Plant Reference C--D - Lower Marlboro Nursery

Campanula americana (Campanulastrum a.)

Tall Bellflower

N. America, z. 3-9. This lovely Bellflower is seldom offered because it is not perennial but biennial, meaning that plants purchased now will bloom next summer and then die. However, it blooms for a long period, producing a spike up to 6' tall of 1" blue-violet flowers, and often self-seeds, so that it's well worth trying to establish a natural colony in partial to full shade.

Campanula divaricata

Southern Harebell

N. America, z. 4-9. This delightful but little-known native Harebell likes a spot in sun or part shade and well drained soil where it won't be overwhelmed by larger plants. Given that, it makes a fine display with its slender, 12"-15"stems hung with small blue bells—very delicate and cool in the late summer heat.

Campanula poscharskyana

Dalmatian Bellflower

Yugoslavia, z. 3-10. This charming bellflower forms neat clumps only 6" high, but in late spring it puts out 1'-2' prostrate stems studded with starry blue flowers, which will trail delightfully over edges or lean up against surrounding plants. A good plant for the front of the border or for pots, it does well in partial shade and average soil.

Carex grayii

Gray's or Morning Star Sedge

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-9. An erect, clump-forming sedge whose 1/2" wide, light green leavesrise 1' to 3'. Its special attraction is its fruits: large, round, and studded with spikes like an ancient mace—hence the name Morning Star Sedge. A good plant near water, or in pots as an accent; the fruits are good for cutting. Moist to wet soil in sun to part shade.

Carex laxiculmis

Loose-culmed Sedge

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-9. This local grass relative might well be called "Curling Sedge" because its 1/2" wide, bluegreen leaves curl outward from the center rather like a mum, making a springy tussock 6"-8" tall. It's happy here in partial to full shade and average soil and is evergreen, although the leaves will brown at the tip over winter and should be cut back in early spring to allow for new growth. A good edger, since it doesn't run, and a nice pot plant, too.

Carex pensylvanica

Pennsylvania Sedge

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 4-8. A very fine-textured sedge only 6"-8" tall, Pennsylvania Sedge forms billowy tufts that spread moderately by short runners. Often found growing in deciduous woods or in sandy soils, it is very shade and drought tolerant and a beautiful, grass-like groundcover for difficult sites.

Carpinus caroliniana

Am. Hornbeam, Ironwood, Muscle Tree

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 3-9. The name "Muscle Tree" refers to the unusual and attractive bark of this understory tree, which resembles muscles flexing under smooth, gray skin. A graceful native about the size and shape of a dogwood, it is an excellent small specimen tree for part shade and moist to damp soil.

Ceanothus americanus

New Jersey Tea

N. America, z. 4-8. New Jersey Tea is a small deciduous shrub, 2'-4' high and wide, which bears clusters of white flowers in mid summer. Although not well known it has several points of interest: it is considered one of the best native shrubs for attracting butterflies and other pollinators; it grows happily in hot, dry situations and poor soils, and its leaves were once used as a tea substitute. New Jersey Tea will adapt well to full sun or part shade, but requires very well-drained soil.

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Buttonbush

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-10. A robust native wetland shrub, 4'-10' or more, with a rounded shape, leathery leaves, and perfectly round heads of tiny, tightly clustered white flowers in summer—unusual and attractive. A useful shrub for naturalizing in moist to wet soil, or shallow water. Its flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds and the seeds are eaten by wood ducks.

Cercis canadensis

Redbud, Judas Tree

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 4-9. A small woodland tree—to 30'—with graceful form and heart-shaped leaves, bearing many dense clusters of pinkish purple flowers along its branches in early spring. Redbud blooms at the same time as our native dogwood, and the two together are a quintessential part of the spring woodland scene. A good ornamental whose bountiful seed pods are a food for wildlife. Prefers partial shade and moist soil, but tolerates sunnier, dryer conditions.

Chasmanthium latifolium

River Oats, Wild Oats

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-9. This beautiful East Coast grass grows in 2'-4' upright clumps of rich green foliage with showy, diamond-shaped flower spikes that start out jade green and turn pale gold in fall, shimmering in the slightest breeze on gracefully arching stems. At its best in moist soil and partial shade, it will tolerate sunnier and dryer conditions and makes an excellent waterside, seashore, or pot plant. If used in the border its long-lasting flower spikes should be removed in winter to prevent self-seeding.

