Thank You! This was excellent and so helpful! We are trying to do more native plantings in our garden (central IL) and this webinar helped me to pic out a new bush for this spring! So much great information in this webinar!
I bought an Annabelle earlier this year not knowing it only had sterile flowers with no nectar … I plant to pair it with a couple of wild-type smooth hydrangeas to create a cluster of hydrangeas where at least 2/3 plants will provide pollinator benefit!
@ thank you! I really was disappointed when I learned because I purposefully went looking for the native plant species! My only hope is that when paired with wild types it still provides host plant material for some of the hydrangea-loving moths
Love your channel and your format. I am in NW Iowa, so a lot of these shrubs not native for here, but still good to know about these. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for this information and the delightful presentation. I am a suburban gardener (Virginia, Zone 7b) on slightly less than a half acre with a small woodland area containing three beautiful White Oaks and three understory trees. You gave me so many great shrubs to try in the only area I haven’t developed yet. I just need to research which of the shrubs are susceptible to deer pressure. Thanks again.
You are welcome! I would try spicebush and arrowwood viburnum in a location with a large deer population. They are also not to fond of our witch hazels.
hey Cathy, you mentioned you trim your spicebush to keep it small - in order to do this, do you cut the largest stems at the base or do you trim the branches up near the height you want to keep them at? thanks for a wonderful video!
The natural height of a spicebush is 6 to 10 feet. The natural width is also 6 to 10 feet. I would like to keep mine at the low end of its natural size. The best time to prune is later spring after it is done flowering. If we want to make it shorter we can take up to 1/3 of the top branches off. If we want to make it more narrow, we can take outer branches off down to 6 to 12 inches above the ground. I hope this helps!
Yes, Ohio Buckeye is native in the east to central US. It is a medium sized tree that prefers full sun to part shade. It's spring flowers are liked by many native bees and hummingbirds. It is a host plant for many leaf hopper species. However, its pollen and nectar are poisonous to honey bees. Also, all parts of the plant are very toxic to animals and humans. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend this tree in urban and suburban landscapes with children or pets. It can be very messy and the toxic fruits that fall can be enticing to small children and pets. Therefore, this is not a native species that we recommend growing in home landscapes. It is best left to wild wooded areas.
Yes, a male and female. If you plant a few, you will probably get some of each. If you have one now, you can take a photo of the flowers in the spring to determine if it is a male or female.
i planted an american witch hazel 2 years ago in mostly full shade. its still alive but only grew a little bit and the get no blooms from it, the leaves on it are actually still pretty green. weird. am i doing something wrong with it?
How large was your shrub when planted? I have a vernal witch hazel that bloomed the second year and bloomed heavily the third year. However, I purchased it in a 7 gallon container so it had a few years growth before I planted it. Some plants need a few years before they start blooming. If yours was very small, it may take a couple more years. Mine is in part (close to full) shade.
@@sagmorainenativeplantcommunity thank you for your response. when i purchased it , it was about 2 feet tall, now its about 3.5 feet tall, just yesterday i looked at it, the leaves are still on it, green with a bit of yellow, no blooms. i did plant it in front of a pine tree and there are also eastern white cedars close to it. would that effect its growth?. i also planted 3 spice bush plugs rougly in the same area, they have grown from small plugs to about 2 feet (2 years now) still no blooms or berries. they have lost all theyre leaves as of today.
@@lordcommandersnow1625 I would give them more time. My vernal witch hazel was six feet when it started to bloom so a few years older than yours. Plants often put the majority of their energy into root growth the first few years. The spicebush are still babies. I think it will also take a couple more years to start getting flowers. I know the waiting is hard!
Thank You! This was excellent and so helpful! We are trying to do more native plantings in our garden (central IL) and this webinar helped me to pic out a new bush for this spring! So much great information in this webinar!
I love your videos. Ty
Thank you for watching!
thank you for this video! I've learned so much :^)
Thank you for watching!
I bought an Annabelle earlier this year not knowing it only had sterile flowers with no nectar … I plant to pair it with a couple of wild-type smooth hydrangeas to create a cluster of hydrangeas where at least 2/3 plants will provide pollinator benefit!
That is a great idea! The additional "showy" flowers might even help pollinators find the newly planted food providing flowers.
