Landscape and Nursery - Plants for Delaware Landscapes Featured at the 2009 UDBG Spring Plant Sale VIII

This year, the University of Delaware Botanic Garden spring benefit plant sale features those plants that add to the biodiversity of the landscape and offer food and habitat for wildlife, especially insects and the birds that eat them. Many native plants are featured. This is the eighth in a series on plants being offered at the UDBG spring plant sale that are recommended for Delaware landscapes.


Aronia arbutifolia, Chokeberry, 6-10', full sun to part shade, moist to wet soil conditions. Despite the common name, this plant has many appealing attributes that make it a very popular shrub: Abundant white flowers April-May; excellent red fall foliage color; and abundant red fruit in the fall, that is until they’re devoured by birds. Native plant. Photo from The Dow Gardens Archive, Dow Gardens, Bugwood.org.


Aronia melanocarpa, Chokeberry, 3-4', full sun to part shade, moist to wet soil conditions. Culturally adaptable, A. melanocarpa is a compact plant that suckers, creating attractive masses. Clear white flowers in spring are followed by abundant black fruits that are often eaten by wildlife. Glossy foliage turns red to wine color in fall. Native plant. Photo from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aronia_melanocarpa_HabitusFruitsLeaves_BotGardBln0906b.JPG


Cephalanthus occidentalis ‘Sputnik, Buttonbush, 3-6', full sun to part shade, moist to wet soil conditions. Naturally occurring in wetlands, buttonbush shows wide adaptability in the landscape. The round cluster of white flowers appears in June and July and serves as a source of food for many pollinators. Native plant. Photo by John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org.


For more information on the 2009 UDBG Spring Plant Sale go to http://ag.udel.edu/udbg/events/annualsale.html