Chelone glabra

White Turtlehead

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 3-9. A distinguished native with rigid, 2'-4' stems bearing dark green, leathery leaves and terminal spikes of ivory white or pink tinged flowers in late summer/early fall. The 1 1/2" flowers are unusual, shaped something like a turtle's head, and stand out well in the late summer garden. The plant makes impressive clumps, combining well with Lobelias and tall ferns in moist to wet soil, sun or shade.

Chelone lyonii

Pink Turtlehead

N. America, z. 4-6. A handsome, durable perennial with very dark green, glossy leaves and deep pink flowers atop erect 2'-4' stems in late summer. Unlike White Turtlehead (C. glabra), it does not serve as a host plant for the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, but it's a fine garden ornamental.

Chelone obliqua

Pink Turtlehead

N. America, z. 3-9. Much like C. Glabra but a little shorter—to 3'. It has slightly shinier leaves and soft pink flowers which blend in well with other plants. Likes the same conditions as C. glabra and the two are very attractive planted together.

Chrysanthemum parthenium

Feverfew

Europe, z. 4-10. A useful border plant with l'-4' fountains of bright green, feathery foliage and numerous clusters of white daisy-type flowers in summer. I offer the semi-double variety called 'Flore-pleno'. A great choice for sandy, dry soil in full sun, but it readily tolerates partial shade and heavier soil. A short-lived perennial which self-seeds, it is a good cutting flower. If cut back periodically it will rebloom all summer long.

Chrysogonum stolonifera 'Eco Lacquered Spider'

Green-and-Gold, Goldenstar

N. America, z. 6-9. 'Lacquered Spider' Goldenstar takes its name from the fat, furry runners, very like spiders' legs, that arch from each rosette in spring and rapidly spread over the ground. At the end of the runners new rosettes of softly hairy leaves form to make a thick, low groundcover. Yellow flowers with a lacquered sheen star the dark green mounds. A great semi-evergreen groundcover for moist, humusy soil in partial sun or shade.

Chrysogonum virginianum

Green-and-Gold, Goldenstar

N. America, z. 5-10. A cheerful, low-growing perennial with simple, bright yellow flowers from mid-spring and sporadically throughout the summer if the soil is kept moist. It is a more modest spreader than C. stolonifera, but flowers more heavily. An easy, very popular native for part shade and moist soil.

Chrysogonum virginianum 'Pierre'

'Pierre' Green & Gold, Goldenstar

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-9. A fine selection of this excellent, spring-flowering deciduous groundcover for part to full shade and moist soil. 'Pierre' forms neat 6" clumps which expand well but do not send out runners. The golden flowers are larger than the species and produced abundantly over a long period. Very nice.

Chrysopsis (Heterotheca) mariana

Maryland Golden Aster

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 5-9. Clusters of rich yellow aster-like blooms rise above gray-green leaves on 12"-16" stems in late summer and fall. Occurring naturally in dry fields and along road edges, Maryland Golden Aster is a great choice for any sunny, dry area. It requires excellent drainage and blooms best in full sun, but tolerates light shade.

Cimicifuga (Actaea) racemosa

Bugbane, Black Cohosh

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 3-9. Slow-growing, long-lived, and stately, Black Cohosh produces 2'-3' mounds of handsome dark-green, divided leaves. Rising well above them are slender, twisting wands of fuzzy white flowers that provide an excellent summer nectar source for many pollinators. A fine woodland plant for partial to full shade and moist, well-drained soil.

Cimicifuga racemosa

Claytonia virginica

Spring Beauty

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 3-8. A small plant which nevertheless makes acre-wide sheets of misty color in spring woodlands. Growing from tiny, rapidly spreading corms, it produces tufts of grass-like foliage in late fall/winter and 3/4" white or pink flowers striped with deeper pink throughout the spring season. It's at home in average to wet soil, and since it goes dormant in summer can be tucked in anywhere its delicate spring color is desired. It delights without ever overwhelming, and I can never have too much of it. (Plants shipped in Fall are dormant.)

