Monthly Archives: November 2014

Artimis Powis Castle

When a master gardener recommended this plant to me I thought it was an ornamental grass, so when my husband showed up with this 2″ tall, silvery-green plant, I looked at him and asked what they were suppose to be. He told me what they were and we decided to plant them. These are a sage and you could smell them if you bumped into them. They were soft and added a nice minty color to the garden. They grew so fast and into a nice mound. Make sure to clean out under them each year or they will rot. They need to see sun at the roots. Don’t over prune these or you might kill them off. We would do some light pruning and if a whole branch didn’t come back we would cut it off. Be patient, these things will have a late start – sometimes waiting until early summer to put on new growth. The ones in the sun perked more than the ones in the shade. They will stay long into the fall early winter season.

Bosnian Pine

The Bosnian Pine was completely carefree in our last yard and we have planted it again in the new yard. No complaints, super healthy, no pest problems. When we planted it we ran 3′ of perforated drain pipe around the root ball and watered it off the drip system. The pipe let the water get down to the roots instead of running down the hill on the surface. It tolerated the rocky, alkaline soil and put on new growth every year.

At 7-10′ wide, the Bosnian Pine is nice for smaller areas. It can reach up to 40′ tall.

Columnar Norway Maple

2″ Caliper when planted

5″ caliper six-years later

We planted three Columnar Norway Maples in our yard. They were about 2″ caliper, but the photos show they grew well in 6 years. I would not suggest planting grass right up to the trunk. Two were planted in grass and one was planted in flower beds. The tree that didn’t have to compete with the grass was much larger than the other two and looks healthier. These trees require very little attention otherwise and the leaves are beautiful. We did have some years with lots of bugs on them and ended up spraying them.

2015 update – Last year we planted a Columnar Norway Maple, 2″ caliper, in a very poor spot. We carved the hole in white/gray clay. It was so hard we could only carve away at it – a pick would only make a 1/2″ dent in it. Filling the hole with water to soften it up didn’t work, it was still full of water the next day. I really thought we might have to move that tree, but it is growing great! It has put on over 3′ of growth. It is on drip and gets regular water. Other than the really late hard frost that deformed some of the leaves, it looks very healthy.

Hibiscus Rose of Sharon

I planted 6 white Rose of Sharon, one of them turned out to be pink and had to be changed as the pink looked really funny in the landscape. They grew really well and healthy as long as we remember to give them iron. Otherwise the leaves yellowed and got blackened tips. I loved these bushes, great shape with minimal pruning of the branches for shape. Easily one of my favorite plants but does require a little more than no work to keep healthy. They don’t require a ton of water but do grow faster with more water.

Light: Part Sun, Sun
Height: 8 to 20 feet (I was told in UT not to expect more than 10 ft)
Width: To 6 feet wide
Zones: 5-9

Pros:

Look great, beautiful flowers that bloom from summer to late into fall.
Great shape with minimum pruning.
Live in our alkaline soil
Produces a lot of flowers.
Can be trained into a small tree if desired.

Cons:

Struggle a bit with color if not treated with iron.
Can survive on low water but are happier with a little more.
Have to deadhead a lot of flowers at the end of the season.