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Rita’s Gold’™ Fern - Plant of the Month - April
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April 2008 Plant of the Month by Leann Barron
‘Rita’s Gold’™ Fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata)
Call me jaundiced, but when I see a chartreuse-y yellow plant, I fall head over heels in love. And I fell hard when I first cast my eyes on ‘Rita’s Gold’™ fern.
Okay, okay, I can hear you kvetching now: “A Boston fern is not perennial, it’s annual in our climate.” Indeed, it is a tender perennial that needs to be brought inside before frost. But ‘Rita’s Gold’™ is THE hot new fern that quickly will become a perennial favorite in your garden, and one you’ll want to use year after year. Honestly, it’s destined to become a classic in the garden industry. It’s that wonderful.
This introduction, brought to us by one of our favorite Perennial Plant Society speakers, Rita Randolph of Randolph’s Greenhouses in Jackson, TN, is the only true gold fern--the fabulous fronds unfurl to a chartreuse green that hold their color and don’t revert. It’s more compact than ordinary Boston ferns, with fronds reaching 18-24,” making it a versatile workhorse in many garden applications. ‘Rita’s Gold,’™ like other Boston ferns, is happiest in shade to partial shade, handling morning sunshine beautifully. The golden fronds can brighten the darkest corner; it is every bit as healthy, dense and lush as its old green cousin, and prettier, too. Last summer in my garden, ‘Rita’s Gold’ didn’t seem to require as much water as the Boston fern, but I nestled it in a high quality container soil mix, adding a generous helping of mushroom compost and fertilizing it regularly. It grew quickly and showed considerable vigor throughout the summer.
Personally, I like it best in mixed containers, but it’s also a fantastic stand-alone plant. The design possibilities are virtually endless in the ground as well as in containers. It was THE most talked about container plant I had last year, giving a delightfully colorful, textural focal point on our partially shaded back deck. ‘Rita’s Gold’ fern and other annuals grouped in the green ceramic container sparkled in early June, but as the plants grew, the somewhat monochromatic effect just got better and better. All the long, hot, dry summer, the light and airy fern added a cool quality to the containers. I’m already thinking about different ways to use it this year. It makes a great accent plant when grown in the shade or partial shade with other annuals, such as purple supertunias, orange lantanas, strappy, bold cannas, colocasias, hot pink caladiums, coleus, or euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost.’ The combination possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
'Rita's Gold' Fern won the prestigious University of Georgia’s Classic City Award as a plant that outshines other similar plants in the garden.
For further information about ‘Rita’s Gold’ fern, along with other exciting and unusual plants, contact Randolph’s Greenhouses:
ph: 731-422-2768
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Hardy Garden Chrysanthemums - Plant of the Month - March
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| 'Cathy's Rust' chrysanthemum, photo courtesy of Petals from the Past Nursery |
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| Hardy Chrysanthemum 'Jettie' courtesy Plant Delights Nursery |
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| 'Ryan's Pink' chrysanthemums in Leann Barron's garden with 'Color Guard' yucca |
by Leann Barron
Believe it or not, it's not too early when it comes to thinking about autumn in the garden. When we think of chrysanthemums, we are immediately reminded of the colorful florist mums that are available at seemingly every retail outlet. These "pot mums", (I call them grocery store mums) provide about a month of autumn color and enjoyment in the landscape, then they are usually tossed onto the compost heap. They are considered non-hardy plants, although you can always try planting it to see if it survives winter. Pot mums may survive mild winters, but the roots don't have time to get well established before the cold season begins. Personally, I don't want to fuss with them, in fact, I find the very idea of planting them after the bloom cycle ends a waste of time. These mums are greenhouse production plants, they are very heavy feeders, While my opinion won't endear me to the florist industry, I find these mums exceedingly frustrating and this past autumn, I swore them off forever.
But the wonderful news is there are some absolutely fabulous perennial chrysanthemums on the market that are a landscape delight. A "perennial" favorite speaker of the PPSMT, Jason Powell, owner of Petals from the Past Nursery, suggested that I try 'Ryan's Pink' mum a few years ago, and this pink beauty hasn't disappointed. As the garden begins to look tatty and tired in October, 'Ryan's Pink' roars into full bloom, brightening the back corner of the garden with its starry soft pink flushes that last for weeks, even in rain. This delightful perennial mum was named for the equally delightful and colorful Atlanta landscape designer Ryan Gainey. This is the one chrysanthemum I wouldn't be without, and for several years now, look forward to the restful soft color that dramatically contrasts the autumn colors in the border.
Other cultivars to consider are 'Cathy's Rust', 'Thanksgiving Day', and the beautiful white 'Jettie'.
