American Snowbell is a deciduous ornamental shrub in the Syracaceae family. This is a fragrant and dense shrub, making a great addition to a patio or as a privacy screen. The white fragrant bell-shaped flowers attract many pollinators, and it is a host plant for the Promethea Silkmoth. American Snowbell…
The Plumleaf Azalea is a semi-evergreen woody shrub in the Ericaceae family. This plant likes part shade and prefers acidic soil, as many things in the blueberry family do. Unlike blueberries, all parts of this plant are highly toxic to humans and pets. Showy orange, pink, red, or white flowers…
Flowering Dogwood is a 15 to 25 foot tall understory tree in the Cornaceae family. This tree likes full sun to part shade, although shade is helpful during the late afternoon in hot North Carolina summers. Flowering from March through May, it has showy pink and white flowers, and is…
Ninebark is a deciduous shrub at about five to eight feet tall. In the Rosaceae family, it has pinkish white flowers that bloom late spring to early summer. Leaves are three to five lobed and greenish yellow in the warmer months, turning golden copper in fall. Its dense multi-stemmed habit…
Yellow Anise Tree is a broadleaf evergreen shrub or small tree in the Schisandraceae family. This woody shrub can get up to 10 or 15 feet tall and has light green leaves that are fragrant when bruised. With its dense mounding habit, this species makes a great privacy screen or…
Florida Anise Tree is a broadleaf evergreen shrub in the Schisandraceae family. This shrub or small tree can get to six or ten feet tall and would make a great hedge or border. Preferring part shade to deep shade, it does well in a shade garden, and the leaves can…
Dusty Zenobia is a deciduous to evergreen shrub in the Ericaceae family. It likes full sun to part shade and can get up to ten feet tall in ideal conditions. In late spring to early summer, cream to white cup shaped flowers point downward, similar to blueberries. Dusty Zenobia can…
Swamp Chestnut oak is a tall tightly crowned oak with a very large trunk. The common name of the chestnut oak comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of a chestnut. Generally growing between fifty and one hundred feet tall, the Swamp Chestnut Oak has been know to reach…
The Black cherry is an important southern tree for both wild life and commercially. Young black cherries tend to have a conical crown but when given enough room, the mature trees develop long limbs and arching branches giving it an oval shaped crown. The Black cherry’s fall foliage is a golden…
Piedmont Staggerbush is a cute little shrub, averaging three to six feet tall. It is an upright shrub with alternate, simple, and oblong leaves. The flowers bloom in clusters of racemes of columnar-shaped, white to pink flowers. It grows well along marshes and shrubby swamps, but also wood edges and well-drained…
Aronia prunifolia or Purple Chokeberry is a natural hybrid between A. arbutifolia (Red Chokeberry), and A. melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry), a more mountainous species. All three Chokeberries have very diferent distribution maps. Purple Chokeberry is much less abundant than the Red Chokeberry. It is much like Red Chokeberry in habit, that is,…
Mountain or Georgia Bush Honeysuckle is a selection of our native Bush Honeysuckle, a small shrub endemic to our southern Appalachians. This low, spreading shrub (3-4’h x 3-5’w) with an arching habit grows well in full sun to part shade at lower elevations like our Piedmont as well as in the…
One reason the Ben Franklin tree is grown is because it is attractive: fragrant, 3-inch flowers with delicate white petals and thick, bushy golden stamens, and foliage that is handsome, with outstanding fall coloration (red, purple, orange). But mostly it is grown because it is rare and has a great story.…
Common Witchhazel is a deciduous shrub 12-18′ tall, and sometimes taller, famous for producing its aromatic, crinkly yellow flowers as it drops its foliage in late October/early November. Seeds from the previous season are ready for dispersal at the same time, and are expelled with some force from their capsules. Witchhazel…
Oakleaf Hydrangea, the quintessential flowering shrub for the native garden, is a deciduous shrub native to our southeastern states with outstanding ornamental value. Its growth form is broad, rounded, with lower stems sweeping the ground; with beautiful exfoliating bark and bold, handsomely lobed, deep green leaves, holding aloft great pyramidal, fragrant…
Possumhaw Viburnum is a 12-15-foot tall (some report up to 20 feet) x 12-15-foot wide, deciduous, wet-tolerant shrub of surprising ornamental value found in Eastern states from Texas north to Canada. It ioccurs in all three NC zones, mountains, piedmont and coastal plain, though in the mountains the quite similar Viburnum…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Cranberrybush Viburnum or Highbush Cranberry is a dense, arching, deciduous shrub six to ten feet (or even taller) native all across Canada and our northern states down as far as a couple of counties…
