Featured Plants

Taxus cuspidata There is a yew for you--no matter what size or shape you need, sun or shade--when you want a low maintenance hardy evergreen shrub. Yew species and varieties have vastly different growth characteristics, so be sure to check a yew’s tag carefully. They vary from 50’ tall to dwarf,...

Malus domestica Who can resist the image of picking plump juicy apples from your own backyard? Apples are the quintessential American fruit. Spring blossoms cover the trees, and they produce for years. However, for good fruit get educated before planting. Start with a suitable site (full sun is a...

Anthurium andraeanum With a pink or red splash of color, anthurium is welcome on any winter day, especially Valentine’s Day. The striking long-lasting flowers of this houseplant provide the color, while its dark green, leathery, arrow-shaped leaves are attractive on their own. Botanically speaking...

Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’ Snake Plant ‘Golden Hahnii’ is special among its species because it grows in a tight rosette that doesn’t get higher than about 6”. While its taller cousins bear such dreaded names as ‘Mother-in-law tongue’ and ‘Devil’s tongue’, this one deserves the happier...

Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’ As ground cover or shrub, Blue Star juniper proves to be a champ in the landscape. Its starry needles grow slowly to form a tidy, slightly undulating blue mound 3 to 4 feet wide. Although it can reach 3 feet, it is usually less than 2 feet high. Barely a pest or...

Juniperus virginiana This native conifer is actually a juniper, not a cedar. Growing to 40 feet tall and 15 feet wide, cultivars range from pyramidal to columnar, while volunteers vary greatly. Trunks have reddish peeling bark and can be handsomely fluted. With age the tree’s lower trunk often...

Crab cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, Claw cactus, Schlumbergera truncate Jungle cactus seems like an oxymoron, but in the wild the plant family of crab cactus inhabits debris in the crotches of tropical trees. Like its cousin Christmas cactus, crab cacti bloom around holiday time. (Bloom time can be...

Aglaonema modestum For an easy beginner houseplant, we nominate Chinese evergreen. It provides 8” long waxy undulating leaves on sturdy stalks about 1-2 feet high. It’s grown mainly for the foliage that can be solid green or variegated, but it may flower in late summer or early fall with a pale...

Symplocos paniculata Native to Asia, some consider sapphireberry to be one of the handsomest of fruiting shrubs. White fragrant flowers grow in panicles in spring, and bright blue to lapis berries are prolific in the fall until birds get them. Ten to twenty feet tall and wide, two must be planted...