Garden mums like full sun, but they also need water, so don't neglect them in the heat of summer. The lush green plants should be watered several times a week (I just use the sprinkler), just don't overwater. As the plants grow, cut them back (most people pinch them back) several times until the end of July, otherwise the plants will get top-heavy and droop once the heavy bloom flushes begin. They need plenty of room to grow, so they should be planted 18 inches apart. Other than sun, water, pinching and space when planted, they are super easy and rewarding plants. Give them a try this year and see if you don't agree.
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Musa basjoo (Hardy Japanese fiber banana) - Plant of the Month - February
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Gardeners in temperate areas like middle Tennessee are showing great interest in growing hardy tropicals like Cannas, Colocasias (elephant ears), Hedychiums (ginger lilies) and hardy palms such as the Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) an the southeastern native needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix).
One of the most prominent and commented upon tropical plants in my garden is Musa basjoo, also known as the Hardy Japanese fiber banana.  This fabulous clumping plant, after just 3 summers, is a sky-scraping 18 feet tall with an ever-widening circumference. It dies back after autumn freezes, but stays in the ground year-round, mainly because it’s huge and I find the corms quite tedious and difficult to dig up. More importantly, it’s totally unnecessary to lift them. The flowers and fruit are definitely unimpressive, and this particular banana is grown in our climate for the incredible blue-green foliage, as the fruit is inedible.
Here are my tips for growing the biggest, most fabulous hardy banana plants in our Zone 7 climate. Corms are widely available, but be sure to specify Musa basjoo (Hardy Japanese fiber banana) when ordering, as there are many Musa cultivars that are not hardy in our climate. I’ve seen Musa basjoo for sale on eBay, and many mail-order nurseries such as Stokes Tropicals offer this wonderful plant. When planting, it is essential that you give it a lot of room, and remember that it will grow into a very tall and wide clump over time, so site it accordingly as once it is established, it would be exceedingly difficult to relocate. It can also be grown as a container plant, but would likely need to be cut back and brought into a garage or sunroom to overwinter (I have never grown it in a container, but I hear it does quite well, as long as the container is substantial.) Musa basjoo has 3 simple needs: full sun is optimal, it requires lots (LOTS) of water, and enjoys frequent fertilization. The leaves do tend to rip in strong winds, which occurs in its natural habitat, so I don’t mind the sometimes tattered appearance, but if you find it aesthetically bothersome, consider siting it in a protected area. Be sure to give the corms ample time to get established in the ground before the autumn freezes begin, I recommend planting before August if possible. After the leaves die back, I cut the stalks to around 3-4 feet high. New stalks will come up through last year’s in April, so I always provide a generous layer of pine fines around the plant base as a winter precaution (see photo). From all my reading on the subject, this is really only necessary during the plant’s first winter, but because it’s one of my “pet” plants, I tend to be a bit extra cautious with winter protection.
by Leann Barron |
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Thuja plicata 'Green Giant' - Plant of the Month - January
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 Winter gardening at the Barron house pretty much consists of looking out at the birdfeeders and studying the “bones” of the garden. The fallen leaves reveal the architecture of deciduous plants, herbaceous perennials disappear and most of the garden’s color comes from nandinas, winterberries and evergreens. One of our very favorite conifers, and a consistent crowd-pleaser on garden tours, is the sky-scraping Western arborvitae cultivar, ‘Green Giant.’ We have a stunning specimen pair, over 20 feet tall, that we ordered from the back of a magazine 10 years ago. The feathery seedlings arrived in 4” pots for $9.95. We were initially dismayed by their teensy size, but we held onto the promise they would grow to be lush and huge in just a few short years. They have more than lived up to our expectations, displaying excellent vigor, with healthy, broad-pyramidal, rich medium green foliage. Yes, they grow fast…and yes, they are still growing…wow.
‘Green Giant’ arborvitae has many useful landscape applications, great as a hedge or screen (as an alternative to the tempermental Leyland cypress), specimens, groupings or garden entryways. You don’t have to have a lot of room to grow them, ours are growing merrily in the border along the side street. Although while young, they transplant easily, just make sure you don’t plant them too close together—they grow between 15 and 25 feet wide. They like moist, well-drained fertile soils, and do best in sun to partial shade, with adaptable pH conditions. Just treat them to organics like greensand and top dressings of hen manure, then stand back and watch them grow.
While not a problem in our urban garden, there is some indication that Thuja plicata (Western) cultivars are deer-resistant, and from my experience, needs no spraying, as there’s been nary a pest nor pestilence on my twins. On the other hand, Thuja occidentalis (Eastern) cultivars such as the much loved ‘Emerald,’ ‘Rheingold’ and ‘DeGroot’s Spire’ may experience deer-munching, spider mites, leaf miner and other garden aggravations which may require spraying.
If you are looking for a fast growing, extremely handsome, healthy and hardy conifer for your garden, look no further than ‘Green Giant’ Thuja plicata. You’ll be glad you did.
by Leann Barron
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