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Choosing the Right Plant
for the Right Place
Richland Backyard Landscaping Series Gardening for the Natural Environment
Columbia, South Carolina
Presented by Betsy Kaemmerlen LEED-AP Landscape Architect
April 4, 2013
committed to sustainable solutions
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Location Location Location!
Zone – Both Hardiness & Heat
Exposure – sun and wind a factor
Soils – Sand, Silt, Clay, Organic Matter
Wet to Dry
Acid to Alkaline
Friable to Compacted
Windswept to Courtyard
Gerbers love
Lime!
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Understanding your site location!
Water Gardens vs Rain Gardens
Japanese Garden with
Recirculating Water
Rain Garden with
Storm Water ONLY
must have drought resistance!
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Zone Maps
Columbia SC 8a Hardiness 8 Heat (9 Urban)
Sago Palm Dioon
Pindo Palm
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Sun – Shade… Don’t forget Reflected Heat!
Overstory Shade differs from Building Shade Root competition adds to challenge.
True ‘Full’ sun in SC can be brutal! Especially on the west side of buildings near paving.
Old Growth
Forest
Athens, GA
Euphorbia
Lady Jane Tulip
Species Tulip that Loves to Bake
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Shade
Tolerance
DRY Ruscus - Butcher’s Broom
SHADE Nandina - Yellow Berry
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Western Exposure – North vs South
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Western Exposure – north vs SOUTH
Hint: look for thick, silver leaves or fuzzy texture
Palmetto Lantana Mexican Sage Yucca rostrata Hollywood Juniper
Purple Queen Crinum bulbospermum Knock Out Rose Teucrium azureum
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Plant Size – Unless you’re Pearl Fryar…
Pruning should be for Form,
not ultimate Height!
Large Shade Trees – Deciduous and Evergreen East/West shade/look for open branching if lawn desired
Small Ornamental Trees (including Dwarf Fruit) some of most appropriate for small lots
Large Shrubs (can often be pruned up into tree) try to avoid constant clipping tops off/creating yard waste
Small Shrubs (‘slow growing’ can still get big!) and remember – EVERYthing Starts small
Groundcovers, Perennials, Bulbs and Ornamental Grasses
Lawn – actually one of easiest to maintain: mow often and leave clippings for nutrients, trade in that gas powered mower, and go electric!
Over-planting leads to eventual thinning…
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Ornamental Grasses – Size Matters!
Variegated
Arundo
12-16’ Tall!
Miscanthus Cabaret 5- 6’
Liriope 12-18”
Muhly Grass 3-4’
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Preserve your TREES!
Most valuable part of your property!
Shading = Cooling
Oxygen / Moisture
Stormwater Reduction
Neighborhood Character
Stress Reduction/Community Beautification
Crime Prevention/Recreational Improvements Charleston Study found every $1 spent on care & maintenance
paid back $1.35 in benefits
Pittsburgh found that their street trees — strictly those planted in sidewalks and medians — provided $2.4 million worth of environmental and aesthetic value every year... Given the city’s annual expenditures of $850,000 on street tree planting and maintenance, Tree Pittsburgh concluded that the city received $3 in benefits for every dollar invested.
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Pest & Disease Resistance
First and foremost – a healthy plant in LIVING soil fights most diseases on its own!
Native plants are especially adapted to local rainfall, soils and environmental conditions.
Keep fussy plants in pots if you Must have them. And remember not all bugs are BAD!
Fothergilla – fall color Lacecap Hydrangea Swallowtail larvae
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Red Cedar Grey Owl Taylor Brodie Skyrocket
White Cedar Heatherbun Red Star Winter Wonder
Cedar Varieties - Native need not be Boring!
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Selected Native Shrubs
American Beautyberry Lactea – Bok Tower Welsh’s Pink dich. “Duet”
Yaupon Holly (Compact or Virginia Sweetspire Henry’s Garnet Weeping)
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‘Weeds’ – roots/seeds
Boone Gladiola
Giant Red Canna
Spiderwort
Kudzu
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Vines…. Friend or Foe?
Honeysuckle: Lonicera sempervirens
Wisteria:
Asian
vs
Native
Clematis
vs
Clematis
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Bulbs – Annuals vs Perennials
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A word on Annuals
Cardoon - Biennial
Morning
Glory
Re-seeder
Coleus –
great from
cuttings
each year
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Red Cedar Serviceberry River Birch Amer. Hornbeam Redbud
Fringetree Dogwood Amer. Holly Sassafras Mayhaw (Hawthorn)
Sweetbay Magnolia Blackgum White Cedar Bald Cypress Wax Myrtle (36’)
Trees for tough conditions
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Highly Adaptable Shrubs
Chokeberry Groundsel Buttonbush Summersweet St. Johnswort
Possumhaw Indigo Bush Sweetspire Swamp Rose Wax Myrtle
Swamp Azalea Carolina Rose Dwarf Palmetto Elderberry Viburnum
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Grasses & Perennials tolerant of Moist conditions
Bluestem Swamp Milkweed Germander Turtlehead Gay-feather Joe Pye Weed
Elliott’s Aster Texas Star Rose Mallow Woolly Groundsel Lobelia Loosestrife
Beebalm Sensitive Fern Solomon’s Seal Ruellia caroliniensis Ironweed
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Grasses & Perennials - Drought Hardy
once Established
Butterfly Milkweed New England Aster Canna Varieties River Oats
Stella D’Oro Daylily Blue Mist Flower Muhly Grass Heavy Metal Shenandoah
Switch grass Obedient Plant Coneflower LittleBluestem Spiderwort Red Sweet Kate
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Plants for Fragrance!
Old Man’s Beard Sweetbay Azalea viscosum Summersweet Clethra
Daphne odora Ginger Paperwhites Sweet Olive
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Tough Ground Covers
Acmella repens Cast Iron Plan Vinca major
Liriope Peedee Ingot Downy Phlox Trailing Lantana
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Aspidistra versatility!
Snowcap Nagoya Stars Spektacular – 3’ tall green wall!
Stars n Stripes Spangled Ribbons Stretch Marks Variegata
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Crinum versatility!
Bradley Milk & Wine bulbispermum with mums
x herbertii Cecil Houdyshel en masse Menehune
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Design Rule #1 - Clean perimeter with well
defined edges makes planting look intentional
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…messy and untended looks threatening.
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While the intent may be good…
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...this will be easier to accept.
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Mulched Beds
Help retain moisture and add organic matter (How to have a Green Thumb without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout)
Keep edges neat (use runners to fill in gaps in lawn)
Do NOT use weed mat under organic mulch
ANY mulch inhibits germination, but some may contain weed seed so be careful…
Do NOT mound mulch against the bark of any tree or shrub – leading cause of rot and death!
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QUESTIONS?
Choosing the Right Plant for the Right Place!
Betsy Kaemmerlen Landscape Architect (803) 376-6034 x 6112