Popular Plant FAQ

ANNUALS

Annuals only live for one growing season. They need to be replanted every year.

Alternathera (Joseph’s Coat)

If you’re looking for vivid, colorful foliage, Joseph’s Coat fits the bill! It’ll catch every eye in the garden. Native to Mexico, it tolerates our summer heat well.

Angelonia

Heat tolerant, drought tolerant, beautiful blooms – angelonia has everything! It resembles a snapdragon but has smaller blooms, which make lovely cut flowers. No need for deadheading but if you cut it back to the ground periodically, it will grow back thicker in about a week.

Begonia

Begonias are prized for their vibrant blooms and textured foliage! Their bright colors will catch all eyes in your garden beds. Deadhead and pinch them back regularly to keep them healthy and prolong their blooming period. These are a different type of begonia from the one you would use as a houseplant – those are Rieger begonias.

Celosia (Cockscomb)

Celosia is a popular choice amongst gardeners because it’s easy to grow! You’ll find their stiff, waxy blooms in three different shapes: crested, plumbed, and spicate. They make beautiful cut and dried flowers!

Dahlias

With blooms in almost any color and a variety of sizes, you’re sure to find a dahlia that’s perfect for all your garden projects!

Impatiens (New Guinea and Sun Patiens)

Impatiens are blooming powerhouses that will make a statement in your garden. However, many are prone to contracting downy mildew. That’s what makes the New Guinea and SunPatien varieties so popular – they are more disease-resistant!

Petunias

Petunias come in a variety of colors and patterns – you’re sure to find one that’s perfect for your garden! Wave petunias are aggressive growers that cover your garden in color, making them great borders or groundcovers. SuperTunias, on the other hand, have long vines that look beautiful in a hanging basket.

Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet potato is a versatile and vigorous garden addition! The foliage is classically a bright chartreuse, but other colors are available. This plant grows very quickly and may require frequent pruning, depending on the look you are going for in your garden.

PERENNIALS

Perennials will come back year after year. They do not need to be replanted every year.

Daylilies

Each daylily bloom may only last for a day, but these beauties will give you a stream of flowers throughout the season! These are tough, rugged plants that can tolerate a variety of conditions. You can even eat the buds and flowers!

Hardy Hibiscus

End the planting season with a bang! These hardy relatives of the tropical variety are one of the last plants to come back to life each year. The dinner plate-sized hardy hibiscus blooms are well worth the wait!

Geranium

Geraniums are a popular choice because they are so easy to grow! They’ll put on a color show for you throughout the spring and summer. True geraniums are perennials and are sometimes called cranesbill geraniums. Annual geraniums actually belong to the pelargonium family.

Hosta

There’s so many varieties of hosta, you’re sure to find one that’s perfect for your garden! While they are prized for their beautiful leaves, they do have lovely flowers that pop up in the summer.

TREES & SHRUBS

Arborvitaes

Looking for a fast-growing evergreen that’s easy to care for? Look no further than the arborvitae! Also called thuja, this conifer can suit any garden purpose.

Popular Varieties

Green Giant Arborvitae
Mature size: 25’-30’ tall and 8’-10’ wide
The Green Giant has a conical form and is a versatile addition to your garden. It’s virtually disease-free.

Emerald Green Arborvitae
Mature size: 15’-18’ tall and 4’ wide
The Emerald Green is narrow and pyramidal. It’s one of the most popular choices for a screen, tall hedge, or topiary.

Birch Trees

Birch trees are fast-growers that provide lots of interest to your garden with their textured bark! If you have a river or pond, these are great to plant along the bank to prevent erosion.

Crabapple Trees

A blooming crabapple tree is a great way to add drama to your garden! They do produce fruit that is smaller than your standard apple and less tasty. They are prized more as an ornamental tree!

Crape Myrtles

Due to how suited it is for hot and sunny places, the crape myrtle is a staple of the southern garden! They have the longest bloom time of any flowering tree.

Don’t commit “crape murder!” Drastically cutting back your crape myrtle in the fall will make it look like ugly stumps that don’t have the pretty mottled bark that grows on maturing trunks. Your incorrectly pruned tree with also now grow skinny shoots that are too weak to hold up flowers.

Cryptomeria

Also called a Japanese cedar, cryptomeria is a fast-growing, beautiful evergreen. They can reach 30’ to 40’ tall and 20’ to 30’ wide. Some gardeners will use them as an alternative to Leyland cypress trees.

Cypress Trees

These North American natives will give you year-round interest with their evergreen growth!

Popular Varieties

Leyland Cypress
Mature size: 50’+ tall and 20’ wide (expect less than 3’ of growth per year)
Because of their large growth, plant them no closer than 15’ apart from one another.

Murray Cypress
Mature size: 30’-40’ tall and 12’20’ wide (expect less than 4’ of growth per year)
The Murray cypress is an improved Leyland cypress. It is not as susceptible to pests or diseases.

Carolina Sapphire Cypress
Mature size: 25’-30’ tall and 12’ wide
Carolina Sapphire has fragrant foliage!

Dogwood Trees

Dogwoods will give you year-round interest in your landscape! White, pink, or red flowers in the spring will give way to beautiful red berries in the winter.

