Plants

Asimina triloba

[Common Pawpaw]

Needs filtered or full shade in its first few years, then tolerates full sun. Good specimen tree in a shady landscape. Fruits resemble a short, fat banana, at first green then turning yellowish then brown as they ripen in the fall, and taste like a combination between a banana and mango. Suckers rapidly.

Berberis aquifolium 'Compactum'

[Compact Oregon Grape Holly]

Betula papyrifera 'Renci' [sold as Renaissance Reflection®]

[Renaissance Reflection Paper Birch]

Betula papyrifera 'Renci' is faster growing and more heat resistant than the straight species. This tree requires full sun and is not suitable for poor or polluted city conditions.

Betula populifolia

[Gray Birch]

Beautiful white bark, although becomes dirty gray with age. Does well on the poorest of sterile soils, seeds, and suckers quickly. Grows on sandy, rocky and even gravelly sites. Tolerates both wet and dry conditions. Prefers full sun. Susceptible to leaf miner and cankers; more resistant to the bronze birch borer. Leaf minors especially problematic.

Buxus sinica var. insularis

[Korean Littleleaf Boxwood]

The Korean Littleleaf Boxwood grows best when placed in areas of moderate shade that are away from strong winter sun and wind. It has shallow roots and prefers moist, cool soils. This shrub flowers in April; flowers can attract bees due to the fragrance but are not showy.

Buxus × 'Green Velvet'

[Green Velvet Boxwood]

This species is a hybrid of Buxus sinica and Buxus sempervirens and is primarily used for smaller spaces.

Calycanthus floridus

[Common Sweetshrub]

The Common Sweetshrub was one of the first native plants in the US used as an ornamental. Widely adapted to soil and sun or shade. Certain selections can permeate an area with fragrance. Can be forced for indoor fragrance. Not all plants have equally fragrant flowers; don't use seed propagated plants for that reason. Seeds are poisonous, causing convulsions, myocardial depression, and hypotension.

Calycanthus floridus 'Aphrodite'

[Aphrodite Sweetshrub]

'Aphrodite' has an upright form with deep red flowers. The flowers are fragrant and large and bloom throughout the summer season. Large bright green leaves, can grow to be bigger than a human hand.

Carpinus betulus 'Columnaris'

[Columnar European Hornbeam]

Carpinus betulus is relatively trouble-free and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions and some shade. This plant is also very tolerant of heavy pruning, making it useful as a hedge. The cultivar 'Columnaris' is a narrow, columnar cultivar that is slow-growing with densely set branches and leaves.

Carpinus caroliniana

[American Hornbeam]

A clean, trouble-free small tree, useful in intensive situations such as patios and malls, and equally interesting in naturalized plantings. Useful as a large hedge if coppiced when young. Performs well in heavy shade and tolerates periodic flooding. Difficult to transplant. Move balled-and-burlapped for best results. Sometimes called Blue Beech and Ironwood (although these are best not used).