Lance's Favorites

As the owner of Zone 7 Nursery and Landscapes, a landscape designer and a collector of landscape plants, I have read all the articles about new plants, visited growers to find the latest new introductions, and have planted literally thousands of plants in my own landscape and those of our customers.

I have selected the following plants as proven performers for any landscape garden in our USDA zone 7 climate...Zone 7 Garden Select™

Heat tolerant
Drought tolerant
Insect and disease resistant
Deer resistant
Outstanding features such as Flower, foliage, fragrance, or form

No plant has all of the above, but this list represents plants that should be in all landscape gardens!

Shade Trees

Acer rubrum is the native red maple. This long lived tree is prized for the shade it provides in summer and the unmatched color of the fall foliage, ranging from bright gold, yellow, orange, red to scarlet.

Seedling red maples can vary greatly in size, shape, growth rate and fall foliage. Named cultivars assure consistent form and color. We stock many kinds.

Ulmus parvifolia is the Lace Bark Elm. This species is resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. The foliage is small and delicate looking adding nice contrast the more course look of native Oak, Hickory and Maple. The foliage is bright green in the summer, burning a soft yellow in the fall. The bark peels off in puzzle piece fragments when mature and exposes a pattern of dark green and chestnut brown.

We also sell Oak, Birch, Ash, Ginkgo and other shade trees.

Red Maple and Lace Bark Elm are Zone 7 Garden Select™

Flowering Trees

Spring

We have many spring blooming trees to choose from. Cherry, Pear, Crab-apple, and native dogwood, all have some downside...insects, short-lived, not tolerant to drought, poor fall foliage etc...

Cornus kousa is the Chinese dogwood. This tree, along with the the "Stellar Hybrids®" are outstanding landscape trees. They bloom with classic dogwood blooms, albeit several weeks later than the natives, have resistance to anthracnose and dogwood borer, are hardy and heat tolerant and have excellent deep red fall foliage.

Kousa dogwood will grow in full sun to dapple shade to 20 to 30 tall and wide. it is a multi-trunked or low branched tree. Blooms appear in mid May. Plant in well amended, well drained soil. 3-4" of mulch will keep the shallow roots cool and protected. We offer many named cultivars of this dogwood. They vary in growth habit, bloom size and color etc.

Cercis canadensis is our native redbud. If this tree is well watered when it's hot and dry, it is unmatched for spring glory. Blooms are mostly lavender to purple, but we also offer white, soft pink, and rose pink varieties. We also offer purple leafed, gold leafed and variegated leaf cultivars. The tree grows to 20 feet or so in a multi-trunked or low branched vase shaped form.

Kousa Dogwood and native Redbud are Zone 7 Garden Select™

Flowering Trees

Summer

In our southeastern area, one cannot help but be astonished every summer with the extended bloom cycle of Lagerstroemia indica, the Crape Myrtle. This species has varieties that can become 50' tall giants or super dwarfed forms that only get 2-3' tall. Bloom colors include white, pastel pinks and lavenders, bold reds, hot pinks and deep purples. Other features include smooth exfoliating bark, excellent winter structure (if not "Crape Murdered") and excellent fall foliage colors. Plant all in full sun.

We sell 20 kinds of crape myrtle. A hint - You can't go wrong if they have a native American Indian name. (Tonto, Tuscarora, Natchez, etc. These are all selections from the National Arboretum breeding program and are chosen due to hardiness, disease tolerance and other factors)

They are all Zone 7 Garden Select™

Large Shrubs

These shrubs will grow to over 10' tall. use them as screening plants, tall foundation plants, or border backgrounds in large areas.

Thuja plicata "Green Giant" is so much superior to the over used cupressus x leylandii (Leyland Cypress). This evergreen plant will grow 2-3' per year to 35' tall x 8-10' wide. It has a more refined shape that will not overwhelm its surroundings like the leyland can. Full sun to dappled shade. Deer resistant too.

Osmanthus fragrans is the fragrant tea olive. This broadleaf evergreen grows to 12-15' tall x 8-10' wide. The tiny blooms in the cool spring and cool fall will stop you in your tracks. the fragrance is oranges and cream! Plant in dappled shade protected from winter wind for best results.

Camellia Sasanqua or Fall Blooming Camellia preforms best in this area. The blooms are generally smaller than the winter blooming Camellia Japonica famous in the deeper south, but these small leafed forms are more reliable bloomers in USDA zone 7. Cultivars are stocked in red, white, pink and variegated. Plant in dappled shade to full sun. Protect from winter wind.

Loropetalum chinensis var. rubrum is the Chinese Fringe-Flower. It has blackish maroon evergreen foliage that is awesome when contrasted to green holly or bright blooming shrubs. It's own bright pink blooms appear in late winter and last for a month. Some fall re-bloom is typical. Plant in dappled shade to full sun. Deer resistant. Looks good crisply pruned or in its natural form. 10-12' tall and wide.

Dwarf Southern Magnolia is a classic look in a smaller size than the older, larger varieties seen at old homesteads in the south. The dwarf forms have smaller leafs that have a felt like back that is chestnut brown. This gives the plant a two tone look and much darker green foliage than the true native plants.

The 6" white blooms are pleasingly fragrant and open throughout the growing season. Expect a plant of some 20' tall x 12 ' wide when mature.

Medium shrubs

These plants will range from 4' to 8' tall or so.

Panicle Hydrangea are also called sun hydrangea due to this species ability to prosper in full sun or dappled shade. This type hydrangea does NOT change color with due to soil Ph like the blue or pink mophead types. We offer several cultivars including all white, lime green that fades to white and a white that turns pink, then burgundy. All grow 6-8' tall and wide, bloom in late summer and fall. Deer resistant!

Viburnum is a large family of plants that are tough and beautiful. The Doublefile Viburnum is an elegant plant with white spring blooms and handsome summer foliage that turns dark purple in the fall. Korean Spice Viburnum is also called fragrant snowball bush due to its spicey fragrance and small waxy snowball blooms in mid spring. We sell two types of large Snowball Viburnums. One is Eastern and the other is Chinese. These have 6-8" bloom clusters in the spring. All get 8' tall or so and prosper in dappled to medium shade.

Ruby Loropetalum and Ever-Red Loropetalum are mid-sized forms of the Chinese fringe-flower. These are evergreen plants that range from 5-6' tall and wide. Ruby has rich ruby foliage and hot pink spring blooms. Ever--Red has blackish maroon foliage and deep red spring blooms. Deer resistant and drought tolerant make these plants popular. Pruning enhances the dark foliage.

Needlepoint Holly is the poorly named Chinese holly of choice. While all Chinese holly have spiny foliage, needlepoint has only one spine, making it the least prickly. This plant is tough as nails, has excellent bright green shiny foliage that glistens in the winter landscape and produces more red berries than the better know Dwarf Burford holly.

More to follow

under construction 10-11-09

Lance Yuda