@ thank you! I really was disappointed when I learned because I purposefully went looking for the native plant species!
My only hope is that when paired with wild types it still provides host plant material for some of the hydrangea-loving moths
Thank you for the explanation on the smooth hydrangea. I thought something was wrong with the blooms on mine-now I know!
You're welcome! They may not be as showy but they are contributing greatly to your local ecosystem!
Love your channel and your format. I am in NW Iowa, so a lot of these shrubs not native for here, but still good to know about these. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for watching! We have a whole calendar of presentations planned.
Another great video! Thank you for your work...
Thank you for watching!
Thank you! Wonderful presentation!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this information and the delightful presentation. I am a suburban gardener (Virginia, Zone 7b) on slightly less than a half acre with a small woodland area containing three beautiful White Oaks and three understory trees. You gave me so many great shrubs to try in the only area I haven’t developed yet. I just need to research which of the shrubs are susceptible to deer pressure. Thanks again.
You are welcome! I would try spicebush and arrowwood viburnum in a location with a large deer population. They are also not to fond of our witch hazels.
Debra, I'm just above you in central MD. You can also try Mountain Laurel. It's native to the eastern US.
@@michaelheyward7668 Great idea!
hey Cathy, you mentioned you trim your spicebush to keep it small - in order to do this, do you cut the largest stems at the base or do you trim the branches up near the height you want to keep them at? thanks for a wonderful video!
The natural height of a spicebush is 6 to 10 feet. The natural width is also 6 to 10 feet. I would like to keep mine at the low end of its natural size. The best time to prune is later spring after it is done flowering. If we want to make it shorter we can take up to 1/3 of the top branches off. If we want to make it more narrow, we can take outer branches off down to 6 to 12 inches above the ground. I hope this helps!
Do you have experience with the smooth hydrangea growing in clay? You gals do such a grand job. Thank you.
Thank you for watching! Yes, we have heavy clay in our area and the native smooth hydrangeas do wonderful!
Are Buckeyes Native and beneficial?
Yes, Ohio Buckeye is native in the east to central US. It is a medium sized tree that prefers full sun to part shade. It's spring flowers are liked by many native bees and hummingbirds. It is a host plant for many leaf hopper species. However, its pollen and nectar are poisonous to honey bees. Also, all parts of the plant are very toxic to animals and humans. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend this tree in urban and suburban landscapes with children or pets. It can be very messy and the toxic fruits that fall can be enticing to small children and pets. Therefore, this is not a native species that we recommend growing in home landscapes. It is best left to wild wooded areas.
you say 2 are needed for the spice bush. Do you mean a male and a female plant?
correct!
Yes, a male and female. If you plant a few, you will probably get some of each. If you have one now, you can take a photo of the flowers in the spring to determine if it is a male or female.
I have 3 spicebushes, all from different places that have never fruited.... good luck!
i planted an american witch hazel 2 years ago in mostly full shade. its still alive but only grew a little bit and the get no blooms from it, the leaves on it are actually still pretty green. weird. am i doing something wrong with it?
How large was your shrub when planted? I have a vernal witch hazel that bloomed the second year and bloomed heavily the third year. However, I purchased it in a 7 gallon container so it had a few years growth before I planted it. Some plants need a few years before they start blooming. If yours was very small, it may take a couple more years. Mine is in part (close to full) shade.
@@sagmorainenativeplantcommunity thank you for your response. when i purchased it , it was about 2 feet tall, now its about 3.5 feet tall, just yesterday i looked at it, the leaves are still on it, green with a bit of yellow, no blooms. i did plant it in front of a pine tree and there are also eastern white cedars close to it. would that effect its growth?. i also planted 3 spice bush plugs rougly in the same area, they have grown from small plugs to about 2 feet (2 years now) still no blooms or berries. they have lost all theyre leaves as of today.
@@lordcommandersnow1625 I would give them more time. My vernal witch hazel was six feet when it started to bloom so a few years older than yours. Plants often put the majority of their energy into root growth the first few years. The spicebush are still babies. I think it will also take a couple more years to start getting flowers. I know the waiting is hard!
@ thank you for the responses. I very much enjoy your videos!
@@lordcommandersnow1625 Thank you for watching and for planting native!