Holly

We typically think of holly as being a Christmas plant, but it is perfect year-round. There are male and female holly plants. Females produce berries as long as a male is planted nearby to help with pollination.

Popular Varieties

Robin Holly
Mature size: 15’-20’ tall and 12’-15’ wide
Robin holly’s foliage starts as a beautiful shade of maroon and matures to a rich dark green.

Oakland Holly
Mature size: 15’-20’ tall and 12’-15’ wide
Oakland holly gets its name from its distinctive oak-shaped leaves.

Nellie R. Stevens Holly
Mature size: 15’-20’ tall and 10’ wide
Nellie R. Stevens holly grows quickly in a pyramidal, tree-like form!

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are one of the most popular plants to add to your garden! You’ll have blue blooms if your soil is more alkaline and pink blooms if your soil has more lime, and you can amend as necessary to get your desired color. Or, catch eyes in your garden with one of the white bloom varieties!

Popular Varieties

Limelight and Little Lime
Mature size: 3’-8’ tall and wide
These chartreuse blooms look great as a border, in containers, or on your kitchen table as a cut flower!

Seaside Serenade® Collection
Mature size: 3’-4’ tall and wide
Exclusively from Monrovia, these hydrangeas are compact in size, have sturdier stems and thicker leaves, and are reliable re-bloomers.

Laurels

Quick-growing laurel is a great addition to your garden!

Popular Varieties

Carolina Bright ’N Tight Laurel
Mature size: 8’-10’ tall and 6’-8’ wide
Enjoy fragrant white blooms in the spring from this laurel!

Manolia Trees

Magnolia trees are a southern staple. Enjoy its glossy, evergreen leaves throughout the year and its fragrant blooms in the spring and summer!

Popular Varieties

Little Gem Magnolia
Mature size: 20’-25’ tall and 10’-15’ wide
This is a true dwarf magnolia. It can be trained as espalier against a wall or fence.

Teddy Bear Magnolia
Mature size: 16’-20’ tall and 10’-12’ wide
This is true dwarf magnolia. Its compact, upright form makes for the perfect tree for smaller landscapes.

Alta Magnolia
Mature size: 20’ tall and 9’ wide
This is a true dwarf magnolia. It grows very slowly, but it keeps its tight columnar form without pruning.

Maple Trees

Looking for a fast growing tree that will give you lots of shade? Maples tick the boxes! They are prized for their fall color, when the beautiful green leaves turn into gorgeous shades of orange and red. Japanese maples grow a little slower, but they make up for it in interest. Their leaves come in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors that will all accent your garden well.

Poplar Trees

Poplar trees are so popular, the tulip poplar is Tennessee’s state tree! They grow up quickly and will provide your garden lots of shade.

Redbud Trees

Not only are redbuds beautiful, they are also easy to care for. This low-maintenance ornamental tree is native to the eastern United States!

Popular Varieties

Little Gem Magnolia
Mature size: 20’-25’ tall and 10’-15’ wide
This is a true dwarf magnolia. It can be trained as espalier against a wall or fence.

Teddy Bear Magnolia
Mature size: 16’-20’ tall and 10’-12’ wide
This is true dwarf magnolia. Its compact, upright form makes for the perfect tree for smaller landscapes.

Alta Magnolia
Mature size: 20’ tall and 9’ wide
This is a true dwarf magnolia. It grows very slowly, but it keeps its tight columnar form without pruning.

Spruce Trees

These native conifers will add rustic evergreen elegance to your garden. It is known to grow slowly, but your patience will pay off with a display of beautiful, fragrant foliage.

Popular Varieties

Colorado Blue Spruce
Mature size: 40’-60’ tall and 10’-20’ wide
The blue shade of its foliage is striking against your green landscape!

Norwegian Spruce
Mature size: 40’-60’ tall and 25’-30’ wide
The Norwegian spruce is one of the fastest growing varieties.

Willow Trees

Willow trees are fast-growers that are definitely going to catch all the eyes in your garden! If you have a river or pond, these are great to plant along the bank to prevent erosion.

Spruce Trees

These native conifers will add rustic evergreen elegance to your garden. It is known to grow slowly, but your patience will pay off with a display of beautiful, fragrant foliage.

Popular Varieties

Colorado Blue Spruce
Mature size: 40’-60’ tall and 10’-20’ wide
The blue shade of its foliage is striking against your green landscape!

Norwegian Spruce
Mature size: 40’-60’ tall and 25’-30’ wide
The Norwegian spruce is one of the fastest growing varieties.

Willow Trees

Willow trees are fast-growers that are definitely going to catch all the eyes in your garden! If you have a river or pond, these are great to plant along the bank to prevent erosion.

TROPICALS

Tropical plants are considered annuals in Middle Tennessee. While they can handle our hot summers, our winters are too brutal for them and will kill them.

Asparagus Fern

Asparagus fern isn’t technically a fern at all – this tropical annual is part of the lily family! It make look soft and fuzzy but be careful because there are small spurs hidden in the foliage.

Bougainvillea

Get a burst of show-stopping color in your garden with bougainvillea! This tropical annual is a vigorous grower with brightly colored bracts. Be careful when handling – watch out for thorns!

Vinca

Also called periwinkle, vinca is native to warm Madagascar. This means it does well in our Tennessee summer heat! There are trailing and upright varieties.