Since all the cold stayed in the north of the country this year we experienced an unusually warm and spring-like winter. Now that it’s officially spring it doesn’t feel quite so strange posting pictures of all the new growth coming out on so many plants!
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Rheum rhabarbaraum (Rhubarb):
I’m trying this for the first time… and my prediction is that it will be a very happy plant until we hit about 95 degrees and 98% humidity. But who knows, maybe this Rhubarb will like a North Carolina summer more than I think.
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Sedum makinoi ‘Ogon’
I’m happy to see so much growth on this sedum. I took the tiniest little snip from a plant my brother bought and have been able to get a couple of little patches this size started.
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Ficus carica (Common Fig)
It’s always a nice feeling to see a recent addition to the yard push out new growth in the Spring! There are even tiny little fig fruits on this tree already.
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Cotinus coggygria (Purple Smoke Tree)
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Yellow Onion (species?)
I started these from seed a couple of years ago and am pleased to see them pushing up some buds. Maybe they’ll produce viable seed and then naturalize in the yard. Free onions for life!
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Graptopetalum
I ran an experiment this year by leaving a little rosette of this Graptopetalum outside for the Winter (mild as it was). It seemed to do just fine even with a few nights of weather down in the low 20s. Surprised me.
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Hibiscus
It may not look like much in the picture… but this Hibiscus is going to be a monster this year. Definitely more pictures to come of this one.
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Hosta
Not too sure the variety name of this one… because it was a volunteer that first popped up a couple of years ago. One of the best things about Hosta is it’s longevity and toughness. Having to perform zero maintenance is pretty nice too!
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Tricyrtis formosana ‘Samurai’ (Toad Lily)
The Toad Lily is coming back… and in a larger patch than last year. That means I might split it up next year and start another patch or two!
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Ribes
I put these Currant plants in the ground about a month ago (they were essentially sticks with root systems) and they already have clusters of flowers! If I were going to baby them I would go ahead and pull all the flowers off this year to allow them to focus more energy on establishing… but I wont.
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Morus rubra (Red Mulberry)
I hacked this poor Mulberry back this year because it volunteered in a spot that wont allow it to reach full size… and I was too lazy to dig it out and replant it elsewhere. Luckily for me it’s resilient and decided to make berries nonetheless. It looks like these will be rather small berries, but it’s not bad for a 3 year old tree.
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Humulus lupulus ‘Centennial’ (Hops)
These will probably try and take over my entire yard in a couple of years.
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Disporum flavens
Really glad to see the Disporum is still in the yard. It’s going to take it a couple more years before this is a solid little patch… but after that point it will be a long lived fixture of the yard.
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Brugmansia (Angel Trumpets)
This was the first winter for my Brugmansia. This should get about 8’ tall this year and full of fragrant, dangling trumpet flowers!
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Astilbe
I know, I know. This doesn’t look like much right now… in fact, it looks like a dried up shriveled piece of compost. But it’s a happy Astilbe shoot!
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Amaryllis
I planted this bulb last fall… and at a depth of about 8”. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be happy in this spot, but it’s pushing up through the strawberries nicely.
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Stapelia gigantea (Carrion Plant)
This is an interesting little plant. They eventually make very large, alien looking flowers that use flies as pollinators… so their blooms aren’t exactly something you would want to stick your nose in. This one was living in really rocky, clayey soil crammed in with a few other plants. Not happy. I repotted it by itself in nice soil and about a week later it pushed out it’s first new growth in 2 years (the light green growth at the bottom right). Patient little guy.
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Ok, this obviously isn’t new growth on a plant. It’s a little snail that was snailing across my front walk. But I just got a new camera to replace the decade old digital clunker I have been using for so many years… and now I can actually take decent close-ups!
Hope everyone’s spring is starting off as well as mine has! More pictures to come…