Smooth Blackhaw, native to much of mid-latitude Eastern and central U.S., is a large deciduous shrub or small tree which usually grows to around 15 feet tall and wide, but if grown as a single-stemmed tree form, it can reach up to 30 feet. It thrives in full sun to part…
This Viburnum — with its showy, flat-topped or domed white flowers and opposite, toothed leaves typical of Viburnums — stands out from its cousins because in addition to being handsome, it is a well behaved, small (6-foot) shrub that plays well with others. Two of them have volunteered on our property…
Rusty Blackhaw is one of our Southern woodland viburnums whose range is central and southeastern U.S. In NC it occurs mostly in piedmont and coastal plain counties. It is a deciduous, dense, showy, highly arching understory shrub or small tree. Mature height is about 18′, but can be taller if grown…
Adam’s Needle is a broadleaf evergreen, suckering shrub from the Southeastern states. Although stemless, it has a rosette of stiff, sword-shaped leaves with loose filaments attached at the leaf margins, which distinguish it from other members of the genus. While these leaves reach only 2-3 feet in height, the flower stalks…
The beloved Highbush Blueberry is a deciduous shrub native to much of Eastern North America, with outstanding landscape value over three seasons. It’s clusters of dainty, hanging, bell-shaped, white-pink flowers are lovely in spring, followed by tasty blue berries that ripen in summer. These are valued by humans, birds, and smaller…
Rosa’s Blush’ is a cultivar of a small Vaccinium species native to sandy pinelands and sand dunes in counties along the Gulf Coast as far West as Louisiana, and frost tolerant to zone 8a (some say, zone 7). There is disagreement as to whether this shrub should be grown for its…
Mapleleaf Viburnum is native to much of Eastern North America, inhabiting upland, dry woods. In NC, it is reported in mountain and piedmont counties only. It is a smaller member of the Viburnum genus, averaging only 4-6 feet tall. It suckers strongly, however, and forms colonies of sparsely branched shoots, and…
Southern Arrowwood is a dense, 8-10-foot shrub native to Eastern U.S. It is composed of many upright, spreading, straight stems and bears typical-Viburnum 3-inch, flat-topped corymbs of small creamy white flowers followed in mid-summer by blue-black seeds which generously support a range of birds and other animals. It is so useful…
Our area (NC and surrounding states) represents the southern tip of the range for this shrub, which is much more common to the north. In NC and Va it occurs in some mountain counties and some coastal plain/lower piedmont counties. The common name “Steeplebush” reflects it’s pink steeple-like blooms in late…
American Bladdernut is an interesting understory shrub or small tree found in sometimes large colonies in Piedmont bottomlands and woodland thickets from the eastern mountains and piedmont into the midwest as far as Kansas and Oklahoma. It is not difficult to identify: Bladdernut typically grows 10-15′ tall, with opposite, trifoliate leaves,…
Iteaceae is a family of only one genus of trees and shrubs, and of the 27 species in that genus, Itea is the only one found in the U.S. (the vast majority of the others being from east Asia). Virginia Sweetspire, as often known as Itea, is a versatile and lovely…
Coralberry is a very showy colonial shrub native in the eastern and central United States, as well as central Canada (Ontario) and northeastern Mexico. It reaches 4+ feet, with smooth, opposite, dull green, oval-shaped leaves and shreddy bark. Greenish white flowers are tucked under the leaves in early summer, developing later…
Pond Cypress is a deciduous conifer of our Southeastern states which roughly resembles (and is considered by some to be a variety of) Taxodium distichum, or Bald Cypress (See our entry for T. distichum). There are similarities between the two, such as their amazing soil moisture adaptability from standing water to…
Bald Cypress is a stately and long-lived deciduous conifer found throughout the swamps and riparian areas of the southeast, famous for its knobby “knees” and flared or buttressed trunks. It is important for most of us non-swamp dwellers, though, because Bald Cypress can also thrive in well drained upland soils. Since…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Sparkleberry or (Farkleberry) is an attractive, tough, underused woodland shrub usually eight to ten feet in height, though occasuinally it takes on a tree form. It is found in dry woods and open forests from…
The Oconee or Piedmont Azalea is a beautiful deciduous shrub native to woods, slopes, sandhills and edges of stream banks in a few counties in the piedmont of South Carolina and Georgia. It is easy to remember this shrub: Native to a hot area, it is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant…
The Pinxter Azalea is a deciduous native azalea famous for it’s stunning flowers all the way from New Hampshire to Alabama. In NC, it is present in most counties of the state except for the highest mountain counties and the swampiest counties in the northeast corner. Pinxter Azalea’s funnel-shaped flowers, with…
Swamp Azalea is a shrub up to 8 ft tall at maturity with an upright, loosely branched, multi-stemmed habit and a tantalizing, musky floral scent in late spring. Clusters of very fragrant bright white (often with pink accents), trumpet-shaped flowers with five petals, slender tubes and elegant, exserted stamens appear in…
Rhus aromatica, or Fragrant Sumac, is a deciduous, thicket-forming shrub found in dry, open woods in most states of eastern U.S. (In NC, it is found mostly in piedmont counties.) Fragrant Sumac has a variable, sprawling, irregular form. It is reported by some to grow as tall as 12 feet in…
Elderberry is a vigorous, beautiful shrub commonly observed on roadsides and in hedgerows and disturbed areas in most NC counties and most states as well. It is a a vigorous grower, 5-12′ in height and spread, with arching branches which support numerous flat-topped white flower clusters in mid-summer. These retain their…
Fevertree is a large, graceful, deciduous shrub or small tree valued in the landscape for its rich green foliage and a long lasting display of beautiful pink in midseason. While the actual flowers of the Fevertree are greenish yellow and inconspicuous, these are surrounded by large, showy, whitish to deep rose…
Dwarf Coastal Azalea, one of the smaller native azaleas at about 6 feet (with more exposure to light, usually on the order of 4 feet), occurs in sand hill and coastal communities from southern New Jersey to Georgia. It is adorned in spring (April, May) with clusters of wonderfully aromatic, funnel-shaped…
Wax Myrtle is an amazingly versatile evergreen shrub or small tree which is such a great wildlife plant that it could be useful for increasing the pollinators and birds in your yard. Its foliage is very fragrant, and evergreen, and the blue berries are attractive to people as well as to…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Blackgum is a stately, medium-sized hardwood tree extremely desirable for its spectacular scarlet fall foliage and its wildlife appeal. It is adapted to a very wide range of habitats from standing water to dry…
Sourwood is a small to medium (30-70’) deciduous, understory tree found throughout the Carolinas in mixed hardwood forests It is the only member of its genus (Oxydendrum) and has no known subspecies, varieties or forms. It is in the Ericaceae family, and its closest relatives are in the genera Pieris and…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Black Walnut or American Walnut is a large tree of central and eastern North America which can grow well over 100 feet, but which averages fifty to seventy five feet. The trunk is straight and…
Eastern Red Cedar is a sturdy, aromatic, evergreen, pyramid-shaped or columnar tree which usually grows to about 60 feet, though it can reach 90 feet. This species is considered a pioneer tree that colonizes sunny areas that are relatively dry and sterile. Adapted to dry habitats, it is native throughout central…
‘Blue Arrow’ is a cultivar of Eastern Red Cedar, an evergreen tree of wide variability in form, seen on roadsides and hedgerows throughout the eastern U.S. ‘Blue Arrow’ was selected to provide a reliable, vertical evergreen accent in a more formal landscape. Red Cedar (the species) is dioecious, with seed cones…
Juniperus virginiana is a tough, widely distributed native evergreen tree with many outstanding attributes (see our listing for the species) and ‘Poyo’ is a dwarf, spreading cultivar which displays most of the attributes of the species, but answering a need for a shrub-like form. Since it is asexually propagated (is a…
Many people know Mountain Laurel as a stunning native shrub which is a spectacular sight in our mountains in May and June, but many don’t realize that it also grows in rocky floodplains of our rivers in the piedmont. Since we collect our seed from natural stands on the Haw River,…
Doghobble is a graceful, informal, evergreen shrub common in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plain which shows off best when planted in mass. Stoloniferous, it is naturally found in drifts or colonies along banks of creeks or shady ditches and woodlines. Doghobble’s arching form reaches 3-4 feet or 4-6 feet (reports…
Spicebush is a shrubby tree — five to ten feet-tall (and often wider than tall) — which has a great many attributes, beginning with its wonderfully spicy-citrusy aromatic foliage. The blooming period for Spicebush occurs during the mid-spring and lasts about 2 weeks. The males (yes, it is dioecious) have showier,…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Tulip Poplar is a superbly shaped deciduous canopy tree, one of the tallest of the eastern hardwoods. Individuals have reached 190 feet in height, but the average Tulip Poplar is only on the order…
