Featured Plant | Baltimore Maryland Landscape Design

Picea pungens – ‘Glauca Prostrata’

January 1, 2022

Plant Journal

COMMON NAME Prostrate Colorado Blue Spruce

BOTANICAL NAME Picea pungens ‘Glauca Prostrata’

ZONE 3 – 7 Maryland is on the southern cusp

SIZE 2-6’ HT, 6-10’ SP

FOLIAGE Needle evergreen with blue hue

FRUIT Cones with papery or thin woody scales, not very big

GROWING CONDITIONS

Full Sun
Well drained soil
Will struggle with southern heat and humidity.
Water on a regular basis all season seems to help.

NOTES

Deer Resistant
Rabbit Resistant
Fabulous, sculptural quality.
Excellent as a single specimen.
Almost every plant is a little different.
Even though normally not over 6’ HT, in one of the photos, it’s about 10’ HT.

Dee Runk Boxwood – Buxus sempervirens ‘Dee Runk’

December 1, 2021

Plant Journal

COMMON NAME Dee Runk Boxwood

BOTANICAL NAME Buxus sempervirens ‘Dee Runk’

ZONE 6 – 8

SIZE 7-10’ HT, 2.5 – 3’

SP Narrow, columnar habit.

Medium growth rate of 3-6” per year.

FOLIAGE Evergreen, small broadleaf type, glossy.

GROWING CONDITIONS Sun, Part Sun, Shade

NOTES Deer Resistant. Good substitute for ‘Emerald Green’ Arborvitae which are a favorite food source for deer, and eventually get much too tall at over 20’ HT.

Little Bluestem – ‘Schizachyrium scoparium’

November 1, 2021

Schiz. sc. ‘Standing Ovation’
Schizachyrium scoparium / Little Bluestem
Schiz. sc. ‘Standing Ovation’ – fall foliage
Schiz. sc. ‘The Blues’ – fall foliage
Schiz. sc. ‘The Blues’ – fall foliage & inflorescence

Plant Journal

COMMON NAME

Little Bluestem

BOTANICAL NAME*

Schizachyrium scoparium

ZONE

3-8

SIZE

24 – 48” HT , 24 – 32” SP Size varies with the cultivars.

FOLIAGE

Upright stems and foliage. Summer – usually green with a blue tint. Fall – outstanding color; varies by cultivar

FLOWER

Wispy purplish inflorescence aging to silvery seed heads.

GROWING CONDITIONS

Native to North America. Tough and adaptable. Prefer Full Sun. Drought resistant once established. Prefer well-drained soil. Will flop easily if soil is too rich, moist or shady.

NOTES

This plant and its cultivars have recently been named the 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year. Featured cultivars… ‘Carousel’ – 32” HT & SP; blue-green leaves tinged red-purple become pink, copper and mahogany in late season; cinnamon brown in winter ‘Jazz’ – closer to 24” HT; has strong, purple fall color ‘The Blues’ – 36” HT; orange and red in the fall; will tend to flop more readily than ‘Standing Ovation’ ‘Standing Ovation’ – 36 – 48” HT; red, maroon and orange in the fall; tends to stand straighter than ‘The Blues’

*A particular plant will have only 1 botanical name. Unfortunately, a particular plant may have several common names or it may share a common name with another plant. Whenever possible, use the botanical name.