What's in Bloom Archives - Early Fall
Black Pearl Ornamental Pepper
This summer annual is an All-America Selection 2006 winner and was chosen for its lustrous black leaves, upright habit, round black fruit and excellent garden performance in a nationwide evaluation. Whether in a container or a garden border, this heat loving annual produces clusters of round fruit that emerge black and turn to cherry red from summer to fall. Black Pearl's botanical name is Capsicum Annuum 'Black Pearl'. It was jointly developed by Dr. John Stommel, USDA, Vegetable Laboratory and Dr. Robert J. Griesbach, U.S. National Arboretum. It resulted from a cross between a purple-foliaged plant and a green foliaged plant bearing clusters of small round fruits. The plants average 18 inches high and 12 inches in diameter, but may grow to 2 or 3 feet in height in warmer regions with longer growing seasons. For best growth and black leaf color development, grow in full sun. Plants withstand high heat and humidity and do not require pruning to maintain growth habit. They prefer well-drained loam or sandy loam soil with some organic matter and tolerate a wide range of soil pH. This plant can be viewed as a container plant in the Linnaeus Vegetable Garden.
Acoma Crape Myrtle
Tulsa's summer heat is a natural for growing crape myrtles, and their showy flowers really make any landscape in the dead of summer jump out with wonderful color. The semi-dwarf, slightly weeping growth habit of an Acoma give it an especially graceful appearance. Along with its modest size (9 feet tall and 11 feet wide) and clusters of pure white flowers, this crape myrtle can brighten any special spot in a landscape. It provides abundant summer color with a minimum of maintenance, withstands droughts after becoming established, and is relatively free of disease and insect difficulties. Because of these features, crape myrtles should be used more often in the home landscape. You can view these plants in the entry walk of the Linnaeus Garden.
Pocomoke Crape Myrtle
This miniature hybrid crape myrtle is a tough little charmer that grows only 20 inches tall and 30 inches wide. Plant this rosy-flowered little beauty in any hot, sunny area to give your garden a southern accent. Its unique habit is perfect for bonsai, ground cover, containers and wherever a mass of low-growing summer color is needed in full sun. Check it out in the Linnaeus Pavilion Garden.
John Fanick Phlox
If you like to watch butterflies and humming birds in your yard, this tough phlox which grows in 3' tall clumps is a winner. This perennial phlox was named after an outstanding San Antonio nurseryman. It is a hardy perennial with showy clusters of light pink blossoms with darker pink throats accompanied with dark green foliage. It has a compact growth habit and is heat and drought tolerant. It can be found in the Linnaeus Pavilion Garden, and don't be surprised to find butterflies enjoying it.
Autumn Carnation Encore Azalea
If you love Azaleas in the spring, you will be amazed with the new Encore Azaleas. Fall is right around the corner and these Azaleas are in full bloom near the wall of our outside classroom in our Linneaus Garden. With blooms in the spring, summer, and fall, Encore Azaleas offer little maintenance and are big on color. Autumn Carnation has an exceptional flower quality, color, and lustrous dark green foliage which make this variety an excellent landscape addition. Encore Azaleas are easy to grow, and they adapt to most conditions. They prefer slightly acidic well drained soils and require once a year feeding of a slow release fertilizer. After the spring blooming period, these amazing azaleas begin growing new shoots and start blooming into full flower in mid-summer.
Autumn Twist Encore Azalea
This variety of Encore Azalea has a unique white and purple striped bloom and, occasionally, a completely purple bloom will appear. Combined with its beautiful dark green foliage, Autumn Twist's unique color pattern makes this variety a festive and fast growing addition to any garden. It has the same requirements as the Autumn Carnation Encore Azalea and can be seen in the same area of the garden.
Rose of Sharon
This shrub is being highlighted again because of its continuing blooms throughout the summer and into the early fall. There are a number of different varieties scattered in the Pavilion area of the Linnaeus Garden, and they are sure to catch your eye when you visit. The 10' tall shrub is not actually a rose but is in the Mallow Family and is sometimes called "Shrub Althea". Carl Linnaeus classified Hibiscus syriacus in the 18th century based on a herbarium specimen from Syria to which the species apparently had been imported long ago, since its origins are from India and East Asia. Rose of Sharon comes in many colors - especially white, lilac, and pink. It occurs as a single flower, or as a hybridized double. Blooms first occur in late spring and continue through early fall, making Rose of Sharon one of the few summer-blooming shrubs. Individual blossoms open in early morning, close at night, and usually last less than three days. Regardless of the flower's color, there is almost always an intensely maroon central spot formed by a concentration of pigment at the bases of five large petals. The almost-triangular serrated leaf of Rose of Sharon is semi-glossy dark green and about 3" long. The foliage is also deciduous and goes into a very long resting period and is one of the last shrubs to green up in spring.
By Sandi Rebman
Photos by Marc Schreiber