Clethra alnifolia

Summersweet, Sweet Pepperbush

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 4-9. This common East Coast native has recently become quite popular in the nursery trade, for good reason: It's a 4'-8' shrub with very sweetly scented spikes of white flowers in mid-summer, attract ing butterflies and other pollinators, and neat foliage that turns yellow in fall. It can be cut back in winter to maintain size, or pruned up to show off its smooth, charcoal-gray bark. It does well in shade but needs sun for good bloom, and prefers moist to wet soil. 1-qt/12"-16".

Clitoria mariana

Convallaria majalis

Lily-of-the-Valley

Europe, z. 3-9. Everyone loves the old-fashioned lily-of-the-valley for its gorgeously scented white bells—one of the headiest scents of spring—and it is also an excellent low groundcover in partial/full shade and woodsy soil. It is usually sold as small divisions which take awhile to get established, but my stock consists of good-sized potted plants which should take off quickly and provide pleasure for many years to come.

Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana'

Mouse-ear Coreopsis

N. America, z. 4-10. This delightful little plant makes a 4"-6" high clump of dark green, softly hairy leaves, topped in late spring and early summer by 1" single flowers of a rich yellow-orange, each as delicately formed as a flower in an illuminated manuscript. Dead-head for prolonged bloom. Clumps spread slowly but are not aggressive. Nice! Sun to part shade, average, well-drained soil.

Coreopsis lanceolata

Lance-leaved Coreopsis

N. America, z. 5-10. A widespread native whose golden yellow flowers, consisting of 8 notched petals around a central boss, are a common sight in fields and along roadsides in June and July. Not long-lived but a good self-seeder, it is easy and tough, likes dry, sandy soils and spreads to form colonies. One to 3' tall, its flowers are long stalked—good for cutting.

Coreopsis rosea

Pink Tickseed

N. America, z. 3-8. Quite different from C. lanceolata, C. rosea is a 1'-2' plant with thread-like leaves and small but abundant pink flowers in summer. A nice border plant, but although it likes full sun it will not tolerate very dry soil.

Cornus amomum

Silky Dogwood

N. America, z. 4-8. Silky Dogwood is a big—6'-10' high and wide—mounding shrub found in moist woods along much of the East Coast. A good naturalizing/wildlife plant, its medium-green leaves support flat plates of ivory flowers in spring followed by clusters of deep blue berries in fall that are eagerly consumed by birds. Its tolerance of damp to wet soils in part shade or sun make it a good choice for stabilizing stream banks and pond edges and for creating wildlife thickets in low-lying areas.

Corydalis cheilanthifolia

Fern-leaved Corydalis

China, z. 5-10. A fine Corydalis with 8"-12" evergreen mounds of lush, ferny foliage, soft green touched with bronze, which remain beautiful all winter here. Numerous sprays of 1/2" yellow flowers in spring. Sun or shade, reasonably moist soil. Will self-seed, but it's not invasive.

Corylopsis spicata

Spike Winterhazel

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

Japan, z. 5-8. A tall, widespreading—easily 8' x 8'—and very beautiful mountain shrub with pleated leaves that open a soft matte green flushed with purple and turn deep green in summer, and dangling clusters of pale yellow flowers in early spring. Not as showy in bloom as Forsythia, but a much more elegant shrub. A rapid grower, it prefers moist, acid, humusy soil in sun or part shade, with some protection from late freezes.

Delphinium exaltatum

Tall Larkspur

Available for Fall 2008. Click here to go to the Catalog.

N. America, z. 4-9. Tall Larkspur is a native perennial with admittedly much more modest flowers than the massive garden hybrids, but it is quite attractive in its own right and much easier to grow in warm, humid summer climates. It grows quickly to form a large clump of deeply cut, palmate leaves, out of which rise slender stems bearing spurred flowers in varying shades of blue/purple in mid-summer. Excellent for grouping among other perennials or shrubs since it goes semi-dormant after flowering. Plant in rich, moist soil in part shade.

Delphinium tricorne

Dwarf Larkspur

N. America, z. 4-9. An early highlight of spring woodlands, Dwarf Larkspur shoots up 1-3' stalks of electric blue flowers that combine beautifully with other early bloomers such as Spring Beauty, Bloodroot, and Celandine Poppy. After blooming it quickly goes dormant, disappearing under the expanding leaves of later perennials until the next spring. It likes moist soil under deciduous trees and a bit of lime, and will slowly expand to a clump.

