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Southern Gardening

Colorful hickories stand out in this rural setting visible recently in central Mississippi between Louisville and Kosciusko.
November 16, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Just a couple of months ago, many of us worried the drought was going to drop most of the leaves before fall colors had a chance. Today, we are awestruck by the awesome colors on display.

It has been and is a banner year all over the state. In late October, I was with my son at a golf tournament in Tupelo, and it felt like we were in North Carolina.

Cool-season flowers bring an abundance of color to fall gardens. Here Enchantment Linaria's very fragrant blooms of intense magenta and gold blend with Citrona Yellow erysimum and Matrix Blue pansies in the foreground.
November 9, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With the holidays practically upon us, time is running short to plant cool season flowers that will welcome friends and family. Serious frost across much of the state took the beauty from some favorite perennials. In many cases, these plantings are right near the front door, porch or main entryway.

Many flowers make great companion plantings with pansies. Here, Citrona Yellow erysimum and Dynasty Red dianthus combine beautifully with Baby Face Yellow Sorbet viola, which is like a miniature pansy.
November 2, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My repeated encouragement to take advantage of pansy planting time in the South may have motivated you to purchase these beautiful cool-season plants, but also left you wondering what to plant with them. Pan American Seed, one of the industry leaders, has come up with a novel approach to this question called Pansy Pals.

The Ocean Breeze pansy mix is made up of various shades of blue, lavender and white. Like the Coastal Sunrise mix, these pansies are in the popular new Matrix series.
October 26, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

During a recent greenhouse visit, I could pick out my favorite mix of pansies while I was still 30 or 40 yards away. It's been several years since a mix of any certain crop stirred such frenzy in me, but that is precisely what happens every time I look at Coastal Sunrise.

The Coastal Sunrise mix is in the Matrix series. The Matrix series only hit the market last year, and already they have skyrocketed in popularity for several good reasons.

Red Giant mustard, a 2004 Mississippi Medallion award winner, stands elegantly over this Nagoya Red kale, a variety that performed exceedingly well in trials at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona. Although short, it was among the most beautiful.
October 19, 2006 - Filed Under: Greens, Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The shopping frenzy for winter plantings has begun, and as you shop for pansies and snapdragons, keep in mind flowering kale, cabbage and mustard.

With their foliage in brilliant shades of lavender, purple, pink, red and white, remember that kales, cabbages and mustards add pizzazz to the fall and winter garden like no other plants can do. This isn't a temporary show either. These tough plants give a “wow-effect” to gardens from October though April.

The Ultima Morpho is a Mississippi Medallion Award winner and a great pansy choice for this fall. The upper petals are medium blue with bright lemon-yellow lower petals, and rays or whiskers that radiate from the center. Ultima Morpho is compact, mounding 6 to 8 inches high and wide, yet is colorful and blooms freely all season.
October 12, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The cooler weather of October means one thing -- it's pansy planting time in the South. I was on the coast the other day and one of the restaurants already had quite a display. There are so many great new selections that you may have a hard time making a decision. That's where I come in, and I want to suggest this fall's Mississippi Medallion Award-winning Ultima Morpho.

9 a.m. -- Rum Runner hibiscus starts out the morning with varying shades of magenta on the outside. As colors progress inward, they become lavenders, a starburst-like splash of iridescent blue and then a dark burgundy eye in the center.
October 5, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

One of the plants I enjoyed the most on my deck this growing season has been a tropical hibiscus named Rum Runner. It's a large, 8-inch bloomer that has been very popular in Florida, and an Internet search indicates many other gardeners want it, too.

Gardeners will come to love 'Black and Blue'
September 28, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The term “black and blue” usually refers to the results of someone getting in a fight and not coming out the winner. You might look black and blue after clearing some native jungle for your landscape.

But if you try the plant known as Black and Blue, you will come out the winner, as will the countless hummingbirds that will compete for its nectar.

Bouquet Rose Magic dianthus blooms open white and mature to light pink, then a deep rose color. One flower stalk may contain all of these colors at once. The stalks reach 18 to 24 inches in height and produce an abundance of bouquets, ready for cutting.
September 21, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It took some time, but two of my favorite cool-season plants just got siblings: Frosty Rain pansy and Bouquet Rose Magic dianthus.

For years, everyone has adored Purple Rain pansy, the only mounding, cascading selection. Popular demand usually makes it hard for procrastinators to find them, yet for years this has been a series of one.

The goldenrain tree fits nicely in urban landscapes. They are small, reaching 20 to 40 feet in height, and they erupt into long 12- to 15-inch sprays of yellow blossoms. They are drought tolerant once established in the landscape with little-to-no insect or disease threats.
September 14, 2006 - Filed Under: Trees

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Every day as I drive back and forth to the office, I get jealous of a neighbor who has an incredibly beautiful goldenrain tree blooming.

