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Chaste Tree, or Vitex Agnus Castus, welcomes June to our Lowcountry gardens with its violet-blue spikes of flowers that can continue into August. This striking small tree or large shrub originated in Southern Europe and Asia. NC State Extension warns that it's potentially invasive by reseeding.
- Light pruning and deadheading will encourage bloom time through September, although the second round of blooms can be sparse.
- 10’- 20’ tall and equally as wide, it looks best when pruned into a multi-trunked or single-trunked small tree or shrub.
- Blooms on new wood, so prune during the winter when dormant.
- Wants full sun and is drought tolerant once established, also salt and deer resistant.
- There are many varieties, including pink, white, and intense blue flowering, and dwarf varieties.
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Many thanks to Susan Epstein for curating June's Vine Online.
PRUNING - Chelsea Chop
For herbaceous plants that tend to grow tall and lanky and bloom in the Fall, consider giving them the "Chelsea Chop" so named as it is performed at the time of the famous Chelsea Flower Show. There are several ways to go about this in the Lowcountry.
Plants that bloom continuously in spring, summer, and fall, like Salvias spp., (think 'Rocking Purple' and 'Mystic Spires') should get a “Chelsea Chop” in early June.
- Thin out a third of the stems to open up and encourage growth throughout the plant and continuous blooming. Repeat as needed.
For tall, fall bloomers, reduce their height by a third to half in late June. These include Ironweed, Veronia fasciculate; Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium fistulosum; Red-neck Girl, Salvia madrensis; and Swamp Sunflower,Helianthus angustifolius.
- Stagger the heights of your cuts so plants grow more naturally.
- This will keep tall bloomers in check,
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NIX DIGGING & DIVIDING. Use cuttings instead.
By June it's too hot to divide plants here. Try using the stems of the herbaceous perennials you just cut back instead. What have you got to lose? Here's my process:
- Make sure your cuttings have 3 to 4 leaf nodes. The length of your cutting will depend on the spacing between nodes. This also determines the depth of the container needed.
- Remove all but the top leaves.
- Mix potting medium. I use a 50 -50 combination of Perlite and an all-purpose potting mix that has NOT been amended with fertilizer or weed suppressant.
- Moisten the mixture and fill a clean potting tray. I often use plastic lettuce trays or disposable aluminum half-sheet pans.
- Trays should have sufficient holes to ensure good drainage.
- Consider dipping your cuttings in a rooting hormone. This is not a requirement. I usually have good results either way.
- Make a hole in the mixture with a pencil or something similar. Insert your cutting so that two defoliated nodes are covered and one to two nodes are exposed.
- Be sure to label with plant name and date propagated.
- Place in a shady spot where you can check daily.
- Keep evenly moist, but not wet.
- In 2 to 3 months, you'll have new plants to plant or share with others.
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PLANT NOW - Tassel Fern
One of my favorite ferns is the Tassel Fern, Polystichum polyblepharum. An Asian native, polyblepharum means “many eyelashes.” Who can resist that?
- Tassel Ferns like shade to deep shade, rich soil, and moist, but not wet conditions, It is susceptible to crown rot if kept too wet.
- It grows 2 feet tall and wide.
- It makes a great ground cover or accent along a shaded woodland walk with its lovely deep, green leaves.
- It requires little care and, unlike Autumn Fern or Holly Fern, doesn’t require dividing over time.
- NC State Extension says it's deer and rabbit-resistant. A win-win!
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INTEGRATING VEGGIES (& FRUIT) - Brown Turkey Figs
Our Brown Turkey figs (Ficus carica) happily grow in the back of a sunny border.
- Their large leaves offer a coarse texture and provide interest in the border. Even when not fruiting, they are a striking addition to the garden.
- They require full sun to produce figs and can grow quite tall, 20’ or so. It is easy to keep them in check, however, by pruning any upright limbs and encouraging growth outward, instead of upward.
- In early to mid-July, you will be rewarded with LOTS of figs but you have to get to them before the birds do.
