September Blooms in my Georgia Garden: Hibiscus mutabilis, Confederate Rose

One of the most requested plants in our garden is the Confederate Rose. You will probably never find this plant in a big box store, and it's hard to find it in any nursery. Yet, this elusive old Southern plant is a favorite of many gardeners.

Confederate Rose is not really a rose, but a Hibiscus, Hibiscus mutabilis, to be exact. 

The blooms of the Confederate Rose are voluptuous, like one might expect from a flower in the South. Although single flowers are out there, I have seen only the many-petaled, double blooming variety that opens light pink and gradually changes to a deep rose-pink on the third day after opening. It is the changing of the bloom color that gives the plant its botanical name, Hibiscus mutabilis. Blooms can be up to 6 inches across. All those petals remind me of the many fluffy layers of the petticoats worn by Southern belles of antebellum times here in the Southeastern United States.

Despite their popularity and ability to thrive in the Southeastern US, Confederate Rose is not native to the South but comes from China. They thrive in the South anywhere that they have time to open their very late flowers before fall frost. This species is a popular passalong plant. 

Height varies from about 8 to 15 feet and the plant grows wider every year (kind of like me, apparently.)

Confederate Rose is an eye-catching foliage plant even before bloom, with large, soft, gray-green maple shaped leaves. 

Like all plants in the Hibiscus family, Confederate Rose grows best in full sun with regular water, but it will bloom quite happily in part shade. This is true especially in areas with very hot temperatures lingering into its bloom time of late summer and early fall. Although this Hibiscus does love water, it can withstand periods of drought that is common in the Southeast.

Confederate Rose will grow in regular garden soil, but it will grow larger and develop more blooms in good fertile soil. 

Once winter frosts burn back the foliage, the entire plant can be cut back to make the garden more tidy. This can be done any time during the winter or early spring. Near the coast, you can let the stems stay if you don’t mind the plant becoming very large. Confederate Rose will resprout from current branches where winters are mild. However, the plant will become 10 feet tall by summer’s end, even when cut back the previous season.  Make sure to plant it where it has plenty of room to spread out.

January Gardening Chores for the Deep South

Although we have had some bitter cold weather this Winter and last, we still experience intermittent warm spells during the Winter in Alabama and Georgia. During these warm spells is when I like to get my outdoor chores done.

If you haven't already, clean up the garden before you do anything else. Debris from dead plants allowed to stay on the ground can be a haven for insect pests and mice. Exceptions to this are seed heads you know to be favored by songbirds, such as Black-eyed Susan.

Planting can be done year round in the South, but Fall and Winter are the best planting times for shrubs and trees in areas of the South that suffer brutally hot and dry summers. Planting of azaleas and camellias is best done in the Fall, to give the shrubs time to dig their roots into their new home before having to endure hot days with no rain. You can still plant them now, but you will need to water once a week if it doesn't rain.

Pruning of summer blooming shrubs and trees can be done anytime during the Winter and early Spring. Doing it on a warm day in January will give your garden a neater appearance and free you up for planting early Spring crops when the time comes.

There are actually some vegetable seeds we can sow now. Sugar Snap Peas and Snow peas will germinate in cool soil. If you plant them now, you can enjoy a crisp snack before warm season crops can even be planted.

January is the best time to plant bare root roses. They are available in most local garden centers now, or you can purchase them online.

If you are anything like me, you have some shrubs and trees that you planted in the wrong spot. January is an excellent time for moving those to a better location. 

Anytime is a good time to eliminate invasive privet and Japanese honeysuckle from the garden, but it's easier to do in the Winter. Both privet and Japanese honeysuckle are evergreen, so when growing amongst deciduous plants, they are easy to spot. With all the rain we've had recently, you might have an easier time pulling up small plants, but be ready to clip them off low to the ground if you can't pull them. Then spray the remaining stump with a good strong weedkiller. Wear gloves for this task, and watch out for deciduous vines intermingled with the privet and honeysuckle that could be poison ivy.

Goldenrod is Not to Blame for your Allergies

This time of year, many of us are suffering from nasal allergies. The more time spent outdoors in Fall, the more congestion I have. I look around me, and everywhere I go, I see voluptuous, beautiful, and very bright yellow flower spikes. This is Goldenrod (Solidago.)

