Welcome to the Chris Picks page of our site. I will try to show you some plants that you may or may not have heard of or dealt with before. These plants are good for their intended purpose, of which I will explain, and are really some of my absolute favorites. If you know me, you will know already, these are woody plants, as I am not as big on perennials or annuals as I could be, and that these plants are really easy to grow.  These plants are in no particular order.

Nandina ’Firepower’ I just cannot say enough about this plant.  How many plants look better in the winter than they do in the summer, this one does!  It does look good in the summer and spring, but when the frost and cold temperatures make its leaves turn red for the winter, get back.  It has a really natural look, in that it should not be sheered, but pruned for size control. Even this is rarely needed if planned for properly.  It grows to about 2’ height and spread and really handles a wide range of soil and light conditions.  Take note though that in a hard winter or in the first year, the leaves may completely fall off as we are on the northern fringe of their habitat.  It is even possible that a very cold winter -10 could cause damage to the plants, but we have not had that in years and they are very inexpensive and the look is worth twice the risk.

 

 

 

Boxwood ‘Wintergreen’  Yeah, Yeah, I know that these have been around for years, but for evergreen foundation plants they are so hard to beat.  They are very tough and handle a very wide range of soil and light conditions.  A little acid fertilizer keeps them in great health and there is just not a lot of common insect and disease problems that you see with these shrubs (although everything gets something).  Pruning is still a requirement, but most everything requires some and I would gladly trade the pruning for the good growth rate.  These shrubs should grow to 3-4’ height and spread.

 

 

 

Boxwood ‘Green Mountain’ This boxwood you may not be as familiar with.  The Green Mountain Boxwood is a pyramidal shrub used for corners and entry points.  It has a great green color and is extremely tough.  It is also one of the most cold hardy boxwoods.  I have not seen a better small pyramidal plant.  The only draw back to this plant is the slow growth rate, which means you may have to start with a smaller plant than you would like, and you may have to pay a little more for what you do get.  These can grow to 5-6’ height and 3’ of spread and usually require little pruning to keep them in shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arborvitae ’Smargd’ (spiral)  The spiral arborvitae is a more high maintenance plant and requires a mostly sunny place to grow, but they can look so good  if a little time is invested in them.  Ours at the shop are probably the most plants most commented about plant in our landscaping and definitely add a very distinct formal look to our landscape.  The spirals are probably not right for every house/gardener/landscape, but they certainly add a bang for your buck and can bring a lot of satisfaction and add an immediate impact.  The spirals are limited in future growth by pruning although I think that 7-8’in height is a good target.

 

 

Chamaecyparis spp. These are the false cypress family and in particular the obtuse types.  There are several that are very similar like ‘Dwarf Hinoki’ ,‘Hage’, ‘Nana’ and many others and I like them all.  They usually have a dark green foliage and require very little pruning as most only grow 1-4” per year.  They have a very layered look, are easy to grow, and add a nice natural look and form to most any landscape.  For the most part, the obtuse variety false cypresses should be able to be maintained at 3’ height and spread.

 

                                                                                                                                                    

Weeping Peach - As far as I am concerned, the best weeping tree.  It has a more open form, beautiful pink blooms and great dark purple leaves on the new growth.  This makes this tree a little more unique than most weeping trees in that it has a longer period of really standing out.

 

 

Leptoderma  You probably haven’t heard of this plant and this is only our second season of seeing it ourselves, but I have been fairly impressed.  This shrub stays quite small and on first appearance may not stand out as much as some others.  What I do like is that is that throughout most of the growing season this shrub blooms.  It is not massive amounts of blooms like an azalea, but it most usually has one to several small lilac-like lavender blooms.  That small amount of cheer and uniqueness just makes me love this plant and recommend at least one for every landscape.

 

 

 

Magnolia ‘Henry Hicks’  This large shrub is best for a corner or accent plant is becoming one of my favorites.  Sweetbay magnolia has long been one of my favorites, but now that there is an evergreen version, it’s even better.  This plant retains a lot of leaves thru the winter season and has greatly increased its usefulness.  Just remember that this shrub will grow to 10-15’ tall and 6-8’ wide.

 

 

Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’  It is not that often that I get all that excited about a new plant variety when it comes out, and I generally like to get one and test it myself because they sometimes don’t pan out and are often more hype than anything else.  Such was not the case with Endless Summer Hydrangea, they are great!!!  They really do repeat bloom all summer long if you dead-head them.  Hydrangeas are great already and the 3 to 4 weeks they bloom are awesome, but now that you can get one that blooms all summer, even better.

 

Nandina ‘Gulfstream’  Once again, another Nandina, but I love them.  Great color all year, especially in the winter.  Also a very slow growth rate to a dwarf maturity, what else is there?  The texture, growth rate, color, and size at maturity all make this one great shrub, but try to limit full sun to one-half day and you will be well pleased.