Shop for autumn tree bargains, but select the right species

With the advent of September, TGM recommends visits to garden centers to search for tree bargains.  Many maybe marked down as much as 50% simply because owners to not want to carry the stock over the winter.

Resist the temptation to buy most maples.  They are over-planted, some invasive, they create too much shade for the average home sight, and they grow to large.  Select these maples: Japanese or paperbark

Because of disease issues, avoid ash trees, any birch except for river birch (Betula nigra 'Heritage",

For a flowering, low management tree, 'Autumn Brilliance' serviceberry is hard to top.  Avoid callery pears as the are overplanted and may go to 35'.  Most sites require trees that max out at about 25'.

Choose your site carefully and plant for the tree's mature size.  Do not plant a tree too close to the house.  Check the tree's maximum width, divide by 2 and then add 8'.  For example, a tree that maxes out at 30' wide ought to be planted 15' plus 8' from the house.  Use large shrubs to fill up the gap between house and trees, especially viburnums and hydrangeas.

Plant for sunlight, too.  Most trees require plenty of sunlight.  Your soil ought to be slightly acid.

Work in odd numbers based on 3.  A charming combination is Goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria  paniculata, Japanese maple 'Fireglow,' and star magnolias.  Accent with a Korean pine if you can find one, and give it room near the periphery of the site.

Goldenrain tree

Courtesy missouri.extension.edu

End-of-Summer sale at Smokey's Daylily Gardens. Stock up!

One of gardening's great pleasures is to plant daylilies, a grateful plant if there ever was one.  With minimal attention, daylilies provide all-season color and delight if you select reblooming varieties.  Use the Advanced Search to find them.

www.smokeysdaylilygardens.com

Plant now for Spring: Narcissus 'Bath's Flame'

Narcissus 'Bath's Flame'

TGM recommends this favorite daffodil for Spring.  Note how this narcissus resembles alighting doves.  A "must-have."  Plant in a one-variety drift.

"A longtime favorite of the cut-flower trade, this soft yellow Small-cup produces relatively large flowers with orange-rimmed, lightly frilled cups. Early to mid-season" Availble from www.whiteflowerfarm.com .

New 'Centennial Blush' star magnolia for Spring color

TGM recommends this new introduction from First Editions:  'Centennial Blush," a new cultivar of Magnolia stellata, star magnolia.  If you have the space, tuck three of these around the periphery of your site in an asymmetrical triangle.  This small tree will max out about 12' to 18', so always select a location for the mature size.  And, just look at the pink coloration and form.

http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/plant/magnolia-centennial-blush/

Photo courtesy www.bhg.com

Hydrangea 'Gatsby Gal' has compact form with huge blooms

TGM loves oakleaf hydrangea, and here's a new cultivar from Proven Winners:  'Gatsby Gal.'

Note the compact form in comparison to the enormous, upright blooms.  Highly recommended.  Looks great massed.

www.provenwinners.com

Exciting new bulb selections from John Scheepers

Hard to believe August 2014 is almost over, and bulb-planting season will be upon us.  Check out the wonderful new fall bulb selections from a TGM favorite purveyor:

http://www.johnscheepers.com/

This selection is Narcissus 'Peridot.'

Iris 'Immortality' to harmonize colors

Reblooming Iris 'Immortality'

"If you've never grown a Reblooming Iris or have had mixed results with other varieties, we suggest you try 'Immortality', for it rarely disappoints. After mounting a good show in June, this sweetly fragrant beauty produces a second crop of pristine white flowers in late summer almost every year and in almost every climate (it even reblooms in Zone 4). It's also a great garden plant. Hard to beat." Available from  www.whiteflowerfarm.com The Green Man uses this iris to separate drifts of different iris.  For example, create a drift of 'Immortality' between purple and yellow irises. Makes the colors pop. Use 'Immortality' in a 6:10 ratio to maintain the Golden Mean and to create natural harmony among your plants.  In other words 6 'Immortality' and 10 of another variety. August is time to order your irises for fall planting. This post is for TGM's cat "Pooky," who died August 12th after 15 wonderful years.  She was a Catskill Mountain tortoiseshell and the most beautiful and charming cat I've ever known. Reblooming Iris 'Immortality'