Barcel

   Horticulture Information
-Plants
   -Trees
   -Places of Interest

Folks in NE
-Nebraska Talent

The NNLA 2001 GreatPlants^TM

Each year the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association chooses a tree, shrub and perennial of the year. These are new or underutilized plants that merit wider use in Nebraska.

2001 Perennial of the Year
The genus Penstemon

There are so many beautiful and hardy plants among the 270 some species in the genus Penstemon, that the GreatPlants Program has selected the entire group as the perennial of the year. Related to the familiar snapdragons of gardens, penstemon flowers are generally tubular in shape and typically occur in long, upright clusters. Plants range from dwarf, cushion forming types desirable for rock gardens, to taller types like 'Husker Red' that are perfectly suited to traditional gardens or perennial borders. Every state in the continental U.S. has at least one native penstemon, and Nebraska alone has 10 native species. Participating nurseries and garden centers will offer an assortment of the best species and varieties for Nebraska.

2001 Shrub of the Year
Oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a dramatic shrub with numerous ornamental qualities. As the name implies, the bold, lobed foliage resembles large oak leaves. Dark green in the summer, the leaves assume an array of fall colors, ranging from red to orange to purple. The white-to-pink colored flowers occur in late June through July in large, drooping clusters that can be up to 12 inches in length.

As an added bonus, the older stems of this shrub can have attractive, peeling, cinnamon colored bark. Oakleaf hydrangea grows 4 to 8 feet tall, spreading as wide or wider through root suckers. It does best with some shade and mulching to maintain cool, moist root environment, and is most effective in a shrub border and in massed plantings. Native to the southeast U.S.

2001 Tree of the Year
Baldcypress, Taxodium distichum

aldcypress (Taxodium distichum) is a stately conifer that has proven hardy and adaptable in landscape settings across Nebraska. Although a conifer, like pine and spruce, baldcypress is deciduous, dropping its foliage in the fall. B It is relatively fast growing, reaching 50 to 70 feet in height. Mature trees are pyramidal in shape, and can assume a picturesque buttressed trunk.

The fine textured, needlelike leaves are a soft "sage" green in the summer, turning to orange-tan before dropping in the fall. Native to wetlands from the southeast U.S. north into Missouri and west into Texas, baldcypress does well in moist situations, but has also proven adaptable to dry, sometimes compacted soils throughout Nebraska.