Plant Recommendation Panel

Plant Recommendation Panel
Kathy Fish
K. Fish Color
Greenhouse Grower
Tony LoBello, L.A.
Mariani Landscape
Landscape Architect
Annette Held
Annette Held Landscape
Design
Landscape Designer
Abby L
Claren
Compa
Floral
Older Plants That Deserve a
By Patrice Peltier
Clients often want to have the
latest, greatest plant. Plant-loving
landscape designers and contractors
also are seduced by the newest plant
introductions. Sometimes with all the
interest in hot, new plants, proven
performers can fall by the wayside. In
this Plant Recommendation Panel, ILCA
members offer their thoughts on old
plants that deserve a second look.
Robert Milani —
Chalet
Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea)
have claimed their place in gardens
for centuries. They’re described in
horticultural references dating back to
the 1500s. They were wildly popular in
Elizabethan England until 1873 when
a devastating a rust disease caused the
plant to be abandoned. The introduction
of the popular Hollyhock Indian Spring
mix in 1939 helped hollyhocks make
a comeback, particularly in the United
States where they became a staple in
nearly every garden.
Robert Milani, senior landscape
architect at Chalet, thinks they continue
to have a place in the 21 st century
landscape. “A lot of people say they
should be limited to growing in alleys,
but I really like them,” Milani says. In
fact, Milani and his wife are such fans
that they collect hollyhock seeds from
gardens they encounter while they’re out
and about whenever they see varieties
they don’t already have.
Milani is captivated by the variety
of colors and flower forms. “They come
in so many different colors: red, pink,
yellow, lavender, purple, white and
almost black,” he says. The flowers
range from singles to semi double or
double, some with petals that are fringed
or ruffled.
Borne on long stalks, the flowers
open from the bottom up, giving plants
a long bloom time. “I’ve seen them
flowering continually for three to six
weeks,” Milani says.
Depending on the variety, the plants
grow from three to eight feet tall. “They
make a nice backdrop plant along
a foundation, fenceline or between
houses,” Milani says.
Milani grows the plants from seeds
sown directly in the garden. He cautions,
however, that hollyhocks are biennial.
They produce foliage in the first year,
flower in the second year, then die. He
recommends sowing seeds each year
so there’s always a generation ready to
flower.
“They’re really, really easy to grow
from seed, and they’re very drought
tolerant,” Milani adds.
(continued on page 44)
42 The Landscape Contractor
November 2013

e
Abby Lydon
Clarence Davids &
Company
Floral Designer
Jim Broccolo
Clesen Wholesale
Grower
Tom Trayser
The Brickman Group
Robert Milani
Chalet
Roy Klehm
Beaver Creek Nursery
Plantsman
Jeff Gibson
Ball Horticultural Company
Lisa Fiore-Kositzki, L.A.
Don Fiore Co., Inc.
Landscape Architect
Charlie Keppel
The Care of Trees
Tree Care Expert
a Second Look
Alcea rosea
The Landscape Contractor 43
November 2013

Older Plants That Deserve a
(continued from page 43)
For a shrub with great multi-season
interest, Milani recommends taking a
second look at Nanking cherry (Prunus
tomentosa). Native to Japan and China,
the plant was introduced in the U.S. in
1892. A densely twiggy shrub, it grows
six to 10 feet high and wide. In spring its
pink buds open to fragrant, white flowers
followed by red, cherry-like fruits.
The bark is shiny, reddish brown and
exfoliating.
Drought tolerant, Nanking cherry
grows in full sun in well drained soil.
“It’s very dependable and very colorful,”
Milani says. “It’s a plant that definitely
deserves a second look.”
When it comes to finding
replacements for ash trees, Milani also
looks to the past for a tough tree that has
stood the test of time: Northern Catalpa
(Catalpa speciosa).
Native to southern Illinois and
Indiana, northern catalpa has been in
cultivation since 1754. Because it is
tolerant of a wide variety of soils, both
wet and dry conditions and air pollution,
Milani thinks this tree is a good choice
for urban conditions.
The tree grows 40-60 feet tall and
20-40 feet wide with a narrow, open,
irregular crown. In May through June, the
tree produces four to eight-inch long coneshaped
panicles of white, tubular flowers.
Those big flowers produce big seedpods
that range from 8 to 20 inches long. The
seedpods are green, maturing to brown
and often persisting through winter. “They
can be messy,” Milani admits.
The medium green, heart-shaped
leaves grow six to 12” long and three
to eight inches wide. In autumn, leaves
turn yellow-green, often falling before
changing colors. The tree is hardy in
Zones 4 to 8.
RICK!!! Please give photo credit for the
Catalpa and the Nanking cherry to The
Morton Arboretum.
Catalpa speciosa
44 The Landscape Contractor
November 2013
Prunus tomentosa

