Showy red flowering Aesculus Briotti and Acer Hotwings

 

The bare root plants have arrived and there are so many exciting things to write about. I decided to focus this blog on red / pink flowering or leafing trees and shrubs.

One of my favorite trees from years of seeing it at the Washington Park Arboretum is the horsechestnut Aesculus x Briotti. The photo gives you an idea of how lovely the flowers are - just imagine the whole tree holding up those fat pink candles!

It has no disease or pest problems and gets a soft yellow fall color to the foliage.

This new maple is just stunning with it's abundant production of the winged fruits called samara that really cover the tree in mid summer. This is a good tree for smaller home gardens where you need alot of interest off of any tree in the landscape. It is adaptable to may soil types from wet to dry, although will do better with some summer water.

It has outstanding red fall color so will contine to give interest into the fall.

It's only going to get 25' x 25' so won't take up too much space.

Underplant it with some of the shorter shrub fuchsias or smaller hydrangeas.

Corylus x 'Rosita' is a mid size shrub / small tree selected by Oregon State University for it's excellent deep red foliage which lasts well into the summer. It will also make hazelnuts - but is grown more for the ornamental leaves. It prefers full sun and is hardy down to USDA Zone 4. I like using the branches in floral arrangements all summer long - but especially early in the season as the new leaves unfurl they are a deep luscious purple red with a great texture - stunning with white flowers, pinks or blues as well as striking with orange.

Betula 'Royal Frost' is a burgandy -red foliage birch tree whose leaves contrast strikingly with the creamy white exfoliating bark of the older tree.

 It can handle heavy moist soils and will make a graceful statement when planted in clumps.

We have potted the bare root materail into 3 plants per clump - with one pot holding 5 individual trees.

One of my clients planted a number of groups in her garden a few years back and they have grown fast - already making good impact.

Cotinus 'Purple Supreme'

 Striking purple foliage on this smokebush which persists into the summer.

Airy plume like inflorenscence turn from purple to dark pink. Prefes sun and well-drained soil but adaptable  to many conditions. Rich soil can inhibit the development of it's normal stunning red fall color. Don't plant in soggy wet areas. Best pruned in late winer once the threat of extreme cold is past.

There are more options for red foliaged plants her as well.

Heucherella Sweet Tea is one of the most lovely patterned and richly colored perennials.

It looks crazy gorgeous with euphorbia with the purple tinged foliage.

Come see all the great combos Linda has set up this week.

There are still some $1.00 plants in our sale area as well as some old Golden Rain trees for only $10.00!!

Can't beat that ........

Spring Re-opening of Cultus Bay Nursery

                                      Espaliered Apple Walk leading into Nursery

 The weather is still so variable but so many of our garden plants are responding to the growing hours of light and the occasional warmer days. 

 One night not too long ago I was returning home on a chilly night and a deer was on the driveway. She hesitated in the car lights and expelled her breath of warm air which was visible as I drove forward - it was a magical feeling as the little cloud of her breath was dispersed by the car. 

The apple walk buds are still tight but the structure really shows off at it's best when out of leave. It's a good time to see the garden when it is in it's more dormant state as you can really tell what the bones of the garden are. The deep purple iris reticulata are blooming as well as the crocus.

We will be getting in our bare root plants next week - a large mixture of trees and shrubs. If you are interested in planting any of these from bare root come on by the nursery on the weekends in March to check out what we have - or give us a call if you have specific needs.

                                                Japan pepper - Xanthophylum pipertum

This fragrant leaved shrub is rather unusual. It has very attractive foliage and makes non-showy flowers that become what we know of as Szechuan pepper - which is used in Thai cooking.

The plant has a lovely spreading form and looks great in the landscape. Deer tend to stay clear of this plant due to the fragrant foliage. It can be pruned but if you have the space give it room to branch out. It would be a great shrub to use as a scaffold for a medium size growing clematis to get a bit of extra punch out of the garden space.

                                                   Viburnum trilobum 'Wentworth'

I'm always talking up this viburnum - it is one of my favorites for a few reasons. It grows about 12-15' tall and is generally multi-branched. It can be pruned down to a single trunk so there is more planting space beneath the shrub. It makes white lace-cap flowers in June which are followed by the very showy red shiny berries. The cultivar Wentworth makes a larger berry set. These berries can be made into jelly or left on the plant to give you winter long interest.

Fall color is a very brilliant red and is especially lovely if back lite by setting western sunlight.

                                                                Weigela 'Carnival'

One of the best long blooming weigela's for our gardens -'Carnival' is a triploid hybrid so it does not set seed. With out that function plants bloom longer since the aren't producing seeds.
This plant make multiple flower colors simultaneously from palest pink into a mid pink as well as a darker pink. It is really quite a show to have so many shades of pink on one plant at the same time.

It is very showy as well as  low maintenance. It will get to be about 4-5' tall and as wide.  It will want some summer water. This is one of the shrubs that is arriving bare root and will provide a terrific show of flowers this year.

As the weather improves I will be ordering alot of new plants, but will approach this season more cautiously since last year we had some very late frost dates and we lost a number of plants that had recently come out of greenhouses.

All the plants in the nursery now are very tough and can go right into the garden or sit in the pots until you are ready to plant.

Our hours will be weekends in March from 10am- 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.