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For more info, Clemson Extension has you covered.
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PEST REDUCTION - Mosquitos
Unless you spray the entire area surrounding your home and neighborhood, you cannot control mosquitos, meaning spraying can be a waste of money. It also kills an untold number of beneficial insects.
Most companies use Pyrethroids, synthetic versions of Pyrethrin a naturally occurring toxic insecticide. Pyrethroids are deadly. They don't break down quickly and can linger on plants for days continuing to kill or harm more than just mosquitos.
Steps to Greener Mosquito Control
- Remove all sources of standing water so mosquito larvae can’t develop.
- Call Charleston County at (843-202-7880) to add your property to their do not spray list. (Check your county government website if you live elsewhere.)
- Use fans, or Thermocells around the dining table or pool.
- Spray yourself with mosquito insect repellents. (We love the all-natural Murphys Naturals Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Insect Repellent.)
- Create a mosquito larva trap (Yep this is a repeat.)
Read up on Pesticides' Impact on Pollinators:
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Greening Our Gardening Habits | |
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Living Mulch
The term “living" or "green" mulch has been coined to describe planting lower-growing species as a matrix between your feature plants to provide sufficient ground cover, so traditional pine straw or wood chips mulch is not needed. Covering the ground plane with plants offers many benefits, including:
- Increasing nutrient absorption, helping to feed the microbes which in turn feed our plants;
- Reducing runoff and erosion;
- Locking in moisture and absorbing more water;
- Insulating the ground in summer and winter, thereby reducing fluctuations in soil temperatures;
- Attracting pollinators and other beneficial insects; and,
- Increasing plant diversity which has been proven to help plants evolve and handle stress.
If you have open, mulched areas of your garden, start reading about ground cover options now, so that this Fall you can add to your garden.
For example, I love how they use layers of plants as living mulch at Rick Darke and Melinda Zoehrer’s 1.5-acre property in Pennsylvania, featured on Garden Design.
Native Ground Covers for Shade Gardens
Sharleen Johnson of Native Plants to the People (a proud HORT Business Partner) recommends the SC Native Plant Society's resource page. She
finds that the following perform well in Lowcountry gardens:
- Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) -- grows wild in many Lowcountry forests
- Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)
- Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) -- an excellent native alternative to Ajuga
- Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) -- relatively fast-spreading; cheerful yellow flowers in spring
- Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea)
- Instead of Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera) which prefers a cooler climate, she recommends Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata):
- She also recommends Leavenworth Sedge (Carex leavenworthii) -- a lovely evergreen, fine-textured, clumping ground cover:
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Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus), the cultivar 'Lynnhaven Carpet' pictured above can be found growing beautifully along a path in Lake City's Moore Farms Botanical Gardens. | | |
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Coneflowers - Echinacea purpurpea
What is there not to love about, more commonly known as Coneflower! There are at least nine species under the genus Echinacea, but for our purposes, let’s focus on E. purpurpea.
Coneflower is a native herbaceous perennial in the aster family (Asteraceae) with a fairly broad spread. It can be found along the Eastern seaboard and into central US, especially the prairies. That tidbit alone hints at the fact that Echinacea will tolerate poor soil conditions and drought once it is established.
It has purplish-pink flowers and blooms from June through October and even into November. The flower is actually the spiny, brown center disc with drooping purple/pink rays surrounding it.
It makes a terrific cut flower and is a wonderful pollinator plant. If you deadhead the blooms early on, you can get a succession of purple profusion into November. If flowers are left on the plant at the end of the season, they will attract birds, in particular goldfinches, in the colder months.
- Echinacea performs best in full to partial sun. Grows 3’ tall by 2’ wide.
- Looks best in drifts of 5-8 plants, repeating drifts if space allows.
- Good companion plants include any of the grasses such as sweetgrass, Muhlenbergia capillaris; fountain grass, Pennisetum spp; and panic grass, Panicum virgatum, specifically ‘Northwind’.
