Class of 2016 -- Hydrangea arborescens, smooth hydrangea

Hydrangea arborescens, smooth hydrangea, photo by Hedwig Storch via Wikimedia

Why I'm growing Hydrangea arborescens in my garden...

1) It is native to Tennessee and throughout a large swath of the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.

2) Sources at several botanic gardens say that H. arborescens flowers attract myriad pollinators including bees, wasps, hoverflies and skipper butterflies.

3) Since it blooms on new wood, I believe that smooth hydrangea should flower well even after the harshest Tennessee winters.

4) As with Cornus amomum, I've heard that smooth hydrangea is easy to propagate through a live-staking method (i.e., trimming branches in the spring, sticking them in the ground and giving them a bit of supplemental water if necessary as they get established).

5) Smooth hydrangea is supposed to be more drought tolerant than exotic mophead hydrangeas (H. macrophylla). It may even have a bit more drought tolerance than the oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), which I have found quite drought tolerant in partial shade.

6) H. arborescens may spread by suckers. I've planted it on a hillside where I think I would welcome that tendency to naturalize and protect the soil from erosion. However, I've heard those suckers are not especially difficult to control if I do want to keep it from spreading too far.

Do you grow smooth hydrangea? If so, what has been your experience with this plant?

Class of 2016 -- Cornus amomum, silky dogwood

Cornus amomum, silky dogwood, photo via Mid-Atlantic Regional Seedbank

Why I'm growing Cornus amomum in my garden...

1) It is native to Tennessee and throughout much of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New England.

2) It has a reputation of being a tough and adaptable plant, capable of tolerating wet clay soils. Some sources also say it has good drought tolerance.

3) The Pollinator Partnership says that Cornus amomum flowers attract bees and butterflies.

4) A University of Rhode Island fact sheet says that silky dogwood berries are eaten by many migratory songbirds.

5) It has red stems that provide winter interest.

6) I've heard it can be propagated very easily using a live staking method. So if it grows well here, it's good to know I may be able to take cuttings and get some free plants.

PS - When most gardeners think of dogwoods, they probably think of flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, but that plant has a reputation for needing or at least preferring moist, rich, acidic, woodland conditions. If I had a woodland, I'd certainly try planting some flowering dogwoods, but since my garden is mostly sunny and filled with compacted clay soil, I don't think Cornus florida would thrive here. In fact, I tried growing one a couple of years back and it really struggled even in one of the shadiest spots I could provide. Cornus amomum sounds like a much tougher and more forgiving member of the genus. We shall see...

Do you grow silky dogwood? If so, what has been your experience with this plant?

Class of 2016 -- Physostegia virginiana, obedient plant

Obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, photo by Shigemi.J 

Why I'm growing Physostegia virginiana in my garden...

1) It's native to Tennessee and throughout much of the Eastern and Central U.S.

2) Gardeners on the Dave's Garden website say it can tolerate drought, heat and clay soil in hot climates including Tennessee and Texas.

3) Gail at the marvelous clay and limestone blog has high praise for obedient plant, calling it a good colonizing plant that acts as "a magnet for pollinators" including bumblebees, carpenter bees and smaller bees.

4) The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says obedient plant flowers may attract hummingbirds.

Do you grow obedient plant? If so, what has been your experience with this plant?