a Second Look
Annette Held —
Annette Held Landscape Design
“I use Spiraea vanhouttei
for older houses because it was a plant
that was common way back when,” says
Annette Held of Annette Held Landscape
Design in Chicago. “I have recollections
of seeing them in many of my aunt’s
gardens growing up and up against old
Victorians and farm houses.”
A cross between two Chinese
species—S. cantoniensis and S. trilobata-
-Spiraea x vanhouttei was developed in
France in 1862. It was named for Louis
VanHoutte, a Belgian horticulturist, who
is credited with popularizing the plant.
Before long, it was a hit in the United
States. The 1888 Burpee catalog devotes
half a page to the plant, saying “This
rare variety is the most showy of all the
Spireas, and one of the very best shrubs
in cultivation.” It was widely used in
the United States for years. Blooming in
mid-spring, its long, flower-laden whips
were often used to make wreaths for
brides to wear.
“They have that lovely graceful
arching habit and a pretty red color in the
fall,” Held says. “I like them both as a
specimen plant and in a massed border.”
The plant grows 6-8 feet tall with a
spread of 10-12 feet wide. It likes full
sun, is adaptable to many soil types,
hardy to Zone 3 and needs little water
once established, according to Held.
“They do need some room, so
sometimes I like to use the newer plant
Spiraea nipponica ‘Snowmound’, which
is smaller, can take some shade and has
a nice, blue/green foliage. Its fall color
isn’t quite as nice, however.”
RICK!!! Photo credit for the spiraea
vanhouttei goes to The Morton
Arboretum, please.

Older Plants That Deserve
Jim Broccolo —
Clesen Wholesale
For an overlooked annual that makes a
towering statement, Jim Broccolo of Clesen Wholesale,
recommends flowering tobacco, Nicotiana sylvestris.
Growing up to five feet tall with a spread of up to two
feet, the plant has abundant, pure white, fragrant, trumpetshaped
flowers that hang from the main growing stem.
“People might ordinarily be intimidated by this large annual,
but it makes such a great architectural statement in the
landscape,” Broccolo says.
“I have seen it successfully planted in large mixed
perennial beds
as a dramatic
summerblooming
backdrop in
commercial
settings
and parks,”
Broccolo
explains,
adding, “Some
adventurous
gardeners are
even planting
them in
oversized urns
and planters
for a dramatic
statement.”
A relative
of smoking
tobacco
(Nicotiana
tabacum),
flowering tobacco was introduced into gardens in the United
States and England in the 1800s. Victorian-era gardeners
planted it along walkways and paths so its sweet fragrance
could perfume the walks, especially in the evening when
the flowers fully open and the plant is most fragrant. That’s
something those of us in the 21 st century can still appreciate,
and Broccolo recommends planting Nicotiana sylvestris near a
patio or window.
Although one of its common names is woodland tobacco,
Nicotiana sylvestris tolerates full sun. Broccolo notes that
it often does best getting a little afternoon shade during the
hottest part of summer. The flowers conserve their energy
during the peak of the day and release their fragrance in the
evening.
“These plants are not much to speak of in a four-inch pot at
the beginning
of the summer,”
Broccolo
admits, “but
have faith,
because once
the summer
heat kicks in,
these really
put on a great
show!”
RICK: Photo
credit to
National
Garden Bureau
46 The Landscape Contractor
November 2013

e a Second Look
Roy Klehm —
Beaver Creek Nursery
When it comes to
adaptable, flowering shrubs with a
past, Roy Klehm, owner of Beaver
Creek Nursery, puts his money on
Viburnum x juddii. “The fragrance of
this older shrub easily holds its own
among any newcomers,” Klehm says.
A cross between V. carlesii and V.
bitchiuense, V.x juddii was propagated
by William H. Judd who introduced it
at the Arnold Arboretum in 1920. “The
fragrant, abundant white blooms that
open from pink buds are Viburnum x
juddii’s most outstanding feature, but
handsome foliage that turns burgundy
red in the fall also adds to its value in
the landscape,” according to Klehm.
This easily grown, dense, rounded
shrub grows 5-6’ tall and 4-6’ wide.
V.x juddii grows in full sun to part
shade.
Well-established plants are fairly
tolerant of drought when mulched,
Klehm says. He recommends planting
this shrub near patios and walkways
where the wonderful fragrance can be
enjoyed.
(continued on page 48)
Viburnum x juddii.
The Landscape Contractor 47
November 2013

What are the best drought t
Roy Klehm —
Beaver Creek Nursery
For a shade tree that deserves a second look, Klehm recommends
Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioica).
Kentucky coffeetree is an Illinois native that matures to 60-75’ tall and
40-50’ wide. “The tree has an attractively irregular form that makes a
picturesque alternative to many of the more formal oval and round shapes of
newer, cloned shade trees,” Klehm says. He also likes the outstanding, rough
bark that develops at an early age.
One of the latest trees to leaf out, the bipinnately compound leaves are
pink-tinged when they emerge, changing to dark green in summer. Fall color
is yellow.
Male and female trees are separate. “Females produce
brown pods that persist well into winter, adding interest to the distinctive,
broadly spaced, bare winter branches,” Klehm says.
“The most unique setting I have seen Kentucky coffeetree in is at the
Thai Pavilion at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison where this native
looks amazingly palm-like and exotic,” he adds.
Klehm also appreciates this tree’s adaptability. He says it’s easy to grow
in typical soils, and also tolerates urban conditions, poor soils, and, when
established, drought. Kentucky coffeetree is hardy in Zones 3b to 8.
Photo credit to Beaver Creek Nursery, please!

t tolerant plants?