Magic Moments and Plant of the Week

Happy Monday! 

I'm Natalie, Spring Meadow's new marketing and promotions specialist and your new "Through the      Greenhouse Glass" blogger. I'm looking forward to connecting with you, sharing ideas and inspiration, and also of course, sharing Jane's fabulous "Plant of the Week" posts. 

This week Jane posted about the Filips Magic Moment® Thuja, a sunny spot in what can sometimes be a drab winter landscape. But before we get to the Plant of the Week post, I wanted to share another magic moment. Last week our videographer Adriana captured the first snow at the Deppe garden here in Grand Haven. It's simply breathtaking...enjoy:

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'Filips Magic Moment'

Hello gloom,

Winter finally decided to show up. In West Michigan, that means clouds and lake effect snow. It's fifty shades of gray but slushy, not smutty.

So we need some bright evergreen color to cheer us up. 'Filips Magic Moment' Thuja does the trick. It's a compact evergreen with golden foliage that is a welcome sight in these dreary days.

I planted a couple of these in my mom's yard and saw them this weekend. I commented to her that I always forget how much I like this plant until the cold weather comes. They were beautiful!

'Filip's Magic Moment' grows 6-8' tall and is hardy to USDA Zone 3. It will grow in full sun or partial shade. Use it as you would a Dwarf Alberta Spruce - it's a better choice in warmer areas where the Picea can struggle.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: Winecraft Black Smokebush

Holy smokes!

Smokebush is a fun plant. The clouds of pink flowers are unlike other garden plants and have the exotic appeal of something seen only in botanic gardens. (It's actually not the flowers that you notice, but the hairs around them.) In addition to the attention-grabbing summer flowers, Cotinus has excellent fall color. It will add months of interest to landscapes. It's an adaptable plant, too. Drought, clay soil, deer - none of these things will trouble Cotinus. The only thing you really need to watch is that the soil is well-drained.

As an easy-to-grow, adaptable plant with tons of ornamental appeal, why aren't there more smokebushes in gardens? One reason is that they are at their peak in summer rather than spring, so there isn't a ton of impulse appeal at retail. Another is that older varieties are kind of irregular growers. Their habit could be a bit ungainly, especially as young plants.

Meet Winecraft Black

That's why we're so pleased to introduce Winecraft Black®, a new compact Cotinus with an excellent uniform habit. It's a semi-dwarf plant that grows 4-6' tall and wide, so it fits nicely into most landscapes. Really, now there's no excuse not to have smokebush in your garden.

As the name would suggest, Winecraft Black® has dark purple-black foliage that is quite showy all summer long. In summer pink-red panicles cover the plant in the signature 'smoke' of smoketrees. Hardy to USDA Zone 4, this plant will do best in full sun.

Garden Answer & Winecraft Black

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles

Plant of the Week: Still Waters Clematis

Given the tumultuous waters of recent weather reports, a calming thought or two seems in order.

Still Waters™ clematis is a cool, relaxing plant that's perfect for adding some serenity to gardens. The large violet-blue flowers are a delightful contrast with dark-leafed plants like Black Lace® elderberry.

Unlike other clematis varieties you may have grown, it blooms on both old and new wood so you don't need to consult a chart before pruning it. Actually, you can get away without pruning it at all (or just cut it back to about 2.5' in spring.) Either way, it will flower from late spring to late summer.

Hardy to USDA Zone 5, it will grow in full sun or partial shade. You can expect it to get 4-7' tall on a fence or trellis.

We could use some still waters right now.

First Harvey, then Irma - it's been a rough hurricane season. We certainly hope our friends who have been in the paths of these storms are safe and the damage to your homes and businesses is minimal.

When Mother Nature throws hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather at us, we gain even more of an appreciation of plants that don't need special treatment. Really, even if we aren't dealing with crazy rain and wind most of us don't have time to coddle our plants.

For a long time clematis were in the high-maintenance plant category for many people. To be sure, if clematis are happy they're pretty easy going, but figuring out if you've got the right conditions for the plant and then identifying the correct pruning technique for it may be intimidating. Not oh-I-decided-to-die-today-for-no-reason frustrating like a Daphne, but still a little more demanding than a Spiraea.

That's why we're happy to have several easy-to-grow varieties like Still Waters™ available.

If you're in need of some clematis advice for older varieties, here's a bulletin from Oregon State University Extension.

And if you're staring down a cultivar with some cryptic warning about pruning groups, here's an explanation of them from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles