A Photo Essay of Stems, Trunks, and Unusual Flowers

Live oak, the ultimate shade tree

Note: I started writing this post on Monday, but I've been so busy this week preparing for and attending the Square Foot Gardening Symposium our Master Gardeners hosted Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (more on that in my next post, which will hopefully be later today or tomorrow), that I wasn't able to finish until today.  

This weekend I got the urge to visit one of my favorite places in North Carolina, the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh.  It was probably the warm weather on Saturday that fed my urge, but by the time I made it there it was Sunday and the temperature had cooled quite a bit.  Many people like to visit places like the arboretum in the height of spring, when many plants are in bloom, and while I like to visit then as well I try as much as possible to visit at a different time of the year each time I go.  Visiting the arboretum at different times of the year, spending time in different sections each time, or even walking around in a different direction help me to notice different plants each time and even helps make different things stand out about plants that I see each time.

A witchhazel flower

In the spring and summer your eye is usually drawn to flowers, while in the fall you often notice foliage color and berries.  During the winter, well there is a lot of bark.  For some plants, this means that they are in a relatively dull stage of their growth, but for others, winter is really their time to shine.  You can also find flowers in the winter, but flowers on winter blooming plants don't often look much like flowers you'd see in the spring or summer on azaleas, or roses.  Winter flowers are rarely "complete" flowers, meaning they may not have all four parts that make up a complete flower- petals, sepals, stamens, and pistils.  So they may look a bit odd at first, but they can still be beautiful.

So what I'd like to do is share some pictures that I took on Sunday of the plants that caught my eye.  While many of these plants are specialty plants that aren't always easy to find or even available in nurseries, I hope that I can get across the idea that plants can be interesting in winter, even without blooms, or without leaves.

Let's start with a few crape myrtles.  I know, I know, I said last week that I was done talking about crape myrtles, but the JC Raulston Arboretum has some of the most impressive crape myrtles you'll find anywhere and I couldn't go without sharing just a few pictures of the best of the bunch.

You can't really visit the arboretum without noticing these first two crape myrtles as they are right near the street entrance.  The arboretum was quite literally built around these two trees as they were among the very first trees planted in the space that would eventually become the arboretum.  These are both Japanese crape myrtles, an ancestor of the hybrid crape myrtles that make up much of our landscape.  Obviously these get much taller then what we have in our yards.

The one to the right was named 'Fantasy' and you can read why on the sign.  It is one of the signature plants of the JC Raulston Arboretum.










This is another 'Fantasy' Crape Myrtle, a cutting taken from the original.  I include this picture to show that crape myrtles can be pruned to a single trunk if so desired.  It certainly changes the shape of the tree, which goes against what I recommend last week, but I think this is an interesting look and obviously it hasn't affected the bark color.


Our final crape myrtle, from a seedling of 'Fantasy' named 'Townhouse', is just incredible.  I figure if any plant should be appreciated in a state that loves camouflage as much as North Carolina, it is this crape myrtle.  Just look at the pattern on this trunk!

You might wonder why I spend so much time writing about crape myrtles, but I think the sign below sums it up in just three words- Four Season Beauty.  When crape myrtles are treated properly, they are the stars of any garden all year round.  When they are not treated properly, they are pretty for about 3 weeks and a scourge for the other 49.  If that doesn't make you want to take proper care of them, I'm not sure what will. 

Lest you think all I did Sunday was photograph crape myrtles, let's move on to a few other plants of note from my trip. I'll start with Poncirus trifoliata, the Hardy orange.  It's pretty obvious what this plant is notable for- the insane thorns that cover the stems.  This makes a pretty ominous look, and these plants have been used as security plants in some situations to keep people in or out of a particular area.  It grows in wooded areas throughout North Carolina, and I can usually count on having a hunter come in the office once or twice each winter asking about the thorned plant they encountered while out hunting.  Despite the intimidating thorns, it does have some ornamental value.  The stems, as you can see, are a pretty vibrant green color, which makes it stand out amongst the browns and grays of winter.  They're also twisted, much like Harry Lauder's walking stick, another interesting plant in the winter.  Now, I'm not saying I'd ever want to have one in my yard, but if you're the kind of person who likes things that are different, this is a plant that would definitely fit that bill.

I always knew about the shrub form, with it's twisted branches, but never knew until this past weekend that there was a tree form as well.  It's not nearly as interesting; basically it looks like any other tree but with branches that are slightly green at the tips.  The tree form hardy orange has regular straight branches, but is also loaded with thorns and if anything they are more dangerous looking.

Many trees with exfoliating, or peeling, bark really shine during the winter time.  These trees exfoliate year-round and thus have interest year round, but when after their leaves and leaves of other plants growing around them have fallen in autumn, it really exposes their beauty.




Most people are familiar with river birches and their exfoliating habit.  This particular one, Betula nigra 'Studetec' really caught my eye during my visit.

Less familiar are the maples that have exfoliating habits.  Paperbark maple is one of my personal favorites and while I know there is one at the arboretum, I didn't see it on this particular trip.  I did however find this one, Acer palmatum 'Beni komachi' a dwarf red-leaved Japanese maple.  Japanese maples are of course highly prized for their unique leaf shape and color and are not always thought of for their bark, but this one clearly has a unique look after the leaves are gone.  Some others have stems that are either red, green, or purple, particularly near the tips that also stand out in winter. 'Sango kaku' is a red stemmed variety that is a particular favorite and is also available from many nurseries, but I didn't see one on this trip.

Ok so obviously I'm sort of a nut for plants with interesting bark and stems, but maybe you're reading this thinking "What about the flowers?"  Sure, there are relatively few plants that bloom in the winter compared to spring, summer, and even fall, but there are some.  Near the beginning of this post I showed a close up of a yellow flower from a witchhazel (Hamemelis x intermidia 'Wiero').  Here's that same plant from afar.  In full bloom it looks somewhat like a forsythia, though perhaps not quite as spectacular.  It blooms a few weeks before forsythia at a time when not much else is in bloom, so it can be a tremendous asset in a garden that is otherwise lacking color in late winter.

Witchhazels also come in other colors, and this young plant with rust-orange blooms really impressed me.  This one is called 'Twilight' and I'll be interested in checking back on it in a few years once it reaches a more mature size.  I'm sure it will be quite a showstopper.

The final plant I’ll share is a personal favorite, one I love so much I've planted it in my garden and given it as a gift at least twice that I can recall.  Edgeworthia chrysantha, commonly known as Paper bush, or Cigar paper bush, is a beautiful and fragrant winter- blooming, medium-sized shrub.  It forms clusters of tiny white tubular shaped flowers that are a soft yellow on the inside.  The blooms hang downward daintily off of the stems, and produce an incredibly sweet fragrance that is noticeable throughout the garden when the plant is in bloom.  And though I’m focusing on the winter interest of these plants, it’s worth noting that Edgeworthia has very large tropical looking foliage that makes it standout during the summer as well.  The large leaves were once dried and used for rolling cigars, giving the plant its common name. 

I encourage you to visit the JC Raulston Arboretum when you are in Raleigh, and other arboretums and botanical gardens when you have the chance.  Remember that plants are not only interesting when they bloom and are not only interesting in the spring and summer.  Filling your garden with plants that are interesting for other reasons and in other seasons will make your garden much more dynamic.