All the Dirt on Gardening

Shrub planting season is here and there are more choices than ever. Whether your garden needs tall or short, pencil thin or a thick, the selections for adding year-round beauty have never been so appealing. Shrubs serve many purposes in the landscape and do not have to be those boring blobs of green commonly seen around fences and foundations. In order to be called a shrub, plants have to be made of several woody stems that do not die to the ground over the winter. If you think of a garden you admire, you probably see it as a picture viewed from a window or a terrace, with layers of plants. The plants at eye-level, between the taller trees and the shorter perennials are often shrubs. The two main categories of shrubs are evergreen which hold their leaves or needles throughout the winter and deciduous types that drop their leaves. Evergreens include boxwood, euonymus, Burford holly and Nandina (heavenly bamboo), as well as the needle-bearing juniper, pine, and spruce. Some se...

Now that summer is waning and fall planting season is here, Oklahoma State University Extension Specialist, Mike Schnelle, has advice for homeownersabout which trees and shrubs could be good choices for our area. “Wait through this winter before you decide to remove a leafless tree in your yard and replace it,” Schnelle said. “The drought has put many trees into early dormancy. They may still be alive and could leaf out next spring.” The unusual weather of the past two summers has taken its toll on some of the most rugged native plants and Schnelle acknowledged that native shrubs and trees had to be watered this year to keep them looking their best. “The best trees under the worst stress can be vulnerable to insects and diseases,” said Schnelle. “But, with that said, there are several plants to recommend that require no chemical insecticides or pesticides.” One superior small tree is the Oklahoma Redbud (Cercis canadensis), a grafted tree with lavender spring flowe...