Native Wild Heuchera on a Cliff

Heuchera, commonly called coral bells, is a group of North American-native plants, with several species native to Maryland.

In fact, if you go to the C&O Canal National Historical Park in Maryland to see the Great Falls of the Potomac, you can easily spot some Heuchera pubescens (I think) or downy alumroot, growing in the cracks of the cliff as you cross the bridge from the mainland to the island. Talk about “good drainage!”

There are several very active plant breeders working with heuchera, crossing the many species to create new hybrids. The hybrids feature colorful foliage, and sometimes also have nice flowers, depending on what was used in the breeding. If Grandma Heuchera had nice flowers, the offspring might, too. In fact, I’m old enough to remember when all the heuchera we sold had green leaves and attractive pink, red or white flowers. These have fallen out of favor with growers to some extent, but we try to have some of them available from time to time.

Fern Athyrium Ghost, with Caramel, Larry Hurleys Garden

Personally, I find that even those without showy flowers make an airy display when in flower, in a wispy sort of way. Often times, though, folks just pluck the flowers off as a distraction to the foliage, sort of like turning one eyebrow into two.

In the last couple of years, a lot of attention has been given toward developing heuchera hybrids that actually survive in the South. There is a heat-tolerant woodland species called Heuchera villosa (one of those found in Maryland) that imparts additional vigor to the hybrid mix.

Heuchera Georgia Peach

These hybrids have larger leaves, and are not as shiny as the others. ‘Caramel’, ‘Mocha’ and ‘Georgia Peach’ are some examples. Siting is important with heuchera. They are good in containers, as long as the container is sheltered in the winter, say up against the building out of strong winds. In-ground, they need decent drainage, especially in the winter. Better on a slope than in a low spot. Sun for a few hours in the morning is ideal.

Life expectancy: if sited well, perennials come back year after year, but there is a limit, and some perennials have a longer attractive life span than others. They are perennial, not immortal. Peonies frequently outlive their owners, and may be the only thing remaining as a reminder of where a farm house once stood. A heuchera only outlives its owner if the owner has had a serious spot of bad luck. More than three years for a heuchera is pretty good.

Midnight Rose and Caramel

I have some ‘Prince of Silver’ still looking nice in their sixth year; ‘Caramel’ and ‘Silver Scrolls’ doing well in year four; and ‘Mocha’ and ‘Georgia Peach’ doing great in year three. In fact, the ‘Mocha’ are spectacular, if I do say so myself. And let me tell you, I tend to garden in the manner that I believe to be the way many of you do. I dig the smallest hole possible and cram the plant into it. I feel that this helps in my recommendations for plants that are easy to grow. Plus, I am essentially lazy and I get a discount.

Terri, with Midnight Rose

This approach does not work well with heuchera. Not well at all. My heuchs that have survived and thrived are in:

• A large raised planter in the carport, in potting soil, and
• An actual prepared flower bed under a big oak tree that I have added compost and pine bark mulch to over the years to improve the soil

Deer resistance: heuchera often shows up on deer-resistant lists. I would say it’s not a preferred food source like pansies or hostas, but they definitely will hit them. At Sandy’s Plants display gardens near Richmond (Sandy’s is a wholesale grower which supplies many of our perennials) the deer eat just the heuchera flowers. In my garden, they will hit the foliage. I don’t have a lot of deer pressure, and I find that in my situation, repellants work. I like “Deer Solution,” because it smells like cinnamon instead of a junior high school gym locker. Makes you less unpopular with the neighbors.

Heuchera in Windowboxes, Brugge, Belgium

If you have tried heuchera in the past, and failed, give them another try. Start with containers (they are great color accents), and see what happens!

Natalie Brewer

Hello, fellow gardeners. My name is Natalie Brewer and I am a Master Gardener. I have been a customer of Behnke Nurseries for the past ten years. Like many of you, I am an avid gardener and have tried many different plants and gardening styles throughout the years. In my experiences, I have come to realize that there are some tricks that make gardening easier, less time-consuming, and also beautiful. One of these tricks is to use native plants.

Many native plants are easy to grow and perform well in the home landscape. You will still need to consider the light and moisture requirements of individual plants, but once they are established, most native plants do not need additional care in the form of fertilizers and pest control. So they can save you time and money. Behnke Nurseries carries a wide selection of native plants that are part of their BaySafe collection. In order to make it easier for you to choose plants from the BaySafe collection, I will be writing about the special attributes and cultural requirements of these native plants.

There are some contradictory definitions of what a native plant is. However, I like to use the definition that a native plant is a plant that naturally grew in an area prior to human intervention. Native plants are carefree, attractive and important to our ecology. Plants and wildlife evolved and thrived together for millions of years.

