Pinus mugo (mugo pine) are very popular evergreen shrubs used in landscapes. Get mugo pine facts and information and what is needed to grow healthy mugo pines.

Pinus mugo 'Gnome'

Pinus mugo Facts and Information

Pinus mugo is grown as a specimen plant or foundation plant in Zones 3-7 (8). Mugo pines are excellent shrubs that grow 15-20’ h x 20-25’w. They have a broad, bushy form and a medium texture. They are popular shrubs because of their form and their orange-red bark.

Dwarf mountain pines have bright, green, rigid needles in bunches of two. The needles may take on a yellowish cast in winter, especially at their tips. Mature specimens can have a variable shape, ranging, from prostrate to pyramidal. Keep the mature size of this shrub in mind when choosing a site. It starts out as a little “button,” but grows into a large plant that often outgrows its site. Use it in groups or mass plantings, in foundation plantings or as a specimen with regular pruning. It is one of the few pines that is tolerant of some shade. It can be used in planters or raised containers.

Care of Mugo Pines

Mugo pines are available balled and burlapped and container grown. They are easy to transplant in spring or fall. They prefer well-drained conditions in full sun and are not salt tolerant. Keep the soil evenly moist from spring until the soil freezes in fall. Mature plants are drought tolerant. Feed every spring with an acid plant food such as Miracle-Gro Shake ’n Feed Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron.

Mugo Pine 'Mops"

Pruning can be done annually in spring by removing two-thirds of each young, expanding candle. Choose dwarf varieties if you want a plant less than 15’ tall and wide.

Propagation of the seeds do not require stratification and will germinate readily.

Pests and Diseases include scale that will cause the needles to turn yellow and eventually die. You can kill scale eggs by spraying the trees with a dormant oil spray in early spring.

Related Species Information

Many selections of mugo pine are available, ranging from true dwarfs to large shrubs, but they are often mixed up in the nursery trade. Pinus mugo ‘Compacta’ grows to 3’ tall and 4’ wide. Var. Mugo is a mounded form with a tufted appearance that grows 8’ tall and 10’ wide. Pinus mugo ‘Pumilio’ is a variable prostrate form.

Pinus mugo ‘Amber Gold’ is a mounding selection that is compact and slow growing. The needles turn orange-yellow in the cold months, fading to green again in spring. Pinus mugo ‘Mops’ is a popular dwarf form (to 3’ tall) that remains very tight and small without pruning.

Pinus mugo ‘Slowmound’, another popular true dwarf selection (to 3’tall), forms a dark green, dense mound and won’t outgrow its planting space. Pinus mugo ‘Tannenbaum’ is a larger grower, forming a nicely pyramidal shape with a dense habit and deep green needles. It grows 10’ tall with a spread of 6’. Pinus mugo ‘Teeny’ is perhaps the smallest form available, exhibiting very short needles and short growth to form a compact 10” bun.

The white spruce tree is an evergreen conifer often used as hedges and windbreaks. Get white spruce tree facts, information, and list of the most popular varieties of Picea glauca spruce trees.

White Spruce tree

White spruce trees (picea glauca) belongs to the Pine Family (Pinaceae). It is distinguished by being evergreen, deer resistant and salt, drought, and heat tolerance. It is dense when young but will become more open with age. White spruce has a slim, conical form that is easily recognized. This tree grows easily in the Great Plains and northern New England.

*Fact- White spruce is the state tree of South Dakota.

Landscape Uses: Hedges, windbreaks, and seaside plantings.

Size: 40-60’ in height by 10 to 20’ in spread

Origin: Northern U.S. And Canada

Hardiness Zones: 2-6

Light: Full sun but will tolerate some shade.

Soil: Moist, well-drained soil, but tolerates wetter sites better than P. abies or P. pungens.

Habit: a broad, dense pyramid in youth, becoming a tall, fairlty narrow, dense spire, compact and regular, with ascending branches.

Leaf color: Glaucous green

Flowers: Monoecious, staminate, pale red becoming yellow; pistillate purple.

Fruit: Pendulous, cylindrical cones, 1 to 2 1/2” long, 1/2 to 3/4” wide, green when young and light brown when mature, scales thin, flexible, broad, rounded, almost entire at margins.

Diseases: Susceptible to trunk and root rot, spruce bagworm, European sawfly and red spiders.

Culture:Transplants readily; makes its best growth on moist loam or alluvial soils, and although found on many different sites, it is typical of stream banks, lake shores and adjacent slopes. It is one of the most tolerant spruces as it withstands wind, heat, cold, drought and crowding.

Native white spruce trees

White Spruce Varieties (Cultivars)

Picea glauca ‘Conica’- Often called the Dwarf Alberta Spruce and Dwarf White Spruce. This natural dwarf (var. conica) becomes broadly conical in time. The foliage (needles 1/4 to 1/2” long) is light green, densely set, and the needles radiate around the stem. Growth is very slow (about 2-4” per year). Will grow about 10-12’ in 25 to 30 years and is easily propagated by cuttings.

Picea glauca ‘Densata’- (var. densata) is a slow growing conical type reaching 20-40’ after 40-80 years. It is often called the Black Hills Spruce.

PIcea glauca 'Albertina'- A slow growing, compact cultivar with a narrow pyramidal form.

Dogwood Facts, Dogwood (Cornus) gives gardens an ornamental four-season tree. Get Dogwood facts and a list of dogwood varieties to plant in your landscape.

Dogwood trees in bloom

The genus, Cornus, contains several varieties of flowering trees that range from trees to shrubs to groundcovers. The shrubs and trees are notable for their refined form, while others may have a spreading habit fit for short or tall groundcovers and attracting wildlife.

In nature, dogwoods usually occur in the forest understory and at the woodland’s edge, where they exhibit an appealing delicacy of form because of the restricted light. They also look lovely grouped in a large lawn or as specimen trees in both large and small sunny landscapes, where they are low-branched, full, and spreading.

There are many varieties of dogwood, allowing you to grow different types of dogwood for flashy pink or white flowers (which are actually four petal-like bracts), for fine fall color, attractive red fruits or white berry clusters, or for the decorative flaky to colorful bark.

White Dogwood flowers

Dogwoods will have such diseases as anthracnose, powdery mildew, and canker.

Helpful anthracnose controls: Mulch the root zone to conserve moisture, then clean up dropped leaves fast. Do not overfeed and water by soaker hose instead of overhead sprinklers during dry spells.

Dogwood Varieties

Tatarian dogwood, Red Twig dogwood (Cornus alba), shrub grows 6-10’ h x 5-6’w. Zones 3-7.

Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), shrub or small tree; 15-20’ h x 20-25’ w. Zones 4-7.

Bunchberry, Creeping dogwood (Cornus canadensis), groundcover or subshrub, 6-10’ h x indefinite spread, Zones 3-6.

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), small flowering tree, 15-30’ h x 15-20’ w. Zones 5-9.

Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa), small flowering tree, 20-30’ h and w. Zones 5-8.

Cornelian cherry dogwood, Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), small flowering tree, 20-25’h x 10-15’w. Zones 5-7.

Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), shrub, 7-9’ h x 8-10’ w. Zones 3-7.

Red buckeye, Aesculus pavia, is a tree with spikes of showy, red, tubular blooms. Find facts, information and tips on growing Red buckeye trees and some of the most popular red buckeye varieties.

Red Buckeye Tree

Red Buckeye Tree Facts and Information

Red buckeye belongs to the Horse Chestnut Family (Hipposcasta naceae). It grows in Zones 4-8 (9) and will reach heights of 10-30’ by 10-20’ wide. This tree originates from moist woods, ravines, and wooded streamsides in southeastern and central U.S.

The flowers of Aesculus pavia attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. The foliage is purplish bronze when young, turning dark green. Before the end of summer the leaves will be falling to the ground, though foliage persists longer on plants grown in shade. It blooms in sun or shade and can be placed under a taller tree such as a beech tree. Red buckeye prefers to be grown in sun and has a low-branched, rounded form, but in shade the habit is looser and more open. The furrowed bark is brownish gray.

Underplant this lovely tree with large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and massed Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), and coralbells (Heuchera spp.), or foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia).

Hardiness Zones: Zones 4-8

Light: Blooms more in full sun but does best in partial shade where it retains its foliage until mid fall.

Soil: Prefers moist loam with plenty of organic matter and neutral to basic soil. Apply lime to sweeten acid soil. Red buckeye can tolerate wet for short periods and survives short bouts of drought, though the latter may cause summer leaf drop.

Growing: Red buckeye has better mildew resistance than other chestnuts, but is is susceptible to leaf blotch, a fungal disease. To prevent the disease from overwintering, immediately rake up an destroy dropped leaves.

CAUTION: The attractive glossy fruits are Poisonous.

Flower and foliage of Aesculus pavia

Red Buckeye Varieties

Aesculus pavia ‘Atrosanguinea’ has deep red blooms. Grows 10-30’h x 10-30’ w.

Aesculus pavia vari. Flavescans has yellow flowers that are pollinated by bumble bees. Grows 10-30’ h x 1-20’ w.

Aesculus pavia ‘Humilis’ is a squat shrub with smaller clusters of red blooms.

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Native Trees for North American Landscapes

Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants

Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) is a shrub used as a ground-cover. Get facts and information on growing and caring for bog rosemary in your landscape.

Bog Rosemary- a tiny-mounded shrub

Bog rosemary is a tiny mounding shrub that grows 16”h x 24”w. It is a native ground-cover belonging to the Heath Family (Ericaceae). Andromeda polifolia varieties have narrow, pointed, evergreen leaves about 1”long that dangle in clusters of 2 to 5 bell-like white or light pink blooms in spring. The bluish green leaves resemble those of rosemary, and thus gets its common name.

Landscape Uses

Bog rosemary plants are perfect for acidic bog gardens, moist woodland gardens, and for edging in damp beds and borders.

Good companion plants include: Bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), cranberry (Vaccinium species), tamarack (Larix laricina), purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), and sphagnum moss (Sphagnum  species).

Leaves resemble rosemary

Hardiness Zones: 2-6

Light: Full sun to part shade.

Soil: Cool, consistently moist, peaty, sandy, aci soil with pH of 4.5-5.

Growing: Intolerant of heat, humidity, and drought.

Best Bog Rosemary Varieties

Andromeda polifolia ‘Blue Ice' has blue leaves and pink-tinged white flowers from May to July. Grows 12” h x 24” w.

Andromeda polifolia ‘Compacta’ has pink flowers and dull green leaves on a mounded twiggy shrub. 8” h x 12” w.

A. polifolia ‘Alba’ has white flowers with dark gray-green leaves on a low-lying shrub with a spreading habit. 6-8” h x 12-18” w.

A. polifolia ‘Macrophylla’ has rounded pink flowers that age to a white color. It has broad, dark green leaves. 12” h.x 24" w.

Book of Swamp & Bog, The: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern Freshwater Wetlands

Bogs of the Northeast

The Handkerchief Tree (Davidia involucrata), also known as Dove Tree or Ghost tree, gets its name from its blossoms. Get facts and info on growing and caring for Handkerchief trees. Davidia involucrata varieties belong to the dogwood family (Cornaceae). This tree is a deciduous tree that grows 20-50’h x 20-30’w.

Handkerchief Tree (Davidia involucrata)

 Handkerchief Tree Flowers

The flowers on this Davidia has a 3/4” round head with visible, purple pollen stalks (anthers) and looks rather insignificant on its own, but nature gives this modest head a sure fire way to focus the attention of pollinators. It has two uneven white bracts, the larger measuring up to 8” long, surround it.

During its 2 week spring bloom period, the tree looks like a flock of doves have nested in its branches, thus creating a ghostly presence in the landscape. In addition to flowers, this tree, which may be challenging to find at your local nursery, also has decorative peeling bark for year round interest.

* Important Fact- The striking flowers typically occur every other year, and you will have to wait until the tree is roughly 10 years old for blooming to actually begin. The green fruits are 1” rounds, maturing in fall to reddish brown color.

Handkerchief, Dove, or Ghost Blooms of Davidia

Davidia Leaves and Bark

The 6” x 4 1/2” leaves are heart shaped, bright green on top, and softly hairy underneath. The tree holds its foliage until hard frost but has no significant fall color. The bark is an ornamental bark that is orangish-brown in color with vertical flaking.

Landscape Uses

Use these trees as focal points or landscape specimens. I have seen it planted along a quiet, shady, residential street where it can be enjoyed for its beauty.

Origin: Moist Chinese mountain forests

Hardiness Zones: Zones 6-8 (See new updated USDA zone map)

Light: Full sun to partial shade. If you plant it in full sun, make sure to keep the soil moist at all times.

Soil: Moist, well-drained, acid to alkaline soils, high in organic matter.

Growing: Shaping should be done during winter dormancy. Pruning should be done when the tree is young so that you can prune off branches up to the point where you can enjoy the blooms from below. It is crucial to maintain soil moisture, so water your dove tree during periods of drought.

Best Variety- Davidia involucrata var. Vilmoriniana has smooth leaf bottoms and will reach 20-50’h x 20-30’w. in Zone 5.

Purple velvet or purple passion (Gynura aurantiaca) is a houseplant with fuzzy purple hairs that cover its foliage. Get facts and information on growing and caring for Gynura varieties. These colorful plants grow very well in hanging baskets.

Gynura aurantiaca (Purple Passion)

Gynura, specifically Gynura aurantiaca, grows only 6” h x 2’w. It is a herbaceous plant with a trailing form making it an excellent plant for hanging baskets. Purple passion needs bright to medium light to keep its intense purple color and dense form. When grown in the proper light, it remains stocky and thick. If grown in too little light, the plant becomes leggy. Adaptable to a cool window, purple passion tolerates cool to average temperatures (55-65) and average humidity (30-60 %). A pot-in-pot system helps maintain adequate humidity around the plant.

Care of Purple Passion 

Keep evenly moist during active growth; reduce watering and allow the soil to dry slightly in winter. Feed three times in summer with foliage plant food. You can repot the plant annually, but it isn’t necessary. After a couple of years, the plant may get ragged, so start a new plant every year to keep an attractive specimen. Pinch it regularly to keep it stocky.

Purple Velvet in hanging basket

Propagation

Propagate by stem cuttings in water or soil. You will get an attractive plant faster if you root several cuttings in a single pot. Use rooting hormone and keep the humidity higher than usual while the plant is developing roots.

Pests and Diseases

Treat mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol or horticultual oil. Avoid spraying the entire plant with oil so the hairs don't mat.

Species of Gynura aurantiaca

The cultivar ‘Purple Passion’ is the standard plant. The species is seldom available.

Tip: Pinch out the stem tips regularly to keep the plant looking shrubby and attractive. Also pinch out flower buds because they have an unpleasant odor.

Choose a columbine flower with its interesting foliage to add a light, airy quality to your landscape. Columbine flowers are perennials that are used in borders and woodland gardens. Get facts and information on growing the columbine for its beautiful and unique shaped flowers.

Columbine Flower

Columbine plants such as Aquilegia McKana Hybrids, grow in Zones 3-9 and will reach 30”h x 24” w. They have a rounded or clumped form. Columbine have a fine texture and will tolerate full sun or partial shade and fertile or average well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5-7.0. The plants are, however, short lived. Use columbines in the woodland border, for naturalizing, in the rock garden, and in containers. Good companion plants include hosta, lady’s mantle, and Siberian bugloss.

Columbine Flowers

The columbine flowers are unique flowers with blooms that appear from late spring into midsummer. They have spurs up to 4” long with blooms that are often two-toned and attract butterflies. The white and lavender Columbine, Aquilegia caerules, is the state flower of Colorado. They come in colors of purple, yellow, red and yellows. They look delicate but are very hardy and make excellent cut flowers. Columbine will reseed itself if you do not deadhead the plants.

Care of Columbine Plants

Plant columbine plants 18-24” apart in spring or fall in well-drained, fertile soil. In hotter areas provide afternoon shade. Apply slow-release plant food at the time of planting. Cease feeding 6-8 weeks prior to the first frost date. Deadhead spent blossoms to encourage reblooming. Water them deeply whenever the soil is dry.

Bright petals of Columbine flower

After 2-3 years the base of the plant will become woody and both bloom and foliage will become woody and both bloom and foliage will begin to decline. Replace plants when this occurs. If blooms are not harvested, plants will self-seed. Cut the plants to the ground in late fall after frost withers the foliage.

Propagation: Fresh seed will germinate in 10-20 days at 70-75 degrees. Stored seed may take up to 30 days to germinate. Seeds should be exposed to light, not covered with soil, during germination. If an exact replica of the parent plant is desired, divide the plant in spring. Transplants may take a full year to exhibit full healthy form, habit, and bloom schedule.

Pests and Diseases: leaf miners will disfigure the leaves with “mining’ lines left by feeding insects. Apply insecticide early in the season and remove any infested leaves.

Related Species: Biedermeier Group Hybrids will reach 20” high by 12” wide. Flowers will be either white, pink, or purple and blue. The foliage is an attractive blue-green. Mrs. Scott-Elliot Hybrids reach 36” high by 24” wide. Blooms occur from late spring to midsummer in a variety of shades. The foliage is medium green.

Mudroom benches are great additions to a mudroom. A mudroom bench or a mudroom locker can provide a handy place to sit and take off muddy and wet clothing, or a place to hang up wet clothes and store wet, muddy shoes. Get facts and info on many types of mudroom benches and mudroom lockers so you can choose the right bench for your mudroom.

Mudroom lockers provide handy storage spaces

There are many advantages of having a mudroom for your family. This is especially convenient when you have children or family members who enjoy getting out and enjoying the outdoors. There are many types of mudroom lockers and benches available and each are unique mudroom benches that are made of different materials. Most mudrooms come equipped with some or all of these accessories: mudroom cabinets, mudroom cubbies, mudroom lockers and storage benches. Store sports equipment, outdoor wear such as, winter coats, rain coats, boots, gloves, hats other items that you want to keep together in a central location so that it is easily found and will keep wet, damp, and muddy items at a distance.

Get some ideas on mudroom designs and other mudroom ideas to help design a room if you are in the planning stages. If you already have a room designated as a mud room, you can add pieces as you go along as there are many items that can be purchased to add convenience and space savings ideas that you can incorporate into your mudroom. If you own other types of benches such as an outdoor bench, bedroom bench, or dining bench, you probably already know how useful and convenient they can be.

Types of Mudroom Benches and Lockers

Mudroom benches may be simple in design, but should be functional and resistant to moisture. Many people like the locker style mudroom benches which can also serve to store and hang up coats and wet articles, as well as storing winter gloves and scarves. This saves room in your home and keeps the messes out of the way. Other Popular Mudroom benches come in halltree mudroom styles, and mudroom cubbybench styles.

Mudroom lockers come in many styles as well. You may want to choose a cabinet system with many open storage bins or ones with closed doors to keep the area looking tidy. Most homeowners who have frequent wet items will prefer the open areas with hooks and hangers to let wet items dry out quickly. Lockers also are great for storing shoes that are used outdoors so they don't come into the main living area.

Mudroom Benches with baskets

Mudroom Bench Materials

The wood varieties range from hardwoods such as oak and Asian hardwoods to cherry in natural colors, to metal and wicker bench styles. Some have drawers or baskets, and may have a flip top which is an added advantage when you need extra storage space. Most types are typical benches with or without backs. Some types will be made of plastics or poly materials, while others may be padded in leather. Another popular mudbench is a simple shaker style bench that serves its purpose very well. When choosing a bench, you should choose a bench that will fit your family needs and budget.

Colors and Prices of Mudroom Benches and Lockers

The colors will vary according to wood type and in some mudroom bench styles you can purchase stained or painted colors such as, black, brown, and white. A white bench goes with many home interiors and is very popular. It is possible to also buy an unfinished mudroom bench and either paint or stain it a color to match your home decor. You have an advantage to be able to add extra coats of urethane to your bench to help it resist moisture and everyday wear and tear from use.

Prices will vary according to the type, size, and style you choose. You can purchase good quality mudroom benches less than $100.00. The average  prices will range around $200-$500. You will be able to find many more at greater prices, but check out all of the medium range prices first as you will be surprised at the options you have available to you.

Mudroom Locker Bench

Howard Miller 915-013 Ty Pennington Mudroom Locker I by Howard Miller

Winsome® Storage Bench with Baskets

Stewartia, Japanese Stewartia, produces glorious fall color and lovely summer flowers. Get stewartia facts and info on how to grow this glorious flowering tree that gives seasonal interest through all four seasons of the year.

Fall colored Japanese stewartia

Japanese Stewartia 

Stewartia pseudocamellia is a deciduous flowering tree with leaves that turn a warm, rich hue in fall. Young stewartias are narrow and columnar, but with maturity, the crown becomes more oval. They can be grown as specimens in front lawns instead of the typical flowering cherry tree. You will find that many times ornamental cherries and flowering plum trees will soon become Japanese beetle bait in July. On the other hand, summer time for stewartia means flowers, not beetles.

Stewartia is a four-season plant, with orange-gold to deep ruby red fall foliage and peeling, colorful bark. Fall color varies some from tree to tree. The best way to ensure good fall color is to see how a tree colors up before taking it home.

Japanese stewartia trees have foliage in alternate and simple patterns. The 4” x 2 1/2”, dark green leaves are tapered and toothed. In fall, they take onan orange to deep red color. The ornamental bark is reddish brown, peeling to expose a pink, cream, and gray inner bark, particularly on old trees. The trunk is smooth and muscled, with skinlike creases.

Stewartia pseudocamillia Flowers

In midsummer (June or July), stewartia produces 2 1/2” white, camellia-like blossoms in the leaf joints by 1s and 2s in rapid sequence. The flowers have 5 petals and a central boss of bright yellow stamens. The fruit capsules are not ornamental.

White Camellia-like blooms

Landscape Uses

Use stewartia trees as front-yard specimens, near decks, patios, and windows where you can see the bark. They do well along lightly shaded paths in woodland gardens or as an understory below large trees.

Origin: Mountainous forests of Japan

Hardiness Zones: Zone 5-8

Light: Full sun in cooler climates to partial shade.

Soil: Moist, fertile, well-drained, organic soils

Growing: Transplant when young

Stewartias are trouble-free in all seasons, although older plants may be difficult to establish and it will not tolerate drought or the heat of the southern gardens.

Other Stewartia Varieties to Consider

Stewartia monadelpha (tall stewartia) is grown for its stunning, cinnamon-colored, flaking bark. This heat tolerant tree produces little white blooms up to 1 1/2” wide in June. Monadelpha is the best choice for southern gardens. It will grow 25’-35’ h x 20’-25’w in Zones 6-8.

Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Ballet’ has bigger blooms (3”-4”) and a more graceful and spreading form. It will grow to 15’h x 12’w. in ten years.

Stewartia pseudocamellia Koreana Group (Korean stewartia) (syn. S. koreana) has wide-open, white flowers with showy yellow stamens in midsummer. It has excellent red fall color on some plants and a smooth trunk with flaking ornamental bark in gray, orange-pink, and brown. Very similar to species. Will grown 20’-40’h x 15’-20’w. In Zones 5-8.