Goldenrod on Highway 29 in West Point, Georgia

To me, Goldenrod has always been too beautiful for me to suspect as the culprit for my Fall allergy flareups. For years I have brought in large bouquets to fill my house with the beauty of Fall. (My favorite time of the year, by the way.)

Most people do blame Goldenrod for their Fall allergies, because when they go outdoors and start sneezing, they look around and see Goldenrod everywhere. It's all over the side of the road and in almost every vacant lot around here.

But it is not Goldenrod that is to blame. You probably have not ever noticed the true culprit. Blooming at the very same time as Goldenrod is the insignificant looking Ragweed. I had to borrow this image, because I pull up every piece of Ragweed I see trying to grow in our garden.

Ragweed image borrowed from The Weed Library

Ragweed has very small greenish flowers that you would not notice, but they sneakily put out huge amounts of pollen that floats in the air and into your nose. Here lately, we've had lots of nice breezes, and that breeze is helping the Ragweed Pollen to travel for miles.

Goldenrod is not capable of causing allergies, because it produces no air-borne pollen. Goldenrod is pollinated by insects, and only wind-pollinated plants such as Ragweed can cause seasonal allergies. (Some other wind-pollinated allergy-causers are Oaks, Pines, and Grasses.)

Another piece of interesting information: All parts of the Goldenrod plant are edible. From the flowers all the way down to the stems, each part of this plant has value and importance. The Native Americans had many uses for Goldenrod. The flowers are a lovely addition to salads, both the flowers and the leaves can be used to make tea (it is said to be bitter), and the leaves can be cooked like spinach. I intend to try some today!

For more information, visit the Allergy/Hay Fever Information Center.

Deer-Proof Gardening in the South

As a nursery owner, I'm often asked how I keep deer from eating the plants. Well, actually I use a number of methods, none of them expensive. Deer fencing is not an option for us, since a fence must surround the whole garden and be 10 feet tall to keep out deer. And it would be impossible for us to spray our whole garden with deer repellent after every rain or watering. Our large black lab Shadow used to keep the deer away from everything, but now that she's getting older, she seems to have befriended some of them, lying down with them as they eat. The best thing to do, since as gardeners, you'll be planting anyway, is to choose plants deer won't eat. A good plant type to use are those with prickly leaves or thorny branches, but deer do have the ability to pick berries and roses in spite of the thorns. I've even found where they've tasted of my holly shrubs and pyracantha, if you can believe it! And although it's true that deer seem to know what is poisonous to them, some plants that are poisonous to us are not so to deer, such as rhododendron and azaleas, for instance. I hope to share with you some of our experience with this short list of plants that have proved to be not quite so tasty to the deer in our garden:

• Acuba
• Aspidistra
• Barberry
• Boxwood
• Daffodil
• Daphne odora
• Dusty Miller
• Fatsia Japanica
• Hellebore, Helleborus
• Loropetalum
• Oleander
• Osmanthus
• Rohdea
• Viburnum
• Yaupon Holly

Also, all aromatic herbs, with the exception of basil, are detested by deer. And the fragrance of rosemary, which is very pleasing to us, seems to have a repellant effect on deer, causing them to go elsewhere in their search of food. For a list of native plants that aren't usually food for deer, please visit our other site, Plant Native.

Rabbiteye Blueberry Bushes Easy to Grow in Georgia

Many times Blueberry Bushes sold in our local garden center stores will not grow here in Georgia—they are not able to tolerate our summer heat and humidity. There are several "Rabbiteye" varieties recommended for the Southeast. Highbush blueberries will not thrive in our area.

When selecting blueberry plants for your garden, look for Becky Blue, Climax, Premier, Tifblue, or Woodard. For a good crop of berries, you will need 2 or more different varieties for cross-pollination.

Although blueberry bushes normally occur in the woods, more berries will develop when the plants receive at least half a day of sun and plenty of water.

The planting hole is important for getting the plant off to a good start. An effective planting method is to dig the hole twice as wide as the rootball and the same depth. Mix the soil with plenty of organic matter such as compost, manure, and peat moss. Place the plant in the planting hole and fill the hole completely with water before filling in with soil. After filling in around the roots with the amended soil, water again, and apply a thick layer of organic mulch to conserve moisture and keep the soil cool.

Water weekly. You’ll be eating blueberries every year, as long as you get to them before the birds do!