Searching for the Perfect Plant?
Looking to add a little flair to your garden this summer? But worried that the plant you pick out won’t bear up well through the seasons? Look no further. The Charleston Horticultural Society (CHS) has done your work for you. Through a new program titled "The Lowcountry Gold Medal Plant," the Society’s expert panel has selected four "Gold Medal Winners" that each are eye-appealing, hearty and easy to maintain – the Chaste Tree, the Japanese Pieris, the Blanket Flower and the Japanese Maple (see accompany pictures and descriptions).
The CHS program was developed to help educate consumers and home gardeners about superior plants for lowcountry landscapes and increase the awareness of underutilized plants. To be selected, plants need not be new to the market, but instead must exhibit qualities on excellence in all three arenas – attractive, hearty and easy to maintain. Explains CHS: "When home gardeners acquire a plant designated a Gold Medal Winner, they can be assured the plant will exhibit standards of excellence for disease, pest resistance, tolerance of heat and humidity, and ease of growing when planted and maintained as recommended." Adds CHS: "Lowcountry Gold Medal plants exhibit natural beauty and appeal in many seasons, whether for foliage, flower or structural form. Plants nominated for the Award . . . must exhibit outstanding horticultural and aesthetic appeal that warrants Lowcountry Gold distinction. Contenders must be currently in a propagation program which ensures they will be readily available to the home gardener."
Chaste Tree
(Vitex agnus-castus
‘Colonial blue’)
This deciduous small tree or large shrub is a drought-tolerant pest-free plant with striking blue tubular blossoms and leaves shaped like an open hand. It will grow in almost any well-drained soil, will take coastal conditions, and is not usually browsed by deer. Colonial Blue is a cultivar typically grown in warm winter areas. It blooms throughout the summer and is attractive to butterflies and bees. Planted in a sunny location it will grow to 10-15 feet.
Japanese Pieris
(Pieris japonica
‘Temple Bells’)
A slow-growing dwarf shrub with tiered branches, Temple Bells exhibits new foliage that is a bronze-apricot color, maturing to a lustrous dark green. Large ivory white flowers resembling lily of the valley are borne in pendulous panicles and make an elegant show in spring and early summer. Like azaleas, Temple Bells prefers acid soil and high shade or dappled sunlight. Grows to 3-5 feet high and wide.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia ‘Oranges and Lemons’) (see photo above)
Native to the South and Midwest, Oranges and Lemons bloom throughout the summer in warm colors of orange and yellow. They thrive on neglect, love the sun and heat, and have no serious pests. Not fussy about soil, Oranges and Lemons must have good drainage. With a daisy-like appearance and excellent as cut flowers, they can have as many as 75 flowers open at a single time and thrive along the baking asphalt driveway or in that dry area around a mailbox.
Japanese Maple
(Acer palmatum
‘Bloodgood’)
This small (15-20 feet) ornamental deciduous tree is a vigorous grower with an upright habit. Its leaves are a deep red in spring and summer and scarlet in the fall. Its graceful airy appearance is an asset to any landscape as a focal point, specimen planting, or even in a large pot. Bloodgood prefers partial shade and rich acidic well drained soil.
