False Lupine is a tall perennial in the pea family. It has blue-green leaves with three leaflets and is notable for the showy spikes of bright yellow flowers in spring. Plant in a sunny bed or border with well-drained soil. Armitage (Herbaceous Perennial Plants) says it is "overlooked" as a garden plant and that "On a three-year-old clump at the University of Georgia, over 30 flower stems were produced". Native from Maine to Alabama but in relatively few and widely scattered sites.
The Thomasville citrangequat is more than a fruit tree, a living piece of Southern horticultural history. First fruited in Thomasville, Georgia, this remarkable hybrid was raised in 1909 by the legendary USDA citrus breeder Walter T. Swingle and formally named in 1923. The tree stands as a pioneering achievement in citrus breeding: a three-way cross combining the cold-hardy Willits citrange, itself a cross of sweet orange and trifoliate orange, with the Nagami kumquat, Fortunella margarita.
A Victorian-era English selection of one of the great trees of North America. The species, Thuja plicata, the western red cedar, is the dominant conifer of the Pacific Northwest coastal rainforest, the tree that towers 150 to 200 feet above the forest floor in old-growth stands of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northern California, with individual specimens documented at over a thousand years old. To the Coast Salish, Haida, Tlingit, Kwakwaka'wakw, and other Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples, western red cedar is the Tree of Life: the wood used for longhouses, dugout canoes, totem poles, and ceremonial regalia; the bark woven into baskets, mats, capes, and dress; the whole tree a structural and cultural foundation for thousands of years. That natural rot-resistance comes from the same volatile terpenoids that give the crushed foliage a sweet, cedary fragrance, the smell of the Pacific Northwest forest itself.
'Green Giant' is an excellent large dark green conifer possibly a hybrid between Thuja plicata and Thuja standishii, both of which are native to northwestern North America however 'Green Giant' was selected as a seedling from a nursery bed in Denmark in 1935 ! It has a broad pyramidal habit and rapid growth rate and is an outstanding conifer for moist soil, sun to partial shade. The foliage is somewhat bronze in winter.
A dwarf form of one of Japan's legendary Five Sacred Trees of Kiso, the goboku no kinbatsu, a select group of conifers protected by feudal law for centuries, reserved for imperial residences and temple construction, where commoners caught poaching the wood faced execution. The species, Thujopsis dolabrata, is endemic to Japan and known there as asunaro, a name that translates beautifully and a little wistfully as tomorrow it will become hinoki, a nod to the tree's resemblance to the more revered hinoki cypress, forever almost but not quite the more famous tree. Thujopsis is the sole species in the entire genus.
A large leaf (3 to 4 inches wide) form with light green leaves with prominent red veination. Nice foamy white clusters of flowers in spring. Rich, moist, woodland soil with shade to semishade. (See ARM)
Tiarella is a beautiful woodland wildflower native to shady rich woods in the eastern U.S. and Canada. It produces nice foliage and spikes of foamy white flowers in spring. The typical Tiarella cordifolia spreads by runners but this is a clump forming variety from the southern mountains. The flowers have a pinkish tint and will continue flowering longer if old flower stalks are cut off. Plant in rich humusy soil in shade and keep moist.
Tibouchina granulosa, the purple glory tree, is a Brazilian showstopper long grown in Florida and the warm South, a large shrub or small tree in frost-free gardens and a root-hardy dieback perennial where winters brush freezing. Glossy, deeply pleated, prominently veined leaves set off the flowers, which come smaller but far more abundantly than those of the better-known princess flower, Tibouchina urvilleana, so the whole plant seems dusted with purple through the warm months.
This Tibouchina is a tropical tree native to Brazil. It may not be cold hardy except in south Florida where Gardino Nursery gives the following account. "This pink form of Tibouchina is very rare in this country. Even in its native country of Brazil, they are scarce compared with regular Tibouchina granulosa which produces purple flowers. Tibouchina granulosa in North America is confined to the most southern states (zone 10) and marginal at zone 9. Here, they rarely reach 20' in height and quite often look more like large shrubs than trees. They are also suitable for pot culture in colder climates and can be kept outside as long as temperatures are above freezing. Unlike most flowering trees, the Tibouchina granulosa can flower at least twice a year and in well maintained specimens you can see flowers most of the year. This Tibouchina prefers full to partial sun and likes acidic soil. The soil also must have good drainage. It is very important at planting not to plant it too deep into the new soil. They are very sensitive in that regard and can decline very quickly if that occurs. It is advisable to remove the spent flowers, or even trim back the tree a little bit after the flowers. This will encourage bushiness and will speed up the resprouting and reflowering. They should be regularly fertilized. The use of an acidic fertilizer may be needed depending on your local conditions. A light frost can burn the tops and if the damage is not severe, the tree should come back with no problem." We propagated this from material at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia where it may be a "die-back" shrub.
