January 2024

• Light Requirements: Full to part sun
• Water Requirements: They prefer loose, well drained soil. They will tolerate poor soil and will be fairly drought resistant once established.
• Characteristics: Depending on the cultivar, they grow from 3 feet to 12 feet tall and wide. Profuse yellow flowers appear on long arching stems and open before leaves emerge, usually in March. Forsythias bloom on old wood so do any pruning right after blooming to avoid cutting off next year’s buds. Remove one-fourth to one-third of the oldest (largest) stems at ground level every other year once they are established.
• Uses: Forsythia can be used as a specimen, in a mixed border or as a background in a perennial bed. They make a great living hedge and are great for hillsides to help with erosion issues.
• Interesting Facts: When it rains, their flowers tip downward to protect their pollen.
• Varieties:
  • Forsythia x. intermedia ‘Lynwood’ has larger yellow flowers than other cultivars. They also have better fall foliage that turns an attractive yellow.
  • Forsythia x. intermedia ‘Show Off’ is smaller and compact, growing 5 to 6 feet. It is also full of flowers from the ground to the end of the stems.

• Light Requirements: Snake plants can tolerate a range of light from bright indirect light to low light conditions.
• Water Requirements: Allow the soil to become just dry before watering, then water deeply. Be careful not to overwater the snake plant, or let it sit in water. This can lead to root rot. Yellowing leaves are a sign of overwatering.
• Characteristics: Snake plants are easily recognizable due to their sword shaped leaves. Leaves can be green, striped, or outlined in yellow.
• Uses: Along with many other houseplants, snake plants contribute to cleaning the air in their environment.
• Interesting Facts: This plant is visible on the porch in Grant Wood’s 1930 painting, American Gothic
• Varieties:
  • Dracaena trifasciata ‘Hahnii’: Also called bird’s nest snake plant, ‘Hahnii” grows to just six inches tall.
  • Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentii’: This variegated cultivar has creamy yellow leaf margins.
  • Dracaena trifasciata ‘Twisted Sister’: Twisting leaves bear horizontal stripes with yellow variegated edges. It grows to 15 inches tall.
  • Dracaena Trifasciata ‘Golden Flame’: ‘Gold’ or ‘Golden Flame’ cultivar sports gray-green foliage that has yellow-gold patternation.

• Light Requirements: Full to part sun, best flowering in full sun locations.
• Water Requirements: Prefers moist but well draining soil.
• Characteristics: Witch hazels grow 8 to 20 feet depending on the cultivar. Fragrant ribbon shaped flowers in yellow to orange to red appear along the branches in winter or early spring. Fall leaf color is yellow to red depending on the cultivar.
• Uses: The somewhat zigzagging branches offer interesting form as a specimen plant, and its upright nature lends itself to an opportunity for under-planting with bulbs or small perennials. It is a valuable shrub for a naturalized border or in a woodland, wildlife or winter garden.  Flowers are pollinated by nocturnal moths. Wild turkeys eat the seeds and small mammals and birds eat the fruit.
• Interesting Facts: Witch hazel has several medicinal properties including use as an astringent and an anti-inflammatory. In fact, it is one of the very few American medicinal plants approved as an ingredient in non-prescription drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The common name refers to the use of the forked twigs for “water-witching” or as divining rods to locate water sources.

Varieties:

• Hamamelis virginiana is the common witch hazel. It is native to eastern North America and is found along stream banks from Canada to Mexico and can tolerate clay soils.  The common witch hazel is noted yellow, slightly fragrant flowers which open from October through December. Fall foliage is a bright yellow.
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’ is a cross between the chinese and japanese varieties. It is an upright, vase shaped variety noted for its sweetly fragrant yellow flowers that bloom later than other cultivars, February to March.
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ is a cross between the chinese and japanese varieties. It grows 8 to 12 feet and is noted for its coppery red blooms from January to March. The foliage turns attractive shades of yellow, orange and red in fall.

• Light Requirements: They prefer bright but indirect light. Direct sun will cause the leaves to burn and the colors will bleach out.
• Water Requirements: Keep the soil moist but avoid over watering. Calatheas do better with small frequent waterings. Rainwater or distilled water is best because they are sensitive to chlorine and fluoride in tap water.
• Characteristics: Calatheas offer a wide range of leaf shapes and vivid color patterns and variegations. Even the underside of the leaves can provide a pop of color.
• Interesting Facts: These plants have been called prayer plants because of the daily movement of the plant’s leaves, known as nyctinasty. Some plants in this family move their leaves up at night and lower them during the day. Botanists believe this allows the leaves to follow the sun’s movement and maximize the amount of light the leaves absorb.
• Varieties:
  • Calathea lancifolia is commonly called rattlesnake plant. The long leaves have wavy edges and purple undersides. The tops of the leaves have alternating dark green blotches.
  • Calathea orbifolia features bright green, oblong leaves with subtle silver stripes.
  • Calathea leopardina has bright, almost lime green leaves with dark green stripes that start at the midrib and extend almost to the edge of the leaf.

• Light Requirements: Most philodendrons prefer indirect light but this plant is quite tolerant of low light conditions and will grow well under artificial or existing room light.
• Water Requirements: They prefer for the soil to be evenly moist, but not soggy, but will tolerate dry conditions if you forget to water them. Philodendrons prefer a humid environment.
• Characteristics: There are 2 types, vining or climbing and non-climbing. The leaves can be heart shaped, oval, lobed, deeply cut and spear shaped. 
• Uses: This is a great air purifying houseplant.
• Interesting Facts: Philodendrons produce an inflorescence known as a spathe, similar to a Peace Lily.
• Varieties:
  • Philodendron x ‘Birkin’: This variety is non-climbing and offers thin white stripes on its green leaves.  Starting life as an all-green juvenile, ‘Birkin’ develops its sophisticated striping with maturity.
  • Philodendron ‘Prismacolor Lemon Lime’: Not to be confused with another Philodendron cultivar of the Heart Leaf Philodendron that also goes by Lemon Lime which is a trailing plant, this plant is an upright variety with longer golden, yellow-green or lime-foliage.
  • Philodendron panduriforme: This is a vining variety that can reach 6 feet or more and has dark green, arrow shaped leaves.