Plant of the Month June 2025

 GENERAL INFORMATION: A keen gardener started our garden when the house was built, about 1950. Perhaps 10 of her species still exist. She would not recognize anything, except the Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’ beside the north-facing front door. It must be over 60 years old, double the projected life span. It is still healthy, though not growing as vigorously. Its companion dwindled, probably through age and root competition.

Synonym: Weigela florida ‘Aureovariegata’, Weigela florida ‘Variegata’, Weigela florida 'Variegata Aurea’, Weigela florida 'Nana Variegata'

Common Name: Weigela.

Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ 60 year-old shrub.

Life Cycle: Deciduous shrub.

Height: About 1.5 m tall and wide.

Bloom Time: June in Toronto.  

Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ - flowers.

Flower Colour & Size: Clusters of funnel shaped, pale to dark pink flowers, about 3 cm long.

Leaves: Opposite, acuminate, green leaves grow on arching stems. The greenish white margin becomes yellowish white in the summer.

Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ -flowers and leaves.

Range: Native to North China, Japan and Korea.

Habitat: Clearings in mixed forests, scrub.

CULTIVATION: 

Light: Sun or partial shade.

Soil: Most soils, including clay – well drained, fertile. Somewhat tolerant of slightly salty soils.

Water: Average to low.

USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-9.

Pest and Diseases: Usually trouble free.

Attracts: Hummingbirds.

Companion planting: Other shrubs in a shrub border, or foundation planting, or as a specimen.

Pruning: Remove older stems after flowering.

Propagation: By cuttings – softwood in the spring; semi hardwood in the summer and hardwood in the fall or early winter. Any seed is unlikely to produce a similar plant.

References:

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93517/weigela-florida-variegata-(v)/details

https://plants.vandermeernursery.com/11110008/Plant/8313/Dwarf_Variegated_Weigela

Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)

Plant of the Month - May 2025

GENERAL INFORMATION: An early flowering, long lived, dwarf allium that grows well in dry deciduous shade with limited self seeding.

Synonym: Allium chionanthum.

Common Name: Lebanon onion, Syrian onion.

Allium zebdanense.

Life Cycle: Long lived, bulbous perennial. Dormant in mid summer.

Height: 30-50 cm.

Bloom Time: May in Toronto.

Flower Colour & Size: Umbels  of 8-10 white, starry flowers with 6 tepals, 1cm long, on a leafless stalk.

Allium zebdanense - flowers.

Leaves: Dense, grassy clumps, with narrow leaves up to 30 cm high.

Fruit: 3 chambered capsule. Usually few fertile seeds.

Range: Native to the Middle East - Lebanon and Syria.

Habitat: Rubble slopes and rocky areas.

CULTIVATION: 

Plant: bulbs in groups about 8 cm deep.

Light: Grows well in dry, deciduous shade once established. Will also grow in full sun.

Soil: Not fussy about pH but must be gritty - well drained.

Water: Average. Drought resistant when established. Less seed production if too dry.

Allium zebdanense with self seeded plants.

USDA Hardiness: Zones 4-8.

Propagation: by division when growth stars in the spring or when dormant. From seed - Sow @ 4°C for 3 weeks, then move to warmth - at 20°C.

Pest and Diseases: Many pests are repelled by its strong scent. Usually trouble free.

Pollinators: Bees, butterflies.

Native Eastern Canadian Alternatives: Allium cernuum - this needs sun.

Companion planting: Other rock garden plants suitable for shade - dwarf ferns, Hosta.

References:

Many references are somewhat contradictory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_zebdanense

https://greg.app/allium-zebdanense-overview/

https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide

Manual of Bulbs - Bryan and Griffiths, Timber Press 1995 ISBN 0-88192-339-7.

Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)

Plant of the Month - April 2025

GENERAL INFORMATION: 

A double, pink flowering cherry in my grandfather’s garden was one of the first I can remember. It was under planted with Lily-of-the-Valley. Wonderful for a small child! Later, I walked to college through Regent’s Park in London. There was an avenue planted with the same cherries. (These are now replaced with a beautiful single white cultivar.) I was delighted to find 2 trees in our garden when we bought our present house in Toronto in December 53 years ago. Sadly we found they were dying when spring came. (Probably about 25 years old.)

Flowering Cherries are special to Japan. They are perhaps Japan’s informal national flower. They are a symbol of good luck, love, and springtime. The short time of blooming time means cherry blossom trees also represent human mortality They remind us how short and precious life is. In 1959, Tokyo presented Toronto with 2000 cherry trees as Toronto helped to re-located Japanese Canadian refugees. 100 were initially planted in High Park. These were Somei-Yoshino cherry trees, a genetically sterile cultivar. Other Sakura tree donations have been planted in many locations in Toronto

Common Name: Japanese Flowering Cherry, East Asian Cherry.