Cut back plants after the frost kills the tops. Mound 10 inches of coarse sand over the stubs. Mulch over with pine straw. As weather warms, remove this covering to allow new shoots to emerge. Given rich soil and ample water, these plants will thrive during hot summers.
Tibouchina urvilleana, the princess flower or glory bush, is a Brazilian subtropical grown for some of the most saturated purple flowers in the garden. Soft, velvety, prominently veined leaves clothe the arching stems, and against that green the large, five-petaled, royal-purple blooms, each with a spray of curved violet stamens, seem almost to glow. In all but essentially frost-free areas the shrub grows as a dieback perennial, returning from the roots each spring.
American basswood is one of the great shade and honey trees of eastern North America, a fast, stately deciduous tree with large, heart-shaped, softly toothed leaves and a broad, rounded, generous crown. Tilia americana has been cherished by Indigenous peoples, European settlers, and naturalists alike, and goes by a string of names: linden, bee tree, and lime, though the tree is no relation to the citrus lime. In late spring and early summer, hanging clusters of pale yellow, sweetly fragrant flowers open and hum with bees.
Hardiness
Zones 3–8
Light
Full Sun / Part Shade
Height
60–80 ft.
Spread
20–30 ft.
Bloom
Yellow
Plant type
Tree
Traditional use
mental & emotional well-being, respiratory support, digestive health
Basswoods are medium to large deciduous trees with heart shaped leaves, yellowish fragrant flowers, and small nutlets on stalks attached to a papery wing. There are many species in the Northern Hemisphere but the taxonomy of the Basswoods that are widespread in eastern North America is very confused and variously interpreted as one variable species or as many species. Our plants are of south Alabama provenance and may be considered Tilia caroliniana or T. americana var. caroliniana. Basswood is a good shade or ornamental tree for moist but well-drained fertile soil. Bees make a prized honey from basswood flowers.
Strongly aromatic tree. Evergreen needles spreading in two rows on twigs are dark green. Gray-brown bark. Seeds and male cones on separate trees. Sun to light shade on well-drained soil. (See DIR)
Little-known in cultivation and rare in the U.S. this yew-like conifer has sharp-tipped green needle-like leaves. It becomes a tree in the wild but Hillier (Manual of Woody Landscape Plants) says it is the "least grand" of the genus. It usually remains shrubby or a small tree in cultivation. Plant in good soil that is well-drained but not xeric. Native to China.
Pyramidal dense conifer with yew-like aromatic needles which are stiff and prickly. Fruits are like small plums. Fertile well-drained soil in sun or light shade. May reach 40 feet in suitable site. Casts moderate to dense shade. Native to Japan and possibly the hardiest of the Torreya species.
This wide spreading evergreen conifer has aromatic, sharp, flat needle-like leaves in one plane. This clone originated at Hillier's Nursery in England in 1970 and was named 'Spreadeagle' for it's low spreading growth habit. Hillier lists it as a clone of the California Torreya (Torreya californica) but we suspect that it is actually a form of the endangered T. taxifolia (which see) as it has much longer needles than would be expected on the California species. Plant in semi-shade or sun in good soil that is well-drained but which is not excessively dry.
Stinking Cedar is a beautiful conifer despite the name. The foliage actually smells pleasant! It is a medium size pyramidal evergreen tree with Yew-like leaves and purple nutmeg-like fruit on female plants. Needs light organic soil, adequate moisture and part shade. This very rare conifer is native to a very limited area on the Apalachicola River in northwest Florida and adjacent Georgia where it is now almost extinct. It is a FEDERALLY LISTED ENDANGERED SPECIES. CANNOT BE SOLD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