Shining Fetterbush (“lucida”) is a commonly encountered evergreen shrub of the south, 3-5 feet tall and wide (or occasionally taller), found mostly in counties of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from Virginia south to Florida and west to Louisiana. The leaves are alternate, smooth, thick, and leathery. The sweetly fragrant…
Ashe’s Magnolia is a greatly underused, rare in cultivation, extremely ornamental small tree endemic to mixed hardwood forests and ravine slopes in a few counties in the “armpit” or panhandle of Florida. It is easily recognized by it’s very large leaf size, one to two feet long by six inches to…
Magnolia virginiana, or Sweetbay Magnolia, is a small tree or shrub at home in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains and piedmont as far north as New York.. With 3- to 5-inch, oval, leathery green leaves with silvery undersides, and beautiful, sweetly-scented, small (3″ wide) ivory flowers in spring and summer,…
‘Taylor’s Rudolph’ is a cultivar of a beautiful and hardy native species of Holly that grows in coastal NC as well as other Southeastern states. Both ‘Taylor’s Rudolph’ and the species are evergreen; both are very adaptable, thriving in a range of cultural conditions from moist to dry, in full sun…
American Beech is one of the most beloved trees of Eastern North America, a late-successional tree reported in many counties of NC from the mountains to the coast. It is a medium to large tree, growing usually to 80 feet (but observed also at 100 feet tall or more), and can…
Dwarf Fothergilla is a marvelous, slow-growing, deciduous shrub typically about three feet tall at maturity. In nature it is found in bogs (pocosins) and moist lowlands and savannahs in coastal areas of the Southeast from North Carolina to the Florida panhandle and Alabama. The soft, white bottle brush inflorescences are strongly…
Until recently, Hydrangea radiata was considered a subscpecies of Hydrangea arborescens, and they are very similar. Both are fast-growing and short-lived woody shrubs 3-6 feet high and wide. Both present a rounded form, with many, scarcely branched, twisting stems, shreddy bark, and white, flat-topped floral assemblages called corymbs, 3-6 inches across,…
Hypericum frondosum, or Golden St. Johnswort (the species) is a small, semi-woody shrub which grows in states all across the Southeast, but is not common. In NC, it is reported to occur in only two counties (in the mountains). Nevertheless, it thrives in our hot and humid piedmont, and should be…
Possomhaw Holly is a deciduous shrub or small, understory tree, averaging fifteen to thirty feet tall (shorter when grown in full sun), with gray, twiggy, horizontal branches. In nature, it occurs in dry woods but more often in river bottoms and wet habitats, from Maryland south to Florida and west to…
Ilex glabra, or Inkberry Holly, is a colonial evergreen shrub with an erect but rounded form, 8 – 10 feet high. If you are not normally fond of prickly holly leaves, Inkberry may be the holly for you: it differs from all other evergreen hollies by lacking spines on the leaves.…
American Holly is a slow-growing, medium sized, evergreen tree known and loved throughout the mid-atlantic, south-central and Gulf state lowlands (in NC, is reported in most counties throughout). An understory tree in our deciduous forests, it generally reaches 40 to 60 feet, with pyramidal form, occasionally much taller. In cultivation, however,…
Winterberry is a handsome deciduous shrub, averaging twelve to fifteen feet tall, with gray, twiggy, horizontal branches and spectacular red berries in winter.. It is native to swampy, wet areas of Eastern North America. Winterberry prefers full sun and moist, well drained, acidic, organic upland soil. However, it can also tolerate…
The Yaupon Holly is a distinctive evergreen native holly found in coastal counties in NC and other Southeastern states over to Texas. It tolerates a whole range of moisture regimes (wet to dry), soil types and pH, sunlight conditions (full sun to shade, but more sun makes more berries), and is…
This cultivar of Yaupon Holly, fully embraced by the nursery trade like few other native plants, is very popular as a foundation plant around homes and office buildings and it functions admirably in this role.’Schiling’s Dwarf’ is included in our inventory specifically for those who want a formal hedge, but with…
Swamp Titi is an extremely interesting and underused shrub or small tree for our area. It grows to perhaps 20 feet (more often 12-15 feet) and can be described as having both lustrous evergreen or tardily deciduous leaves and colorful fall foliage! Its trunk(s) and branches are very nicely contorted, with…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Southern Bush Honeysuckle is a low-growing (3′-5′) deciduous shrub native to the Southern Appalachians and Great Smokey Mountains. Its arching stems are square in outline, its leaves opposite, lustrous, medium green, and lance-shaped, with serrated…