Dentaria laciniata

Cut-leaved Toothwort

N. America, z. 3-9. One of our earliest flowering woodland natives, with small white or pinkish flowers above delicately cut foliage. Good for the woodland garden or with early spring bulbs. Well-drained soil in sun or shade; goes dormant in summer.

Deschampsia flexuosa

Crinkled Hairgrass

N. America, z. 4-9. Low tufts of shining, deep green foliage, fine as child's hair, are topped with delicate and showy tan inflorescences in summer. This beautiful, low-growing evergreen grass is highly adaptable and can be used either as a specimen or groundcover in dry to moist soil, sun or shade. Great for sandy soils, dry shade, and seashore use.

Desmodium paniculatum

Panicled Tick-trefoil

N. America, z. 4-8. A bushy perennial 2-3' tall and as wide, with slender 3-part leaves and airy heads of small, sweetpea-like flowers in late summer that produce a rosy-purple haze from a distance. It likes dry soil in sun or part shade and is fine for naturalizing or border use, with one caveat: I knew this plant in my childhood as "beggars' patches," because the triangular seedpods have a velcro-like coating and stick like iron-on patches to any clothing they brush against. On the other hand, birds such as quail, pheasant, and turkey eat them. Excellent drought resistance.

Dicanthelium (Panicum) clandestinum

Deertongue Grass

N. America, z. 4-9. Deertongue is a 2'-4', semi-evergreen, broad-bladed grass somewhat resembling a miniature bamboo. Although only occasionally used as an ornamental, usually around water, its spreading habit and heavy root system make it a superb choice for holding banks and smothering weeds. It occurs naturally in moist semishade, but readily tolerates full shade to full sun, wet to dry soil, and can be mowed to control height. A real toughie.

Dicentra cucullaria

Dutchman's Breeches

N. America, z. 3-9. A charming little woodland native with blue-green, ferny foliage sprouting from small tubers and arching sprays of yellow-tipped, white flowers that look for all the world like tiny pantaloons hung out in a stiff breeze. A pure delight to meet up with in early spring, D. cucullaria disappears into dormancy quickly, but will spread into colonies and reappear year after year. Part/full shade, humusy soil.

Dicentra eximia

Wild Bleeding Heart

N. America, z. 3-9. One of the very few wildflowers which blooms from spring through summer, with slender-stemmed clusters of dangling, soft pink flowers rising through a 1' mound of delicate, ferny foliage. Excellent with other small woodlanders in partial to full shade and moist soil. Also does well in pots outdoors.

Digitalis lutea

Small Yellow Foxglove

Europe, z. 3-10. An elegant Foxglove with a basal tuft of rather narrow, leathery leaves and slender, 2'-3' wands hung with small, pale yellow bells in late spring. Not as showy as the biennial Common Foxglove (D. purpurea) but quietly elegant and a true perennial. Lovely in groups or as an accent plant, it may self-seed gently. Sun or shade, average to moist soil.

Dioscorea quaternata

Wild Yam

N. America, z. 5-8. Not an edible yam, but an unusual and attractive small vine. Growing no more than 9' and dying back in fall, it will twine around a slender support and put out successive whorls of beautiful, pleated leaves that flare outward on long stems. The tiny flowers are barely seen, but the resulting seedpods are curious and pretty, while the leaves turn deep gold in fall. Something different for shade to sun, humusy soil.

Diospyros virginiana

Common Persimmon

N. America, z. 4-9. Persimmon is a neat, shapely medium-sized tree with attractive bark and glossy, dark green leaves that color well in fall. A premiere wildlife plant, its small, scented spring flowers attract many pollinators and the edible fruit, borne on female plants, is eaten by both birds and mammals. Happy in average soil in sun or part shade, Persimmon also tolerates very dry, poor soils, making it an excellent choice for naturalizing. My plants are unsexed seedlings; plant several for best pollination.

Dryopteris sp.

Wood Fern

N. America, z. 3-8. I'm not quite sure at present which of the many wood ferns this is, but it's a nice plant. Fairly small as ferns go, it has medium-green, 15"-18" fronds that arch thickly and gracefully from a central crown. It's at least semi-evergreen, and its size and attractive form make it a good choice either in the border, or massed under trees.