Introduction
One of the benefits of membership in the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum is an annual plant dividend for each of our members. The selections for this year are described below and will be available for pickup at the Plant Sale Members Only Preview Party on Friday, May 2nd (click the link for more information and to register for the Preview Party), as well as at the public Plant Sale on Saturday May 3rd and Sunday May 4th .
You can make your choice at the Landscape Plug tables in the tent which will, of course, be subject to availability at the time of selection.
This year the Friends will be selling two hard-to-find, but higher priced plants as landscape plugs. They may be purchased at a reasonable cost at the plugs table but will not be part of the Plant Dividend distribution.
This Year’s Selections
Carex pensylvanica – oak sedge
With its tough disposition and spreading habit, Carex pensylvanica makes an excellent shade groundcover. Fine texture and fountaining habit give this sedge a soft appearance that is lovely as an underplanting for bolder shade perennials or on its own as a shade lawn.
A very easy to grow sedge that tolerates Black Walnut, it does well as a lawn substitute or as a shade border edging plant. Happy in the company of oaks. More info.
Coreopsis palustris Summer Sunshine
Swamp tickseed
Vigorous mounds of foliage reach up to a sturdy 30″ tall. Flower display lasts for a full 6 weeks. Bright and unny for end of summer blooming that holds through the fall. C. palustris is native to the swampy forests of the south and particularly prolific in the Carolinas.
It is one of the slower spreading Coreopsis and can tolerate wet roots for extended periods. Mt. Cuba Center’s 2015 Coreopsis Trial
Echinacea purpurea Green Twister
Green Twister coneflower
An eye-catching twist on the beloved cone- flower, Green Twister’s 4″ light green flowers exhibit variations of yellow edging and carmine-red centers for one impressive effect in the garden. These easy-to-grow perennials are deer resistant and attract butterflies and bees.
They’re also excellent cut flowers.
Heuchera villosa ‘Bronze Wave’ hairy alumroot, coral bells
A native late-flowering groundcover. This has much shinier, almost lacquered looking foliage vs. H. villosa ‘Purpurea’. Like its cousin ‘Autumn Bride’, ‘Bronze Wave’ is sturdy, perhaps an 18″, or a bit larger, clump. September-October flowering spikes of small tan flowers. Excellent shade groundcover that can happily compete with tree roots and come out looking good.
Grow in part sun to full shade in moist or average soil. Water well on planting and regularly until established. Trim to crown in late fall. More info.
Pycnanthemum muticum – clustered mountain mint
We love this Mountain Mint! Its leaves are broader and more lustrous than Pycnanthemum virginianum, the bracts are silvery and very showy, the flowers are pinkish and its habit is more compact. Nicely aromatic. This native is happiest at the wood’s edge, so it is excellent for a naturalized border or woodland garden.
Mountain Mint is one of the best nectar sources for native butterflies, so butterfly gardeners can’t do without this one. More info.
Solidago flexicaulis
zigzag goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis brings pollinators to your dappled shade garden with subtle yellow flower clusters in mid-summer to fall.
A hardy native perennial, it tolerates deer, shade, and clay soils.
Tiarella cordifolia Running Tapestry
foamflower
A vigorous running groundcover with red speckled, deeply dissected heart shaped foliage, Tiarella ‘Running Tapestry’ produces a plethora of white flower spikes in spring. Discovered by Jim Plyler of Natural Landscapes Nursery, West Grove, PA, the irrepressible grower of native trees and shrubs. A Cornell University All Star Groundcover!
Polystichum acrostichoides
Christmas fern
While not as showy as some others, this fern makes up for it with its neat habit, easy culture, and its lustrous, nearly evergreen leaves. Often used in Christmas floral arrangements because it is still attractive in December. It is a wonderful companion for spring blooming bulbs. Found in acidic to neutral soils on shaded slopes and well drained flats.
FOR PURCHASE ONLY
Viola walteri ‘Silver Gem’
prostrate blue violet
From the gardens of Mt. Cuba Center, comes this tough native groundcover. Easily identified by trailing stems and delicate lavender flowers, ‘Silver Gem’ forms a dense, tidy mat of attractive silver foliage. Flowers appear in March and persist into autumn. Our plant trials have proven ‘Silver Gem’ to be exceptionally drought tolerant and happiest in part to full shade.