Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of November 28, 2005
Judy Koehly
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^sm Volunteer

Especially since we have had a very warm autumn, December is a great time to plant some perennials in your garden. As you select some new perennials THINK WINTER COLOR!!! If you want some razzle-dazzle color in the form of flowers look for: Winter Sweet, Japanese Apricot, Hellebores (Lenton rose), Paper Bush, Winter Witch Hazel (also called Breath of Spring), Quince, Daphne, and Jasmine. Don’t forget the southern favorite -- Camellias. Camellias come in vibrant shades of red, pink and white and also in combinations of all of the aforementioned! Pansies and snapdragons are a great starting point. They add instant color and will survive frost and even snow. They will snap right back with vibrant color when the days begin to grow warmer again.

Evergreen groundcovers can keep your garden looking lush even during the cold months. Look for: ivy, wild ginger, evergreen candytuft (blooms in spring), and germander. Evergreen vines can also perk up a dull vista. Good choices are: native honeysuckle (throws blooms all year long), crossvine (blooms in summer), Carolina Jessamine (blooms in spring), Confederate jasmine (rapid growth and blooms in spring), greenbrier smilax (not the wild version), and winter creeper euonymus. Scilla spreads a blue carpet under deciduous trees, but is best used in a child- and pet-free yard. All parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested.

Great suggestions for winter color can also be edible! Think rosemary, thyme, ornamental kale, and Swiss chard (gorgeous red stems). If you would like to add some fragrance to your winter garden plant tea olive. The flowers are tiny, but the scent is wonderful and they bloom from December to April! Flowering apricot is a showy tree that blooms as early as January with pristine shades of white, pink, and red AND adds a spicy perfume to the air. Daphne blooms in late winter and provides a sweet, cinnamon scent.

There are a large variety of evergreen shrubs that add color to the landscape with their berries and sometimes their leaves. There are many varieties of hollies in all sizes and shapes to fit your landscape. Pyracantha (firethorn) has many large clumps of bright orange berries. Nandina has lovely slender leaves and cascades of beautiful red berries that last all winter. Some shrubs to consider for form and color are dwarf Norfolk pine, agave, false cypress, surprise holly, and firepower nandina (a dwarf nandina with red leaves). Barberry is another excellent choice for a shrub with red leaves. Mahonia has large leathery holly-like leaves and blue berries. Indian Hawthorne also has blue berries, which feed the birds and make a lovely winter accent.

You may also like to include some small trees or shrubs that are loved for their colorful bark or stems. Redosier (Red-twig) dogwood is a large, fast growing, many stemmed shrub. The plants are extremely attractive in winter when their stems turn red. Although red is the predominant color, a cultivar with yellow winter stem color is available. Redosier dogwood develops attractive fall foliage coloration ranging from yellow-orange to red-purple. It often grows in wet, marshy areas in the wild, but is tolerant of diverse soil types and can withstand poorly drained soils. Redosier dogwood does well in either full sun or light shade. It requires renewal pruning to remove older branches and induce development of younger branches to give the best stem color in winter. Japanese Acuba is an evergreen shrub with leaves splashed with white and gold. Variegata, often called gold dust plant, is the best known acuba.

Bottlebrush buckeye has foliage that turns bronze in winter. Bar Harbor juniper has tightly matted branches which hug the ground on this widely spreading juniper. Summer foliage is soft gray-green and silvery-plum color in winter and requires little care or pruning. Ravenna grass, native to the Mediterranean and Africa, makes a great alternative to pampas grass. The foliage and flower spikes of this impressive grass turn a dramatic copper color in the winter months. Dammeri, Bearberry Cotoneaster is a good ground cover with evergreen leaves oval 1" long, bright showy red berries 1/2" across.

It is not too late to put in bulbs. Look for crocus, snowflake, Chionodoxa (glory-of-the-snow) and early blooming daffodils for late winter color.

The seed heads and seedpods of many plants are not only attractive in the winter landscape but provide food and shelter for birds and wildlife. As always it is important to keep birdbaths full of fresh water, and birdfeeders full of seeds, nuts, and dried fruits.

Enjoy your shopping and planting now and anticipate a colorful winter in your own backyard!

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 11/30/2005