The Node

Woodlanders' resource center for plant education, how-tos, garden inspiration, and news.

Region

Southeast

32 articles

Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima): The Buttercup That Went to Wood

Plant Highlight · Xanthorhiza simplicissima · Southeastern Streambanks. The only woody member of the buttercup family: a quiet shade groundcover with a chrome-yellow root, a berberine dye, and a deep...

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A Field Guide to the Sumacs (Rhus)

Field Guide · The Genus Rhus · Southeastern United States. A grower's guide to the sumacs Woodlanders keeps in cultivation, from staghorn and smooth sumac to the federally endangered Michaux's,...

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The Trees That Carry the Largest Flowers in North America

Plant Highlight · Bigleaf & Ashe Magnolia · Aiken, SC. On the bigleaf magnolias, a pair of Southern natives that grow leaves the size of canoe paddles and blooms you...

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Cuttings in the Heat: The Summer Craft of Making More From Less

From the Fields · Propagation · Aiken, SC. A dispatch from the summer potting bench on the craft of rooting semi-hardwood cuttings in July, with four plants we are propagating...

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Gardening for the Dry Years: A Xeriscape Field Guide for the Changing South

Field Guide · Xeriscape & Drought · Aiken, SC. As Southern summers lengthen and rain grows less reliable, these are the drought-proof heroes now filling our propagation benches: the salvia...

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A Field Guide to Cold-Hardy Citrus

Field Guide · Cold-Hardy Citrus · Zones 7–9 — A practical guide to choosing, siting, and keeping citrus alive north of the citrus belt: the hardiness ladder, the three families...

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South Carolina Grower's Dispatch: Summer 2026

The Grower's Dispatch  ·  South Carolina A Field Report for the Summer Ahead Anniversaries worth celebrating, a drought worth taking seriously, and a closer look at what to plant when...

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The Plants Bartram Saw

Field Guide · Native Flora · The Bartram Trail The Plants Bartram Saw A walk through the southeastern flora documented by William Bartram in Travels (1791) — and a quiet...

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The Southern Forest Floor: A Spring 2026 Collection

A field guide to woodland shade garden plants that actually belong there — and the evolutionary science behind why.

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The Hibiscus That Never Opens: Malvaviscus arboreus and the Slow Seduction of Turk's Cap

15 min · Ethnobotany, hummingbird ecology, and the Southern pass-along plant that blooms when everything else has given up.

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Working With Water: Managing a Wet Garden Area Using Southeastern Native Plants

From the Nursery  ·  Garden Design Working With Water: Managing a Wet Garden Area Using Southeastern Native Plants A wet spot is not a defect. In much of the Southeast,...

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Hometown Tropicals: Native Hibiscus spp. in the Landscape

From the Nursery  ·  Native Plants Hometown Tropicals: Native Hibiscus spp. in the Landscape The Southeast is home to twelve species of hibiscus. Most gardeners have no idea. By Jonas...

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