Native plants provide wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, with what they need at exactly when they need it. Unfortunately, most home landscapes contain very few native plants, so our wildlife does not have enough of what they need in order to survive. If you ever take a look at a list of all the endangered and threatened species in our area, then you will find a very long list of animals, birds, and insects that will probably disappear within most of our lifetimes. But we have the power to change that, simply by planting more native plants in our home gardens!

In addition to helping wildlife, native plants add value and beauty to your landscape. Some of the most attractive and unique plants are indigenous to our area. Trees, shrubs, perennials and vines are all available as native plants. Some native plants have been cultivated in the nursery industry and have been bred to be a different size or have a different flower color. Although cultivated native plants may not be as beneficial to wildlife as the original species of native plants, they still have a positive impact on our environment and ought to be considered when adding plants for your garden.

I hope that you will find these articles helpful when choosing which plants to buy at Behnke Nurseries. Perhaps they will inspire you to try new plants that you would not have otherwise ventured to try before.

Natalie Brewer
Master Gardener

An Explorer’s Journal of Native Plants in the Landscape
Great Falls National Park – Part 2 – May 1, 2010
Great Falls National Park – Part 1 – April 15, 2010

I explored the MD side of Great Falls this time (okay, so technically the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park), and hiked the 1.7-mile first section of the Billy Goat Trail.

Billy Goat Trail

The trail’s description wasn’t kidding when it mentioned there would be a lot of scrambling over rocks – sometimes I had to put the camera away and hold on with both hands. I was surprised at the different plants I found here versus the VA side along much of the same stretch of river. Maybe it is simply due to the different sun exposures each side gets.

Chionanthus virginicus

Fringetrees (Chionanthus virginicus) were in bloom everywhere, growing mostly in rock crevices and easy to spot with their fragrant white flower clusters.

Eubotrys racemosa

Similarly abundant was Coastal Fetterbush (Eubotrys racemosa), whose flowers looked a lot like Leucothoe to me…upon researching this, I find that it is indeed a re-naming of Swamp Dog-hobble, Leucothoe racemosa. Despite having “swamp” in its common name, this was mainly growing in rock crevices out in the open – but then again, I realize, most plants growing near the river have little else to choose from, and maybe less competition than in their other haunts.

There were two Viburnums that were easy to identify, Hobblebush (V. lantanoides) and Mapleleaf (V. acerifolium); the Hobblebush, which looks a lot like the non-native Doublefile Viburnum, happened to be at the woods’ edge right in front of my parking spot; the Mapleleaf was growing – you guessed it – in a rock crevice, though in the woods this time. I found another surprise in a rock crevice in the woods: Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), which is the parent species for varieties such as ‘Annabelle.’

I have read that some wild forms do have the sterile flowers like ‘Annabelle,’ though most are petal-less and fertile-flowered; these plants were still budded, but I’m curious as to which they would be. The hydrangeas and Mapleleaf Viburnum were found along Berma Road, a bicycling path above the towpath and further from the river.

Amelanchier

There were a couple of shrubs that I could only partially identify: some type of Serviceberry (Amelanchier) was starting to bear fruit, still a rosy-red; some type of deciduous holly, though probably not winterberry, was flowering on some low sandy banks of the river. Also in sandy or rocky places, but higher above the river, was some type of St. Johnswort (Hypericum).

In one spot where the trail was low enough to forge a stream, a few Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) were budded about 7’ high or so. In another spot, where I didn’t even see a colony, a few seedlings were germinating in a bed of moss under Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum). A blueberry cousin, its flowers are shaped more like bells than barrels, and it gets its name from the apparent fact that while deer eat the fruits, people find them unpalatable.

Salvia lyrata

The flowers were prolific and certainly showy, so I wonder why they aren’t cultivated…maybe because they probably don’t handle heavy clay soils well. Well, okay, neither do many of the other plants we grow, come to think of it. Two other perennials were found in the sandy, moist soil by the shaded stream: a clump of Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) and what I think I have identified as Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata). All of the other individuals of this sage were in seemingly drier soils with a bit more sun.

In a place I would have least expected it, a water lily-like native named Yellow Spatterdock (Nuphar advena) was ready to flower nestled in a rock pool of rainwater. Another small pool held a colony of duckweed and a green frog. A couple of those wet areas harbored a few of the Leucothoe and even buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis).

As for more perennials, I ran across a couple Prickly-pears (Opuntia humifusa) and Purple Woodsorrel (Oxalis violacea) with neat purple-banded leaves. Tucked away under a rocky overhang was the occasional Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum).

