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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
A multi colored variegated cultivar of a species which is widepread in eastern U.S. woodlands. Armitage (Herbaceous Perennial Plants) says the leaves of this variety have a V shaped reddish-pink blotch in the center of each leaf and new leaves are creamy white and touched with light green or pink. This easily grown and prolific plant will brighten up dark shady corners where the soil is reasonably moist.
Asian Jasmine is not a true Jasmine but is a close relative of the popular "Confederate Jasmine" (named for the Malay Confederation). It is less of a climber but a great dense groundcover vine with small, lustrous, dark green, leathery evergreen foliage. It does not flower much but the flowers would be fragrant small white star-shaped blossoms with a yellow center. One of the best plants for a groundcover under trees in the South. Native to eastern Asia.
Wagner's Windmill Palm is known only in cultivation and apparently came from Japan. It is considered by some to be a variety of the common Windmill Palm (T. fortunei). It is about equally hardy and requires the same conditions. It is distinctive and distinguished by a stiffer appearance and smaller leaves. The Southeastern Palm Society's book Hardy Palms for the Southeast says: "The primary horticultural feature of Trachycarpus wagnerianus is its stiffness in all parts, giving the palm a refined, formal appearance. It also grows more slowly than Trachycarpus fortunei, so it can be planted in a confined space, where it will remain in scale for may years,"
This fan leaf palm is native to eastern Asia but is grown worldwide. It is the most common palm seen northward and grows well in cool regions including the British Isles and coastal British Columbia. Good specimens have grown outdoors as far north as Maryland and Tennessee but it is not usually happy in peninsular Florida. The trunk can reach 15-20 feet tall and is covered with black hair-like fiber. Plant in well-drained soil and with shelter from the north winds in areas where it is borderline hardy.
This native of Japan is a coarse, large-leafed, effective groundcover for shady sites with good moist to dry soil where it can be a fairly rapid spreader. This plant is uncommon and little-known in the U.S. and we originally acquired it through the courtesy of Mr. John Elsley of Greenwood, South Carolina.
This rare Hemlock from Yunnan Province in China was originally received from the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts. It had been obtained from China but was not expected to be hardy in Massachusetts. It proved to be very well adapted to semi-shady situations here in the Deep South where it has become a dark green graceful pyramidal tree. Woodlanders has probably been the first U.S. nursery to offer this tree.
Wheel Tree is a large evergreen shrub or small tree native to eastern Asia. It is very uncommon in cultivation in the U.S. though it is a relatively hardy evergreen of distinctive tiered habit and foliage that stands out among other evergreens. Plant in shade or semi-shady site with moist acid soil. Said to become a sizeable tree in the Orient and may do so here with time. Bright green flowers in spring have stamens with arrangement like spokes, hence the name Wheel Tree.
Medium sized, trunked palm with glaucous blue fan leaves. A hardy but slow growing palm that is rare in cultivation in the U.S. but much sought after by palm collectors. Cordoba Province.