Eastern persimmon is a lovely small- to medium-sized tree (up to sixty feet tall x thirty feet in spread) with lustrous foliage, dark green in summer and rich golden in fall, and beautiful bark. A member of the Ebony family, it is prized for its high quality, hard heartwood (used to…
Sweetbells Leucothoe is a handsome, deciduous, colony-forming, understory shrub which is naturally found in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont swamps, bogs and wetlands of Southeastern states. It can be cultivated easily in upland sites as well, reaching up to ten feet tall in consistently moist and shady locations. Arching, mostly unbranched…
Strawberrybush, or Hearts-a-Bustin’, is a unique, rhizomatous shrub with an unusual form that occurs in shady woodlands throughout the Southeast to Eastern Texas. Plants are 4-6 feet tall and multi-stemmed. The individual shoots are pencil-like and green with little branching. Leaves are long (~2 inches), opposite, and lance-shaped, colorful in fall.…
Sweet Pepperbush is a beautiful, multi-stemmed woody shrub native to our East coast from Nova Scotia and Maine down to Florida and over to Texas. In NC it is found in swamps and moist woods on the coastal plain and outer piedmont. Clethra is rhizomatous by nature, and if allowed, can…
‘Ruby Spice’ is a cultivar of one of our most beautiful native shrubs, Clethra alnifolia or Sweet Pepperbush. They are deciduous shrubs of medium stature with rich, dark green foliage, and flowers with head-turning, sensuous, honey-sweet scent in mid- to late-summer when few other shrubs are flowering. The flowers of ‘Ruby…
Sixteen Candles’ Clethra is a more compact cultivar of Clethra alnifolia, a wet-tolerant and beautiful coastal shrub all along the eastern seaboard and southern coastal states. Like the species, ‘Sixteen Candles’ is long-blooming, having sweet-fragrant flowers in the heat of the summer against a rich, medium-to-dark green foliage. But the plant…
Silky Dogwood is a hardy, spreading shrub that grows in moist habitats, mostly by stream banks and wet lowlands in the eastern U.S. While attractive, its ability to draw wildlife to it is also a very strong attribute. It is a medium-size shrub, growing up to ten feet tall and wide,…
American Hazelnut is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub found in moist to dry-mesic woodlands throughout Eastern North America. It is notably absent in the deep South. In North Carolina it is reported only in piedmont and mountain counties. This shrub is valued for its sweet nuts, which are edible either raw or…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. The Pignut Hickory is one of the tallest (eighty to one hundred-foot range) hickory trees comprising the Oak-Hickory Forests of Eastern North America. The trunk is generally straight and the crown of the tree slender,…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. The Shagbark Hickory is a stately deciduous tree important in the Oak-Hickory Forests of Eastern North America. It is easily recognizable due to its bark, which peels off in large, loose strips. It commonly has…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Mockernut Hickory is the most abundant of the Hickories in its range in the Eastern U.S., and one of the most long-lived, reaching up to 500 years of age. This is a fifty- to…
Allegheny Chinquapin is a colonial, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree usually around 15 feet tall, taller if grown with single stem or cultivated with little competition. It is native to dry woods and ridges in the Southeastern states, and grows well where summers are hot. It is considered undervalued as a…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. Southern Catalpa is a medium-sized (twenty-five to forty feet, sometimes taller) highly ornamental tree bearing large, heart-shaped leaves and strikingly beautiful flowers after about 6 years of age. The leaves are barely expanded in…
New Jersey tea is a compact, deciduous shrub that most often grows to only three feet tall and equally wide. It is common on dry plains, prairies, or similar open areas, on soils that are sandy or rocky, throughout Eastern North America and in the majority of NC counties. Leaves are…
Buttonbush is an open, woody, deciduous shrub usually 5-8′ tall (sometimes taller), with an irregular crown graced with many white, golf ball-sized, spherical flower clusters in June. The shrub is very ornamental, and the white, long lasting, pin-cushion like flowers are more often than not being visited by enthusiastic butterflies and/or…
Eastern Redbud is a lovely, small, (15-20 feet tall x 15-20 feet across) understory tree occurring along streams and wet bottoms as well as on dry slopes and ridges in the Piedmont and some of the mountain counties of the Carolinas. Eastern Redbud is deciduous, very hardy (tough as nails) and…
This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use. The majestic Atlantic White Cedar is actually a Cypress, not a Cedar. It is a medium-to-large (50-ft), coniferous, evergreen, wetland tree well known for the excellent quality of its light, strong wood. Its range is…