Prunus serrulata - Flowers. 

Cultivars: Many cultivars and hybrids. Yoshino ‘Akebono’ and Kwanzan ‘Fugenzo’.

Life Cycle: Small tree with dense crown.

 Prunus serrulata - Dense branches.

Height: to 10 m.

Bloom Time: April to May in Toronto.

Flower Colour & Size: Clusters of 2-5 white or pink, or white with pink flushed petals, single or double flowers, about 3-5 cm across. 

Fruit: Small pea-sized black cherries. Poisonous in large quantities. Many cultivars are sterile.

Leaves: Green ovate leaves, approx. 5–13 cm long and 2.5–6.5 cm broad, with a short petiole and toothed margin, emerging with the flowers. Some cultivars have red-tinged spring leaves. Fall colour is red to yellow.

Prunus serrulata - young leaves + flower.

Bark: Glossy chestnut brown, with whitish horizontal lenticels.

Prunus serrulata - Bark.

Range: Native to East Asia - China, Japan, Korea.

Prunus serrulata at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. 

Habitat: Forest edges.

CULTIVATION: 

Plant: in early fall with plenty of humus.

Fertilize: Top dress with compost in the spring onwards.

Light: Full sun to partial; shade. Flowers best in full sun.

Soil: Moist, well drained, loamy soil. Not drought tolerant.

Water: Average moisture - hates waterlogged soil, but do not let plant dry out.

USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-8.

Pruning: Avoid if possible (risk of disease). After flowering if necessary.

Propagation: Semi hardwood cuttings, grafting.

Pest and Diseases: Many pests and diseases - borers, scale insects, spider mites, and aphids, leaf spots, dieback, leaf curl, powdery mildew, root rot, and fireblight. Short lived.

Wildlife: Most cultivars have little pollen and fruit.

Native Alternatives: Prunus pensylvanica, Pin Cherry.

References:

https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-are-sakura

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serrulata

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/prunus-serrulata

https://www.thespruce.com/kwanzan-cherry-trees-2132134

Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)

Plant of the Month - March 2025

GENERAL INFORMATION: Flowers that appear in the late winter (officially early spring), as the snow melts, are a joy to see. Most of our early bloomers are spring ephemerals which usually have white, yellow, blue or pink flowers. Some Crocus and Iris add purples and lavenders to the mix. One of my favourites is the hard to find, early flowering Spring Meadow Saffron, now Colchicum bulbocodium. 

Unfortunately, the reference literature is often contradictory.

Colchicum bulbocodium in early April.

Synonym: Bulbocodium vernum, Colchicum vernum, (Merendera verna - misapplied).

Common Name: Spring Meadow Saffron.

Sub. Species: Colchicum bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium, Colchicum bulbocodium var. edentatum, Colchicum bulbocodium ssp. versicolor.  

Life Cycle: Perennial corm.

Height: 10 cm.

Bloom Time: Early April in Toronto.

Colchicum bulbocodium - a mature clump.

Flower Colour & Size: 3-4 lavender-purple flowers appear with each set of leaves. 6 long tepals form a perianth tube, enclosing the ovary and reaching up from the corm. 6 bright yellow stamens are poisonous, as are all parts of these plants. 3 styles are united for almost all their length. (Separate in most Colchicum).

Colchicum bulbocodium - flower structure.

Leaves: Strap-like, glossy mid green leaves emerge just below and with the flowers, eventually forming a mound about 5 cm high to 15 cm wide. Ephemeral.

Colchicum bulbocodium - with emerging leaves.

Fruit: Capsule, first developing underground, emerging after the leaves die down. 

Range: Native in mountains from Southern Europe to North Caucasus. 

Habitat: Alpine meadows.

CULTIVATION: 

Plant: corms in the fall in groups 8 cm deep and about 10 cm apart.

Light: Full sun to partial shade.

Soil: Well drained, slightly acidic. Top dress with compost as the flowers fade.

Water: Dry to average.

USDA Hardiness: Zones 3-11. 

Pest and Diseases: Usually disease and pest free.

Pollinators: Bees.

Companion planting: Other rock garden plants.

Propagation: After leaves die down, dig up and divide large clumps, then replant. Or grow from fresh seed. Stored seed might germinate using repeated cycles of 20°C, then 4°C, for 3 months each. Germination is very prolonged. Grow @ 4°C until a true leaf is well established.

Toxicity: Very poisonous, even to the touch. Edible saffron is a different family.

References:

Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org › taxon › urn:lsid:ipni.org

https://onrockgarden.com/index.php/germination-guide

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/colchicum-bulbocodium

Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)