Tradescantia virginiana

Colonies of Spiderwort (Tradescantia) were blooming in amongst rocks in the sun. On sunny slopes next to the towpath I saw Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea), which is a host plant for the Black Swallowtail.

Antennaria plantaginifolia

In the shade amongst fallen pine needles were a few colonies of Plantain-leaved Pusseytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia); it’s one of the host plants for the Painted Lady butterfly.

Hierachium venosum

Scattered here and there along the trail was Rattlesnake Weed (Hierachium venosum); I wondered how it got that name…according to the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Eastern Wildflowers, apparently it occurs most commonly in areas where rattlesnakes are found. Well, that’s comforting…but the leaves do have an interesting reddish pattern of veins.

I did see a few plants here that were more common on the other side of the river: Bluets, Wild Ginger, Heuchera, Woodland Phlox, Eastern Ninebark and what I think is Carolina Moonseed (Menispermum canadense), a vine with unusual leaves and which is toxic if eaten.

I saw a few “critters” in my travels as well. A few Gray Treefrogs were calling high in the trees…fortunately for me, “high” in some of the trees was not too much over my head, since they were growing amongst the rocks. Broad-headed Skinks and Eastern Fence Lizards were running about, chasing insects and each other around on the rocks near the woods. Another pool of rainwater high up in the rocks held a hundred or so tadpoles…I wonder suppose they’ll mature before the pool dries up? Life on the edge, indeed.

Ostrich Fern and Mayapple - Hurley Garden

by Larry Hurley
Greetings, spore fans. It is said that Ireland has a thousand shades of green. That has nothing to do with ferns, and having been to Ireland I have to say that it’s green all right, but the subtle nuances escaped me. I digress and it’s only the first paragraph. So: garden ferns: like Ireland, mostly green. Pretty subtle, with some notable exceptions. Below are the ones that I have found to be the most reliable.

The ferns that we routinely carry are for the most part shade plants, little forest-floor guys. Probably the most sun-tolerant is the Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis), called that because at the first appearance of frost in autumn, it dies to the ground. It’s native and a colonizer—when happy it spreads aggressively; you’ll find it in the sun along the side of the road in ditches, along stream banks and so on. We have it from time to time, this not being one of them.

Autumn Fern - Hurley Garden

I think the most shade-tolerant fern in my experience is the Autumn Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora. So called because the new leaves are sort of copper colored, like autumn leaves. They are evergreen, and at my place perform happily in miserable conditions between a wall, a shed, and the shade cast by a nearby American Holly tree. They are about 24 inches tall, and have been thriving in that dead zone for about 4 years now.

Got moist spots? Three of the natives do well in wet soils with protection from afternoon sun: Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) and Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia something). They are happy in a rain garden or near a downspout or in that low corner of the yard, but also do okay in regular garden soil. The Ostrich is the most sensitive to drying out, and I find that by August they are looking pretty bad.

Royal Fern and Hosta - Hurley Garden

Cinnamon Fern is upright/arching, and the spores (fern “seeds”, dust-like and copper colored) are born on special fronds that look sort of like sticks of cinnamon. Ornamental, for a fern. The Royal fern has leaves that look more like an ash or locust tree; not very fern-like. The spores are borne at the top of the frond like a little crown. (Awww……) The Ostrich Fern has large ostrich-feather shaped fronds, and it has underground stems that allow it to colonize; aggressively in loose moist soil.

Another native colonizer, but about 18 inches tall instead of 3 feet like the Ostrich, is the light green Hayscented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). Hey, I’m doing these Latin names from memory: that one is easy to mess up so Pardon My Latin. It also spreads rapidly underground in loose soil, and in a formal garden, could be a nuisance. The crushed foliage smells like fresh hay.

If you have a drier location, the Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) works well. Easy to spot in the winter on hillsides in the forests around here because it is evergreen, it is called Christmas Fern either because it is: a) green at Christmas, or b) because the individual fronds look vaguely like a Christmas stocking if someone points it out to you. I have had them growing for 25 years around the base of an enormous oak tree. They look a lot like the classic Boston Fern houseplant, a low arching clump, but dark green instead of light green. A non-native relative, the Tassel Fern, also does well here; more delicate with deep green leaves and copper colored ”hairs” on the stems for additional interest.

Japanese Painted Fern - Hurley Garden

For colorful foliage it’s hard to beat Japanese Painted Fern and its various hybrids and cultivars. Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’ and Athyrium ‘Ghost’,  two that we regularly carry. When the foliage emerges in the spring it is silver, often with burgundy highlights.

