Swapping Huckleberries
Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album) Himalayan Honeysuckle ( Vaccinium glauco album) has been an attractive feature along our north-facing foundation since I planted it in 2016. You will have to take my word for it since I cannot locate a photo although I know one exists somewhere in the realm of the Internet or floating on a cloud somewhere. I did locate a photo of how it looked when it was first planted - It took a few years to fill out but it did so nicely to an attractive mound about 2 feet high by 3 feet wide. Last year, it started to look bad. I cut it back but it had not improved and this is how it looked a few weeks ago - I decided to rip it out and plant another huckleberry - this time Vaccinium ovatum , more commonly known as the "Evergreen Huckleberry". This is a plant that I've wanted for ages and kept putting off getting one because I could not find a good place for it. By most accounts, this is an amazing plant, a native one and excellent for
Such a beautiful photo Phillip and the flower... I could love that anytime of the year! Carol
ReplyDeleteI have several Encore Amethysts and maybe since they are magenta they fit into the fall color scheme well. lol Mine get sun from sunrise til 1 pm and then again in very late afternoon and bloom heavily if they get enough food. They're heavy feeders. I've always liked Amethyst the best and was surprised not to see it nearly as much as the others -- maybe that is just a local phenomenon -- because it's at the top for cold-hardiness among the Encores and is a rather unique color.
ReplyDeleteWhich one do you have? It's beautiful. Thank you too for the history behind the Encores -- I did not know about their lineage.
I'm with you (at least until you changed your mind). I am big on seasonal. I like to look out in the garden and tell what time of year it is by the plants that are flowering. I also like to eat seasonally, i prefer to enjoy strawberries in June when they are so sweeet, instead of imported ones in January, that taste of cardboard to me.
ReplyDeleteProven Winners has released the Boomerang Lilac, it blooms spring and fall. I wish it just bloomed in the spring!
Hi Phillip, I am always surprised that Nashville nurseries carry so many azaleas. Azaleas are not tailor made for a nearly neutral heavy clay soil. Gardeners have to work hard to produce the right conditions~acid soil and sharp drainage. Too bad they are so good looking. They are like a carrot dangled in front of our noses...Love your photo! gail
ReplyDeleteI sometimes have to have something for awhile before I finally give in and fall in love with it. You know you like it or you wouldn't purchase it but there is some characteristic that just doesn't seem quite right. Then all of a sudden...two years later, you wonder what was I thinking this is grand.
ReplyDeleteI have several of these, all a sort of coral-pink. They perform well in spring & fall, tho the two that get more sun have more blossoms. I love them.
ReplyDeleteIf I could grow them up here, I'd love 'em spring, summer or fall. Those are a lovely color.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Congratulations on your Blotanical win...best Alabama blog! I am going to come see it in person oneday! I know the weather up there must be wonderful right now! It is pretty cool here as well....to bad it won't stay this way :-(
ReplyDeleteI am like you, Phillip, azaleas are "supposed" to bloom in the spring. I do, however, like the Encores that have the orange or fall-colored flowers. Those are okay. Buddy Lee is only about 25 miles from my house, and I have met him. He is so down to earth and self-effacing; you'd never think he has changed the way azaleas bloom.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
Just wait 15 years...plant geneticists will have everything blooming all year round. Azaleas will be blooming in January. I think anticipation is half the fun.
ReplyDeleteI do like the colour and 'fuchsia' describes it well.
ReplyDeleteI can't grow azaleas where I am as the soil is a little too sweet (limey) for them.
Congrats Phillip on Best AL blog. You deserve it. As to the Encore Azaleas, I echo your feelings. I've done the other, regular azaleas, and they were too much trouble for my alkaline soil. The fall blooming ones don't seem right either.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteI share your aversion to fall blooming Azaleas, even though I sell them at the nursery. Having met Buddy Lee last year, I can assure you his enthusiasm will make you forget any hesitation about Encores. I like to see the orange and coral selection in the fall, they seem to blend better with the other colors of the season.
ReplyDeleteI love azaleas. I remember seeing hundreds of them along the roadside and forests when I was visiting New York and Jersey City (outside of the cities). I've never had any but I hope to eventually get some and these encores sound wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHi Phillip, may I add to the congrats for the photo contest as well as the Best in Alabama awards? I was sure I left a comment about both of those deserved wins, but don't see 'em so must have dreamed it. Your statements about the Encore have piqued my interest, they are widely sold here, but seemed too pricey when most azaleas are dirt, excuse the phrase, cheap. The colors, any of them would be a nice addition to the peachy pink sheffie mums. Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
See, I'm a fan of fuschia flowers any time of the year. :-) I've been hot and cold on the encores- a couple of the varieties made it through a rough transplant and have survived- no flourished- beautifully. Other varieties, I've babied during droughts, etc. but lost them for one reason or another. Looks like you got a winner!
ReplyDeletehi philip i hope u can help me and teach me the best way to gardening... its hard for me to gardening i don't know what kind of flower i can plant... hope you can help me guys.. looking forward for your responce...
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