Southern Gardening

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mississippi is a long way from Hawaii, but we still can enjoy a special Hawaiian flower in our landscapes.

Most people are familiar with the tradition of giving floral necklaces called leis to visitors to Hawaii. The flower used most commonly is a plumeria, also called frangipani. The plumeria has a tantalizing fragrance and commands attention whether grown in a container or the landscape. Once you start growing it, you will become hooked.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

No matter where you go this summer the tropical look is hot, and one of the key ingredients to this Caribbean-style garden is the elephant ear.

With leaves that defy logic in size and proportion to other plants, it's not hard to see why this plant is so loved by Southern gardeners. It is not uncommon to see 6-foot-tall plants with 3-foot leaves on petioles reaching 4 feet.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This time of the year, we start heading for the shady part of the garden where it is lush and cool. We think of impatiens, begonias, hostas and caladiums for seasonal color in this area, but there is another plant that needs to be in many more gardens, and that is the crossandra.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Pay attention as you're scurrying about this early summer and you will notice one of our finest shrubs blooming and attracting butterflies by the scores. The buddleia's fragrant blossoms attract butterflies and look great as cut flowers. It is referred to as butterfly bush in the United States, and summer lilac in its native China.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As the weather heats up and sends us indoors to a cooler environment, salvias really start to show their beauty in the landscape. One that every gardener needs is the pineapple sage.

By Norman Winter

MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Not too many plants can look equally at home in a tropical garden and an old-fashioned cottage garden, but such is the virtue of the Texas Star hibiscus. This hibiscus, known botanically as Hibiscus coccineus, also is known by less enticing names like swamp mallow or scarlet mallow.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My neighbor down the street already has everyone gawking with a spectacular Mandevilla on her mailbox. It's been that way for a few weeks, yielding dozens of blooms every day.

Many gardeners shop for plants that will bloom all summer and right up until fall. That's a pretty tall order to fill considering our extreme summer climate, but at the top of that list has to be the hybrid Mandevilla Alice du Pont.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Garden centers have had a good supply of one of my favorite plants, the gomphrena. Known botanically as Gomphrena globosa, this Joseph's Coat relative is native to Panama and Guatemala.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

At the Jackson Garden and Patio Show, a new group of hibiscus made its debut and wowed everyone. Called Cajun hibiscus, this series comes in colors you only dreamed about. I got two at the show -- one called Black Dragon that is a deep burgundy with swirls, and then a yellow and red blend called Fais Do Do. Both are extremely large, measuring 9 inches at least.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The future looks bright for pentas, one of our best groups of annuals. I've just returned from the California Pack Trials, and almost every company is introducing new series. This should be a delight to butterflies, hummingbirds and gardeners alike.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you feel like spring is racing by and you haven't planted anything, don't fret. Today's annuals can give flowerbeds the pick-me-up you need. No other group of plants provides as much color as quickly and economically as annuals.

Prepare beds by adding 3 to 4 inches or organic matter such as compost, humus, pine bark or peat moss, and 1 or 2 inches of sharp sand if the soil is really heavy.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Ask gardeners why they start growing roses, and you'll get a range of answers that usually fall into a couple of categories. Many will say that they began a rose garden because the queen of flowers provides such beauty, while others love the fragrance.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

One plant that seems to have caught on in a big way with gardeners is the calibrachoa. This petunia-like flower arrived only a few years ago, and now there are more varieties than I can keep up with. Million Bells was first, then came Colorburst and Liracashowers, then Calle and Starlettes, and now there are Superbells, MiniFamous and Cabaret, plus others.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The word "plectranthus" sounds like it could be some dinosaur that's been discovered in a South Mississippi gravel pit, but believe it or not, a variety named Mona lavender is a 2005 Mississippi Medallion Award winner.

Mona lavender, which is one of the hottest plants in the world, has passed muster in Mississippi State University trials and was chosen by the Mississippi Plant Selections Committee for this prestigious award.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

"Beautiful," "striking" and "tough-as-nails" are just a few of the adjectives horticulturists use to describe Purple Knight alternanthera, which just received the 2005 Mississippi Medallion Award. Purple Knight is guaranteed to take gardening to new levels of enjoyment.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

An old favorite just got better -- and larger -- with the new Titan series, prompting some to reconsider periwinkles for the garden. Last year they made their local debut at the Mid-South Greenhouse Growers conference held in Raymond, and growers from several states were mesmerized.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It won't be long now until landscapes across the state are alive with color. Certainly the azalea will be putting on its usual show, but so will the 2005 Mississippi Medallion Award-winning Chinese snowball viburnum.

There are a lot of good viburnums, but with its white, snowball-like flowers, the Chinese snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum) is the showiest. This plant is always for sale but in small quantities, rarely meeting demand.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The best group of landscape zinnias, the Profusion series, just got better thanks to two new varieties: Fire and Apricot.

The Profusion series put zinnias back in the mainstream garden of America. The Cherry, Orange and White each earned the All-America Selections Gold Medal award. The Profusion series is disease-resistant and blooms from spring until frost. The Fire and Apricot varieties look to have the same superior performance.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist

Geraniums were among the showiest plants at the recent Jackson Garden and Patio Show. Exhibits had just about every color and kind you could want, including scented ones. Judging from the carts going out the door, they were a hit with the shoppers, too.

Large containers of geraniums welcomed visitors to front doors in landscapes all over the state last year. Whether a container is all geraniums or mixed with other spring-bloomers, these are showy flowers that can be admired from a great distance.