‘Ghost’ is light silver without the burgundy. Differences in the selections have to do with the intensity of the silvers and burgundies, and how long into the summer heat the colors hold. I have some that I planted 25 years ago that are wimpy little clumps; the newer selections can be breathtaking and are much stronger growers. Average garden soil for these.

The Japanese Painted is related to a native species, Athyrium filix-femina, or Lady Fern which is a good reliable upright fern for average soil. There is a hybrid called ‘Lady in Red’ which has red stems, same look, a little more colorful. Pretty subtle. Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum. I love ‘em. They are so delicate with their wiry stems and crape-paper thin foliage. Can’t grow them. I don’t think I provide the right conditions—they need cool, moist, good soil. And I find that slugs just adore them; I always find them covered with slug slime. So I have pretty much given up on them, but I bet you will do better.

And on and on.

As with any plant, meeting the conditions they grow in in the wild will improve your chances of success at home. If you want great Ostrich Ferns, plant them in a moist spot; if you don’t water very often (after the plant is established) then Christmas Fern is best. If you think slugs and snails are misunderstood and deserve a place in the garden, then by all means plant Maidenhair Fern. Ferns are generally considered to be deer resistant. I have had some trouble with rabbits in the last couple of years on both Japanese Painted Fern and Christmas Fern.

Ghost Fern and Maidenhair Fern - Private Garden in Saint Lewis

We carry a good selection of ferns through spring and into summer. The selection is a little different at the two Behnke garden centers, as we get shipments from different places at different times. The Potomac store at this writing is particularly packed with ferns and other shade plants. Right now (May 3, 2010), Potomac has more Ostrich and Maidenhair fern than Beltsville, for example.

If you are looking for a specific fern and want to know if we have it in stock, you can email me, Larry Hurley, at Lhurley@behnkes.net

An Explorer’s Journal of Native Plants in the Landscape
Great Falls National Park – Part 1 – April 15, 2010
Great Falls National Park – Part 2 – May 1,2010

It’s so exhilarating to see native plants in the wild! So many natives are featured in articles and books, but to see them in situ is to truly appreciate them as living, breathing members of the ecosystem. Today’s weather was perfect for exploring the wilderness, so I headed to one of my favorites, Great Falls National Park.

Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis

The Virginia side has a trail along the rocks called the River Trail, and here I have had many unexpected discoveries and delights. Observing where plants are growing in the wild gives you a great sense of what conditions they prefer to grow in, and after a while, you can also predict where you might find more.

This was my first visit to the park since the flood from the snowmelt and rain of this past winter, and you can clearly see how high the water rose…there are clumps of debris still sitting like misshapen bird nests in the shrub branches growing along the top of the rise along the river. Water must have rushed by along the whole gorge, totally covering the places I found so many natives…and they all seem fine! Amazing.

Bird's Foot Violet Viola pedata

Nestled in the crevices between rocks were Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Coral Bells (Heuchera americana), Catchfly (Silene), Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata), Bird’s-Foot Violet (Viola pedata), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Pinxsterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpos opulifolius) and oodles upon oodles of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). I don’t think I’ve ever seen more blueberries, and let me tell you, they wedge themselves into the tightest of rock crevices.

My favorite discovery had to be the Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) dotting the gritty soils along the path itself, sometimes growing amidst a patch of moss. Upon seeing my first one, I had a moment of “They do exist!” and then, “Wow, they’re tiny!” The clump of leaves could fit on a half-dollar coin. It’s easy to see how all of these were plants truly must appreciate sharp drainage and tolerate the exposure to sun and wind of cliff-side living…especially when you have to scramble down a few rocks just to take their picture.

Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica

In the wooded area further back from the river, Woodland Phlox (Phlox subulata and divaricata) were blooming in a mix of hues from lavender-blue to blue-violet to near-white. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were finishing flowering, but their luscious leaves were easy to spot. The same was true for the Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), a relative of Bleeding-heart with fine lacy foliage. I may have even found a couple Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), but I’ll have to do some homework in plant identification to be sure as they weren’t in flower.

Pawpaw Asimina triloba

I also saw a lone Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense). Various ferns were still unfurling – Christmas (Polystichum acrostichoides), Lady (Athyrium felix-femina) and even a couple Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum).

I saw the occasional Trillium (Trillium sp.) (another gasp at that) and Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), though other ephemerals like Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) were everywhere.

Even Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) was plentiful in the woods, with seemingly every tree loaded with those characteristic dark maroon flowers. I spotted a few Zebra Swallowtails flying around laying eggs, as Pawpaw is their sole caterpillar food source.

I’m looking forward to what I’ll find next time!