This is such an exotic-looking tree that it also has names like Bougainvillea goldenrain tree and Chinese flame tree. The latter is a very descriptive name because these trees erupt into long 12- to 15-inch sprays of yellow blossoms.

The tall candlestick plant on the left with the bright yellow blossoms combines with cannas, bananas and salvias for a fall Caribbean style garden.
September 7, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you have noticed beautiful yellow candelabra-type blossoms around your neighborhood, a candlestick plant probably is blooming close to your house.

It is considered a shrub in the tropics, yet growing wild there they are dwarf compared to how they look in our landscapes. Their low height in the tropics is probably due to shallow topsoil in their native islands.

Diamond Frost captures honors across the country
August 31, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Diamond Frost is a little white flower that is sweeping awards all across the country. It's hard to believe that a plant related to the poinsettia with tiny airy flowers has caused such a commotion.

You might think I am exaggerating about the awards, so I have listed a few of the more notable designations for you:

This Red Abyssinian banana is one of the prettiest banana plants in the marketplace. Tidal Wave Pink petunias cascaded over the rim to the point they are touching the deck floor.
August 24, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I feel like I should begin this week's column by shouting out “uncle” to this tortuous heat. Despite the oppressive temperatures, I still have gotten a lot of enjoyment from growing plants in containers on my deck this year. Two of the prettiest are bananas.

My faithful readers know that I am a banana plant lover. I enjoy landscapes where bananas' coarse, textured foliage really makes for a tropical look.

This hibiscus variety, Flare, is a wonderful cultivar that does great in any soil type. A hardy hibiscus variety, Flare has apple green foliage and large, high quality, fuchsia red flowers up to 10 inches wide. It stands 4 feet tall and is a profuse bloomer.
August 17, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A multitude of new plants have hit the market in recent years including one of my favorites, hibiscus. Those of you who love tropical hibiscus will find it hard to beat the Cajun series with their incredible blends of colors.

Zesty series of zinnias produce huge dahlia-shaped blossoms on a great landscape plant. They come in a multitude of colors, such as these reds and yellows, and have been very good performers in our Mississippi State University trials at Crystal Springs.
August 10, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Most of us are fed up with the heat. Thank goodness I have paid better attention to watering and fertilizing this year, and it has paid dividends. My flowers for the most part are still looking doggone good, including the petunias.

If your garden, on the other hand, has that barely alive look, then you may want to start thinking about a late-summer planting of marigolds or zinnias.

This ginger, known as Emperor, will royally impress viewers with its creamy yellow variegation on the margins of dark green leaves. The blooms, or bracts, look like porcelain. The petals gradually drop on the older portion of the bloom until yellow cups remain.
August 3, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The new ginger known as Emperor has caused quite a commotion at my house. Everyone loves it.

First, let me admit I have never been a huge fan of variegated plants. There are some cannas, hostas and tropical crotons that have captured my heart, but this ginger took me by surprise.

Emperor is a variegated form of the hidden ginger and is known botanically as Curcuma petiolata. It has dark green leaves with creamy yellow variegation on the margins.

The Rustic Orange coleus produces a striking contrast when planted with the perennial Purple Heart, a vining plant sometimes called Setcresea.
July 27, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Foliage can be as effective as flowers, or more effective in some cases, in providing colorful beauty the entire season. Flowers cycle though the season, but when beautiful foliage is in the mix, the garden will always look exceptional.

This display of Lime Zinger elephant ears is perfect underneath red Tonto crape myrtles and above a bed of Joseph's Coats.
July 20, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This plant is a real zinger -- Lime Zinger to be exact. All of you who passed it up at this year's garden and patio shows would kick yourselves if you could see those owned by Barbara Harvey in Kosciusko. The Southern Gardening TV crew filmed her wonderful landscape as part of our 10th anniversary celebration.

Glory lily, the national flower of Zimbabwe, is very much at home in Mississippi gardens. These tropical treasures grow on vigorous vines that are perfect for a trellis or small arbor.
July 13, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The glory lily is one of the most exotic flowering vines we can grow in the Southern garden. Its first blooms will take your breath away by their color and intricate structure.

Most people will recognize them immediately as tropical in origin. They are from tropical Africa and Asia and are the national flower of Zimbabwe. I like the glory lily's botanical name, Gloriosa superba, because we can paraphrase by calling it gloriously superb.

Suncatcher sapphire - Suncatcher Sapphire petunia flowers pour out of this odd pot, making an eye-catching garden centerpiece. Defiance, a lime green and burgundy coleus, frames the pot on either side.
July 6, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Oddly enough, a pot has given me a lot of gardening fun this season, and I highly recommend it for everyone.

The pot is rather unique. My wife, Jan, saw it at a garden and patio show and had to have it. It looked like work to me -- getting it to the car, getting it home, placing it, etc. Plus, I didn't have the vision at first. Jan probably would say I never did.

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