Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 08 Gold Medal Award
The 2008 PHS plant awards are out -- and one of my new favorites is a winner this year.
I so fell in love with Dee Runk Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Dee Runk') when I first saw it full size a few years ago that I almost immediately planted four of them (at the corners of my herb garden) -- and I have not been disappointed. As advertised, it's tolerant of drought, urban conditions, variable light, and any kind of soil. It's evergreen, deer resistant, small enough for city places, and it has a most wonderful shape. Zones 5-8 height 4-10' A true winner, this one.
'Duke Gardens' Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonii 'Duke Gardens') You have to be a garden director, I guess, to get dibs on great plants when they're in development or first out. I saw Duke Gardens-- the low spreading plant in the foreground -- probably 8-10 years ago at Green Springs Garden Park in Alexandria, VA -- and I couldn't find it anywhere in the trade. You now should be able to find it most anywhere. This very deer-resistant needled evergreen is the best substitute there is for yew -- and despite the image here, it has a definite upright habit, and will reach about 4' high. Great anywhere you'd use a small yew. Zones 6-8, sun or shade, any soil.
(images: PHS -- click for larger view)
Moonglow™ Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia Virginiana 'Jim Wilson')
Landscape designers LOVE this plant -- it's deer resistant, tolerant of wet sites, it has evergreen leaves (in some zones) and lovely fragrant flowers. It's not too big -- just 35-50 feet or so. This cultivar is also pest resistant, and it has 2-3" diameter long-lasting blooms. This tree was selected for fast growth, cold-hardiness (Zones 5-8) and its dark green foliage. And it's native to north America.
Japanese Hornbeam (Carpinus japonica)
There's nothing that quite looks like a hornbeam tree, and this one has some very unusual characteristics: a wide-spreading, rounded habit, a fan-shaped branching structure, and profuse blooms in shades of cream, tan and green that fade to brown and stay on the tree until fall. Very dark green leaves that turn a yellow shade in autumn.
It's on the small side for a hornbeam -- 20-35 feet high. Zones 4-8, full or part sun. Recommended use as an understory tree, a good candidate for an urban park or as a specimen.
Gold Rush Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon')
You can't use golden plants anywhere, but they do have their place in carefully planned planting designs. This particular dawn redwood has very bright yellow needles and it turns a copper-orange color in fall. Combined with blues and or burgundies, it could make a very spectacular landscape. This tree is a little smaller than the species, but you need to give it room -- and time. It'll reach 80 x 30 in 60 years or so. Zones 4-8, sun or shade. And remember -- this tree is deciduous -- it loses it's needles in winter.
(images: PHS - click for larger view)
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