Found in moist woods, stream banks, limestone glades and rocky bluffs from Virginia south to East Texas, Fringe Tree is an outstanding ornamental shrub or small tree (twelve to twenty feet) well adapted to our climate in the Carolina piedmont. It thrives in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to…
In North Carolina, Yellowwood is found only in a few of our western-most counties bordering Tennessee, and is among the rarest of our native trees. It is thirty to fifty feet high and nearly that wide at maturity and is prized as an ornamental for its form, for its smooth, Beech-like…
Sweetshrub, or Carolina Allspice, is a deciduous woody shrub six to ten feet in height and equally wide famous for its heady aromas. In nature it is found on streamsides and in moist woodlands from Western NC into Tennessee and south into Alabama (Southern Appalachians and Piedmont), but being an old…
Sweetshrub, or Carolina Allspice, is a deciduous woody shrub six to ten feet in height and equally wide, famous for its heady aromas. In nature it is found on streamsides and in moist woodlands from Western NC into Tennessee and south into Alabama (Southern Appalachians and Piedmont), but being an old…
Ironwood is a small to medium-sized (twenty to thirty-five feet) deciduous, understory tree that grows in woods throughout Eastern North America. It has handsome, smooth-textured, rippling bark (“Musclewood”) and alternate, doubly-serrated, oval leaves with a corrugated texture. The timber of Ironwood is of greater-than-average hardness and durability as suggested by its…
Chalk Maple is a small, deciduous tree native in the Southeast from NC to Texas. In NC, it occurs in slightly acid to circum-neutral rocky soils, in full sun, part shade and full shade, on riverbanks and ravines in the Piedmont counties. Chalk Maple is desirable because it has all the…
Although not actually native to NC (it naturally occurs in mid-Alabama), Bottlebrush Buckeye is a favorite shrub in our area because of its show-stopping, 8-12-inch tall panicles of white, feathery flowers with prominent reddish anthers and pinkish filaments. These attract numerous butterflies and other pollinators in early summer and then are…
Aesculus pavia or Red Buckeye is a deciduous, clump-forming shrub or small tree (ten to fifteen feet) native to the Southeast from Virginia over to Texas and Oklahoma. In NC it is found in central Piedmont and southern Coastal counties. This shrub has much to offer in the mesic garden: its…
Aesculus sylvatica, or Painted Buckeye, is a shrub about 6 feet tall commonly observed along streams and on open forest slopes of the Piedmont counties of NC and other Southeastern states. Painted Buckeye’s appeal lies in the variety of subtle colors displayed by the tender leaves as they emerge in an…
Agarista, or Florida Leucothoe, is a tall (8-12′), evergreen, shade-loving shrub, well suited to our hot and humid southern summers. It is found in coastal environments, in a few counties from NC to Florida, but it performs well in upland Piedmont clay-based soils. We have seen it planted under large, deciduous…
Tag Alder is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub or small tree found on stream banks and in wet meadows in Eastern North America (Main to Florida; as far west as Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois). Leaves are alternate, elliptical, with serrated margins, deep green turning to yellow tinged with red in the fall.…
The Shadblow Serviceberry is a large shrub in the Rose family native to moist woods in the Eastern seabord of the U.S. and up into Canada. In NC it is found in counties of the lower Piedmont and Coastal plain. Serviceberry is beloved by native plant lovers for its many fine…
Red Chokeberry is a charming, multi-stemmed, deciduous woody shrub native to Atlantic and Southeastern states. It is found in swamps and wet places, and is therefore very useful for wet areas, but is happy in upland gardens as well and established plants even tolerate drought. This shrub is hard to beat…
The Pawpaw is a fun little tree (25-35 feet) to cultivate. In a favorable place, it will send out rhizomes and colonize. In spring there are lovely, dark red flowers emerging just as the leaves begin to unfurl. If there is another genetically distinct individual nearby, these flowers will give rise…
River Birch is a graceful, medium-sized (fifty to eightyt feet) deciduous tree with an irregular, open, spreading crown. It is the most heat tolerant of the birches and the only birch that grows in lower elevations in NC. Although it is often found in floodplains and river bottoms, and tolerates wet…
If you think the outrageous color of Beautyberries is as much fun as we do, do not hesitate to grow this loosely open shrub on your property. It is robust and trouble-free, spectacular to look at, and attracts all manner of butterflies and birds. At the same time, it is highly…