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Profusion Deep Apricot zinnias shine brightly under the tall purple flowers of the All Around Gomphrena.
January 18, 2007 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The Profusion zinnias will continue to be hot in 2007. I had the oddest feeling when I visited Sakata Seed in California last April. We were in the middle of our 2006 Mississippi Medallion program promoting the truly outstanding Profusion Fire and Profusion Apricot zinnias.

The Wave petunias will be popular again in 2007, including this Easy Wave Coral Reef. The color coral on this petunia is rich and saturated.
January 11, 2007 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Something magical happens after Jan. 1. There is a spirit of optimism among gardeners. We know winter is still here, but spring is coming. As weather permits, it is time to get the garden ready and make plans for this year's plantings.

There are many new plants to try in 2007. Many of them have names we have never heard and which cannot be found in any reference book.

Rainbow Knock Out is a compact landscape shrub rose that produces abundant single-form flowers throughout the growing season. The delicate, five-petaled flowers are a deep coral-pink color with a yellow center finishing nicely to light coral.
January 4, 2007 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Rainbow Knock Out is a name that may cause you to get exited about the 2007 All-American Rose Selections. William Radler, the same breeder who brought us our Mississippi Medallion award-winning Knock Out, bred Rainbow Knock Out.

The All-American Rose Selections committee introduced three winners for 2007: Rainbow Knock Out, Moondance and Strike It Rich.

Rainbow Knock Out

Walker's Low catmint has crinkled, aromatic, silver-green foliage and blooms almost continuously from May until frost if pruned back by two-thirds when initial flowers fade. In a wildlife garden, the catmint will be visited by a constant array of bees and butterflies.
December 28, 2006 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Those who have grown Six Hills Giant catmint will want to make room for Walker's Low catmint, the 2007 Perennial Plant of the Year. Introduced in 1988 in Europe, Walker's Low has become increasingly popular with each passing year.

I am impressed with the variety of plants chosen by the Perennial Plant Association. Some of my favorites have been Becky Shasta daisy, Firewitch dianthus, Butterfly Blue scabiosa and Sunny Border Blue veronica.

The deodar cedar is a large, stately conifer that makes a big impact in winter landscapes with its evergreen color. Lower branches bend gracefully downward and up again, and are covered in needle-like, silvery blue-green leaves about two inches long. Deodars grow into handsome specimen trees.
December 19, 2006 - Filed Under: Trees

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The deodar cedar is one of my favorite trees in larger landscapes. Oddly enough, its country of origin is seen daily in the headlines. Can you guess? It's from Afghanistan and the Himalayas.

To me it's from Lucedale. Some of our great woody ornamental producers grow this tree.  Most of you probably think of me as a tropical nerd or flower nut of some kind, but I'll readily admit that I may wake up a conifer freak some morning.

Mississippi's camellias deserve extra attention
December 14, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mississippi is legendary when it comes to camellias and should soon have some stops along the American Camellia Society's upcoming National Camellia Trail. This trail will begin in the Pacific Northwest, move down the Pacific coast before turning east toward the Gulf states, then proceed north along the eastern seaboard.

Yuletide camellia is an award-winning favorite bearing loads of red flowers coupled with bright yellow stamens. Unlike other holiday plants that typically last for only one season, Yuletide will bloom every year for the holidays and is a compact shrub offering an evergreen appearance in the winter landscape
December 7, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It's hard to pass up a shrub with a Christmas name, especially one with the festive colors, that blooms during the holiday season. Yuletide camellias can be found in many of the same places the more common Camellia sasanquas are located, such as near old homes and public buildings.

Neoregelias bromeliads will look great in a home for about four months. They are grown for their exotic foliage.
November 30, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Cut Flowers and Houseplants

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Poinsettias, cyclamen and kalanchoes rank as the most popular plants for decorating or gift-giving at this time of the year. This year, consider another plant that is readily available at most garden centers and florists: the bromeliad.

When I mention bromeliad, what is your first thought? Is it of a finicky, hard-to-grow tropical? Do you think it might be impossible to get it to rebloom? If those are your impressions, I want to help you reconsider.

A red poinsettia placed in a container with the white-flowered Diamond Frost gives the impression of the red poinsettia sitting on a bed of new-fallen snow.
November 21, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Cut Flowers and Houseplants

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This year's poinsettia crop is without a doubt the best I have ever seen, and as usual, our growers are on top of the curve in quality, variety and innovation.

In late summer, I told many of you via television and newspaper articles about the hot new Diamond Frost euphorbia. This is a tough-as-nails plant that produces hundreds of tiny flowers and is related to the poinsettia.

Long before the poinsettia became the holiday plant of choice, the cyclamen was on the throne. Cyclamen, such as these red and white varieties, prefer temperatures of 40 to 45 degrees, making them ideal fall and winter plantings in outdoor pots that once housed summer plants.
November 16, 2006 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

When you think about holiday decorating, think about your front door. I recently urged readers to consider holiday plantings near the front entrance to a home. Now I want to take everyone up the steps, on the porch and even to the door.

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.

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