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By Mark Richardson, Adult EducationPrograms Manager, Brookside Gardens

When the USDA released its new PlantHardiness Zone Map earlier this year,

it conrmed what many in our industryhad learned rom experiencethat our

winters arent quite as cold as they used tobe. Using average winter temperatures ora 30-year time period rom 1976 to 2005,USDA created not only the static map

we al l are accustomed to using, but also

an interactive

G I S - b a s e dmap and a searchable zip-code index.Checkhttp://planthardiness.ars.usda.govor all the handy new tools and download

your own high resolution map.

Forget or a minute the politically-chargeddebate over climate change and why weveall moved up a zone (or more). Whatdoes this all mean or the horticultureand landscape industry? Frankly, its alicense to step outside our typical comort

Plant of the Month continued

Marginally-hardy Plants and the New Normal

Loropetalum chinensevar. rubrum'Ruby' isthe perhaps the smallest o all the burgundyChinese Fringe-fower cultivars available. It hasa rounded orm to about 3-5'photo by BarbaraKatz, London Landscapes LLC

The variegaoliage o

Fatsia japon'Spider's Wlooks amazcontrastedagainst theburgundy o Loropetachinensevarubrum'LitDawn.'phby Phil NormBrookside G

The yellow-green to deep greenvariegation and glossy oliageo x Fatshedera lizei'Annemieke'make it an attractive cultivarchoicephoto by Barbara Katz,London Landscapes LLC

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

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zone and experiment with marginally-hardy plants. Ater all, having read andunderstood this ofcial map, the plantsthemselves know they now have ofcialgovernment permission to step out otheir own comort zones.

Lets look at some plants you might havebeen reluctant to try, some o which maybe related to rock-hardy landscape staples.In this area, were amiliar with severalspecies in the Witchhazel Family (Hama-melidaceae). Hamamelis virginiana

Plant of the Month continued

and H. x intermedia have long been high-lights o the winter garden. Fothergilla

gardeniiis a striking specimen with threeseasons o interest. My personal avorite,Corylopsis Winterthur, impresses withits early show o ragrant, creamy-yellowowers. But Loropetalum chinense(Chi-nese ringe-ower) is not as well-knownin our region, primarily because, as a zone7 to 9 plant, its been o-limits or all butthe bravest among us.

Loropetalum is a medium-sized(610' high) evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub with a loosely-

rounded habit and gorgeousowers in late-winter. Flowers othe species are pale yellow to cream,strap-like, and slightly similar to

witch-hazel, although more visible,especially against the backdrop odark-green oliage. Te more recentintroduction rom China oL. chi-nensevar. rubrum, containing likely

dozens o cultivars, has burgundy oliageand light-pink to screaming uchsia ow-ers. With its unique, somewhat irregular

Less available than the species, severalred to orange cultivars o Edgeworthia

exist. E. chrysantha'Akabana' (or'Akebono') is an orange-orm cultivar

ictured here.photo by Mark Richardson

Edgeworthiachrysanthaisa great ocal

point in the

winter landscapebecause oits unusual

habit andragrant, showy

blossoms.photo by

Ching-Fang Chen,Montgomery

PlanningDepartment

Wednesday

June 13, 2012How theMarket andYour BusinessHave ChangedLCA has gather together leaders from

many facets of the landscape industry

residential and commercial landscape

contractors,

installation andmaintenance

professionals,

landscape

architects

and tree care

specialists

to share with

you the way

the market has

changed their

business and

their strategies for success in the future.

This is a great opportunity for you to pick

up some new ideas and strategies to take

your company to the next level.

Confirmed Presenters:

John Denison, President

Denison Landscaping

Mark Hjelle,President, Brickman

Kevin McHale,President

McHale Landscape Design, Inc.

Craig Ruppert,President

Ruppert Landscape

Joan Honeyman, Partner, Jordan

Honeyman Landscape Architecture, LLC

Schedule

10:00 am 12:00 Noon: Program

12:00 Noon 1:00 pm: Lunch, networking

and chance to visit exhibitors

LocationKenwood Golf & Country Club

5601 River Road

Bethesda, MD 20816

Early Registration Ends Friday, June 8.

Register Now and Save!www.lcamddcva.org/programs/

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branching habit, Loropetalum may not be the rst choiceor a ormal clipped hedge, but it can be sheared, trainedas an espalier, planted in mass or singly as an accent orspecimen. It is an attractive replacement or some o ourmore common broadleaved evergreens, with the addedbonus o early spring bloom.

Fatsia japonica, or Japanese atsia, has broad 610" anddeeply-lobed evergreen oliage. A member o the AraliaFamily (Araliaceae), atsia is reliably hardy to zone 8a, butis worth trying in our area or its bold texture and nearlytropical appearance. Very similar in appearance to the cas-tor bean, a non-hardy member o the same amily, atsiacan reach about 6-10' high and wide. A great oundationplant, atsia does best with some protection rom the sunand winter winds.

Another interesting member o the Aralia Family, x Fats-hederalizeiis an intergeneric hybrid o atsia and English

ivy (Hedera helix). Slightly more hardy than atsia, Fatshed-era also is considerably smaller (35') and almost vine-likein habit. rain it as an espalier or let it spread and ramblein a less ormal garden bed. Its palmately-lobed oliageis glossy and typically 48" across, providing that samebold, tropical look as atsia, in a smaller, less rigid package.

Another ascinating plant that weve seen more and morein recent years is paperbush,Edgeworthia chrysantha and E.

papyrifera, two very similar, and oten conused, species. Amember o the same amily as Daphne(Tymelaceae), oneoEdgeworthias best attributes is its oral display in late

winter. Opening beore any sign o oliage, the silver-uzzy2" wide umbels o 2540 individual tube-shaped owersat the ends o chunky stems are wonderully ragrant andcreamy to light yellow in color. Once its oliage emerges,paperbush exhibits an oddly attractive habit, with nakedstems and clusters o narrow blue-green leaves toward thetips o its branches. Although it can sucker and become

wider than tall, Ive most oten seen it as a medium-sizedrounded shrub, to about 6' high and wide.Edgeworthia isbest used as a specimen sited where its ragrant and showyblossoms can be appreciated in late winter.

Te last truly cold winter we experienced in this region was19931994; or nearly twenty years, our average annuallow temperatures have been comortably above 0F. Tisnew normal or our area means standard landscapeplants like Nandina, Photinia and Aucuba are no longerconsidered marginally hardy. Its time to explore a wholenew range o plants once considered o-limits becausethey werent hardy. Dont be araid to leave your comortzoneespecially now that you and your plants have theexpressed written consent o the USDA.

Plant of the Month continued

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