- The fibrous root system allows for easy division in the Fall or Winter.
- It is also easy to propagate by seed. Sprinkle seeds in the Fall and you should have plenty by next spring. Label area so you don’t remove thinking they are weeds.
There are many new cultivars, but the straight species is best for wildlife. If you do lean toward one of those new nativars, select one that has the flower intact and is not a double flower.
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Mt. Cuba Plant Trials offer relevant information on new "nativars” that are good pollinators and best overall performers, even though located in the mid-Atlantic region.
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Privet
Ligustrum japonicum, or Privet, is one of the Lowcountry's most versatile shrubs. Plants can be pruned into moderate or tall shrubs, hedges, and even small, multi, or single-trunked sculptural trees.
It takes sun and shade and is drought-tolerant once established. The medium textured leaves are glossy green and lovely white blooms arrive in May, heralding the Summer in many Lowcountry gardens.
There are two other species (described below) that are considered invasive. Having had both, I recommend removing them as soon as possible. I have had great luck with more suitable, sun-loving native alternatives.
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Ligustrum lucidum (pictured below) is a large-leaved Ligustrum that can grow up to 30’ or so. It has lovely white blooms in clusters in late spring followed by black berries that ripen in January and February. Those berries are a favorite for birds but are not what they need. They are mostly carbohydrates and birds need protein at that time of the year. It is akin to feeding your child candy for three meals a day. Plus the berries often ferment, causing the bird to get tipsy and possibly fly into windows or doors. Any berries not consumed, fall to the ground and germinate creating hundreds of seedlings. If these plants are allowed to grow and mature, they will need to be professionally removed.
- The smaller-leaved species, Ligustrum sinensis, or Chinese Privet, is also invasive. The leaves have a finer texture than Ligustrum lucidum, they bloom in May, with seeds maturing by December. Just like its cousin, one can find hundreds of seedlings underneath and nearby.
Hybridizers have developed a sterile variety called “Florida Sunshine.” It is a nice addition to the garden with its bright chartreuse foliage and fine texture but seems to become weakened after a few years so removal is necessary, so why bother?
A nice native alternative is Illicium parviflorum, also called Florida Sunshine’ or Anise ‘Florida Sunshine’. The leaves are a bright chartreuse with a medium to coarse texture. It is easy to keep at 3-4’ in height and almost as wide. It prefers dappled sunlight with mostly shade in the afternoon.
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Hello Fellow HORT Members.
The HORT’s 2024 Lecture Series concluded with a great session led by Leslie Harris on Thoughtful Gardening. ICYMI, she shared ways we can be kinder and gentler gardeners, giving thoughtful consideration to our impact on wildlife, the environment, and even our bodies.
There were takeaways for everyone from the novice to the most sophisticated gardener. That's the aim of the HORT's longstanding lecture series which returns September 9th and will continue monthly on the second Monday through the Spring. We'll announce the programs later this summer.
Meanwhile, I’ll be traveling, visiting gardens near and afar, and gardening smart this summer, working as much as possible in the early morning while it is still cool outside. It’s a great way to start the day.
Here's to growing greener together!
Susan McLeod Epstein
Editor's Note: A long-time HORT member, Susan co-leads the HORT's Docent Course with Beverly Rivers. The Epstein's glorious West Ashley garden was featured in the April 2023 issue of Charleston Magazine.
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Susan Epstein and her husband David on a recent trip to Ireland. | |
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The Vine Online: Brings members Lowcountry-specific, horticultural advice, much as the HORT did in the early days of The Vine, last published in 2022. This gardening e-guide is sent exclusively HORT members. Thanks for being a member.
This is our second issue of The Vine Online. We want to hear from you. What's helpful? What's missing? Please e-mail Susan Epstein or Madeleine McGee.
Our Mission: To provide quality educational programming that:
- supports efforts, both big and small, to create beautiful, sustainable green spaces;
- fosters community partnerships; and
- preserves the Lowcountry's horticultural legacy.
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