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Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Comments |
| |
Mahonia aquifolium
 |
Oregon Hollygrape |
- Size: medium (5' tall by 7' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: sulfur yellow flowers in mid-March
- Fruit: dramatic blue clusters of fruit ('grapes')
- Fall color: broadleaf evergreen, however, in cooler climates develops nice burgundy winter color
- Culture: partial shade; moist soil best
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: massed, foundation
|
Mahonia bealei
 |
Leatherleaf Mahonia |
- Size: medium (6' tall by 7' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: lemon yellow, terminal cluster late winter/early spring
- Fruit: dramatic clusters of blue/purple fruits April - June
- Fall/winter color: none/broadleaf evergreen
- Culture: partial shade/shade in Arkansas, leaves yellow if too much sun; moist soil best
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: Evergreen leaves give plant a tropical look, Oriental gardens; More common than
M. aquifolium (Oregon Hollygrape) in Arkansas
|
Nandina domestica
 |
Heavenly Bamboo |
- Size: medium (5' tall by 4' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: showy, white terminal panicles May
- Fruit: spectacular clusters of red fruit
- Fall/winter color: broadleaf evergreen, however, can take-on reddish/purple coloration in winter
- Culture: sun to shade; very drought tolerant once established
- Disease/insect: none
- Use: tropical look; short hedge, foundation; Almost a weed in some wooded areas in Arkansas
- Cultivars: many (most for smaller size: ‘Firepower’, Gulf Stream™ , ‘Moon Bay’, ‘Harbour Dwarf’
- 'Bamboo-like' stems
|
Nandina domestica 'Atropurpurea Nana'
 |
Dwarf Nandina |
- Size: Small (18" tall by 18" wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Group of dwarf forms; most have intense reddish foliage in winter; most lack significant flowers/fruits
- Includes selections such as Gulf Stream™, 'Harbour Dwarf', 'Moon Bay'
|
Nerium oleander
 |
Oleander |
- Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: dramatic summer flowering shrub; flower colors pink, white, red
- Fruit: not significant
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
- Culture: full sun; drought tolerant; reliably hardy in zone 8
- Disease/insect: none
- Use: hedge/screen
- Common in California/Arizona/Florida landscapes
|
Philadelphus coronarius
 |
Mockorange |
- Size: large (10' tall by 8' wide) deciduous shrub
- Flowers: very fragrant white flowers in May (after leaves)
- Fruit: not significant (dry capsule)
- Fall color: none
- Culture: full sun; very tolerant of soils once established
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: shrub border
|
Photinia x fraseri
 |
Fraser Photinia; Redtip Photinia |
- Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: varies on significance; cream, flat topped clusters April
- Fruit: ??
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; Brilliant red to new, emerging foliage
- Culture: full sun; adaptable to soil type
- Disease/insect: Very seriously affected by Entomosporium leaf spot (fungus) in Arkansas
- Use: probably most common hedge/screen plant in Arkansas
|
Picea glauca 'Conica'
 |
Dwarf Alberta Spruce |
- Size: tight (appears sheared), pyramidal conifer; 7’ tall x 4’ wide
- Culture: full sun; demands constant moisture in summer; Best in Northwest Arkansas (cooler)
|
Pinus mugo
 |
Mugo Pine |
- Size: can be confusing; species is fairly large (12' tall by 15' wide); most in trade are dwarf forms (2' tall by 4' wide)
- Needles: 2 needle pine
- Culture: full sun; drought tolerant once established
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: groundcover
- Cultivars: many dwarf ‘Mops’, ‘Gnom’
|
Platycladus orientalis (f. Thuja orientalis)
 |
Oriental Arborvitae |
- Still sold in trade under Thuja orientalis
- Many options for size, shape and foliage color
- Better suited for south (zones 7 thru 9) than
Thuja occidentalis
- Culture: tolerates full sun to shade (thins-out); adaptable to soil type
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Uses: hedge/screen; specimen
- Cultivars: hundreds of selections
|
Podocarpus macrophyllus
 |
Chinese Podocarpus |
- Size: large (18' tall by 9' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: not significant
- Fruit: not showy, but interesting to look at
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; Strap-like leaves
- Culture: full sun; adaptable to soil type; Reliably cold hardy in zone 8
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: Good choice for hedge/screen in south Arkansas
|
Prunus caroliniana
 |
Carolina Cherrylaurel |
- Size: large (20' tall by 15' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: showy, white racemes March
- Fruit: not overly showy, black fruit
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; leaves a dark, glossy green
- Culture: sun or tolerates shade; adaptable to soil type; May have some winter dieback on zone 6
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: hedge or screen; Almost a weed in some woodland areas even though a native plant
|
Prunus x cistena
 |
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry |
- Size: medium (8' tall by 9' wide) deciduous shrub
- Flowers: delicate pink flowers in April before or as leaves emerge
- Fruit: not significant
- Fall color: none; Dramatic purple leaves all growing season
- Culture: full sun; provide constant moisture during summer months; Best suited to cooler Northwest corner of Arkansas
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: specimen
|
Prunus glandulosa
 |
Dwarf Flowering Almond |
- Size: small (3' tall by 5' wide) deciduous shrub
- Flowers: dramatic early spring (late March/early April) flowers, double, pink ('Sinensis' or 'Rosea Plena')
- Fruit: not significant
- Fall color: none
- Culture: full sun; provide adequate moisture in summer
- Disease/insect: none serious
- Use: middle of mixed shrub border; more common in older landscapes
|
Prunus laurocerasus
 |
Common Cherrylaurel; English Laurel |
- Size: large (15' tall by 20' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: white, racemes, typically not as showy as other Prunus
- Fruit: red changing black; not dramatic
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
- Culture: sun to partial shade; adaptable to soil type
- Disease/insect: ‘shotholes’ in leaves caused by fungus, aesthetic issue
- Use: hedge or screen (but wide unless you shear/prune)
- Cultivars: rarely see species in Arkansas. Cultivars more common in the trade are narrow leaf cultivars that are smaller in size: 'Otto Luyken', 'Schipkaensis', ‘Zabeliana'
|
Pyracantha coccinea
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Pyracantha; Firethorn |
- Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
- Flowers: dramatic white flowers in May
- Fruits: November thru January brilliant orange-red fruits
- Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
- Culture: full sun; drought tolerant once established
- Disease/insect: susceptible to fireblight (bacteria)
- Use: shrub, hedge, arbor
- Cultivars: many
- Misc: thorny
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