a desired effect. Keep in mind flowers have a very unpleasant aroma and can be pruned out before blooming if desired. 

Uses: hedge, screen, borders and woodland gardens, specimen

Origin: garden origin

Fraser x photinia 'Red Robin'

Photinia (or Stranvaesia) davidiana

Photinia (Stranvaesia) davidiana

Common name: Chinese photinia

Family: Rosaceae

Leaf: alternate, oblong to oblanceolate evergreen, 2-3" long, toothless margins, dull dark green,  new leaves emerge with pinkish-bronze tones

Flowers: 5-petaled, white flowers, 0.3" across, blooming in compound clusters that are 3-4" wide in late May-June

Fruit: berries, dull pinkish-red

Height: 10-15'; Spread: 8-10'

Habit: upright, bushy evergreen shrub; Form: mounded

Culture: Winter hardy in USDA zones 7-9. Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture soils in full sun to part shade. Best fruiting may occur in full sun. Avoid wet, poorly drained soils. Plant in a location with god air circulation. Can be propagated by cuttings.

Uses: shrub specimen, screen, background evergreen, winter greenery, walls or fences, large hedge, slopes

Origin: China, Vietnam, Malaysia

emergent red foliage

Pachysandra terminalis

Pachysandra terminalis

Common name: Japanese pachysandra, Japanese spurge

Family: Buxaceae

Leaf: oval leaves, 2-4" long, appearing primarily in whorls on stem ends, toothed/serrate on upper half of leaf margin, green to dark green

Flowers: tiny white flowers appearing on the stem ends (hence species' 'terminalis' name), on spikes in early spring, not very showy, but attractive

Height: 0.5-1'; Spread: 1-1.5'

Habit: shrubby, evergreen, rhizomatous groundcover; Form: low, mounded

Culture: Best grown in medium moisture, organically rich to average soils in part shade to full shade. Will turn yellow in full shade. Plant 6-12" apart if used a groundcover. Thinning periodically is a good idea to promote air circulation (and to avoid leaf blight)- as this plant spreads forming a dense mat/ large colony. USDA hardiness zones 5-9.

Uses: groundcover in a shade or semi-shade area, groundcover under a shallow-rooted tree, on slight slopes

Origin: Japan, China

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus'

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus'

Common name: holly olive

Family: Oleaceae

Leaf: leathery, ovate to elliptic, deep green leaves, up to 2.5" long, which vary somewhat in shape. Young leaves have 'holly-like' spiny margins, adult leaves having typically entire margins. Osmanthus holly olive leaves are opposite (whereas real holly leaves are alternate)

Flower: tiny, fragrant, white flowers bloom in the fall, November in small clusters right in the leaf axils, often hidden in the foliage. Dioecious (female flowers occurring on one plant, male flowers occurring on the other)

Height: 8-10; Spread: 5-8'

Habit: dense, bushy evergreen shrub; Form: mounded, upright

Culture: Winter hardy to USDA zones 7-9 (sometimes zone 6). If grown in zone 6, make sure to plant in a well-protected location, with good winter mulch. Best grown in average, well-drained, consistently moist soils in full sun. Afternoon part-shade is good in areas with hot summer climates. Tolerates heavy clay soils. Drought tolerant once established. Prune as needed to maintain shape. Can be planted in containers and brought indoors to overwinter where it is not quite winter hardy.

Uses: containers, screen, hedge, shrub border

Origin: O. heterophyllus is native to Japan and Taiwan

Osmanthus heterophyllus

Osmanthus delavayi

Osmanthus delavayi

Common name: Delavayi's osmanthus

Family: Oleaeceae

Leaf: opposite, tiny, very dark green leaves, ovate, glossy, thick, up to 1" long, toothed/serrated

Flowers: small, white, yellow or orange tubular flowers, with 4 lobes, blooming in April
Fruit: ovoid blue-black drupes
Height: up to 20'; Spread: up to 20'
Habit: low shrubby groundcover; Form: mounded
Culture: Plant in full sun to part shade. Will get quite leggy in full shade, but can tolerate it (not ideal). Will have denser growth in a sunnier location. Tolerates sandy and clay soils, but does need good drainage as it does not like "wet feet". Drought tolerant once established, but appreciates the occasional watering during a dry spell.  Light pruning can keep this shrub dense in youth.
Uses: hedge or screen, growing naturally, evergreen interest in a winter perennial border
Origin: Southern China

Osmanthus x burkwoodii

Osmanthus x burkwoodii

 

 

Common name: Burkwood osmanthus, hybrid sweet olive

Family: Oleaceae

Leaf: leathery, opposite, dark green, simple, ovate, 2.5-5cm long, with cinnamon coloured stems

Flowers: Clusters of small, highly scented tubular white, orange or yellow flowers with 4 lobes

Fruit: ovoid blue-black drupes

Habit: evergreen shrub or small tree; Form: mounding, rounded

Height: up to 10' (sometimes up to 25'); Spread: up to 10'

Culture: Plant in full sun to part shade. Some sources even say it can handle full shade, with less flowering however. Hardy to USDA zones 7-9. Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, including clay and sand, though appreciates good drainage. Light pruning can keep this shrub dense in youth. It can be coppiced and/or formally sheared into a hedge. Drought tolerant once established but benefits from occasional watering.

Uses: woodland garden, screen, hedge, solo specimen, groupings

Origin: garden origin