Pender Nursery is excited to be a grower partner in the new Southern Living™ Plant Collection. The collection was first introduced in Spring 2008 through a partnership with Southern Living® and PDSI®. The plants in the collection are the result of years of plant trials and evaluation, as well as consumer research. They were selected to solve specific landscape challenges and for superior performance in the heat and humidity of the South.

The Southern Living™ Plant Collection (SLPC) consists of shrubs, bulbs, perennials and annuals. At Pender Nursery, we are continuing to add varieties in the collection as they are available. This complements our already diverse selection of plant material.

Plants in the SLPC currently available at Pender Nursery include: Purple Pixie®, Purple Diamond®, and Emerald Snow™ Loropetalum, Spring Sonata™ Indian Hawthorne, Pink and White Crinum Lily, Plum Mist™ Cuphea, Azure Skies™ Heliotrope, Blue Sue™ Setcreasea, and Ragin' Cajun™ Ruellia.

2009 Summer Green Show

Future selections to look for include: Jubilation™ Gardenia, Robin™ and Oakland™ Holly.

Some stand out plants in the collection are:
Loropetalum chinensis Purple Pixie® PPAF - a low growing, weeping Loropetalum with rich purple foliage and pink flowers

Loropetalum chinensis Emerald Snow™ PPIP - glossy green foliage with a dense habit to 4' and abundant white flowers

Crinum powelli 'Roseum' - a staple of old Southern homesteads which are reliably resiliant, year after year - large strap-like foliage is topped in summer with stalks of pink trumpet flowers

Setcreasea pallida Blue Sue™ - an attractive ground cover to add summer color to the garden, with blue green foliage darkening to purple at the margins and pink flowers

For a full list of plants in the SLPC visit Southern Living Plants. Here you can also sign up for the SLPC Newsletter and find a list of retailers near you. If you are a retailer you can also register to be added to the retailer listing and receive access to graphics and logos for use in your promotions.

11/04/09
Ilex x 'Nellie Stevens' 15g
Loropetalum 'Ruby' 3g

11/03/09
Acer pal. 'Bloodgood 5-6'
Acer pal. 'Bloodgood 6-7'
Acer pal. 'Tamukeyama' 5-6'
Acer pal. 'Lion Heart' 4-5'

11/02/09
Thuja occ. 'Emerald 5-6'
10/26/09
Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee' 15g
"Natchez' 15g
'Tuscarora' 15g
10/22/09
Daphne odora 1g
Daphne odora 3g
Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' 1 gal
Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata 3 gal

10/21/09
Cryptomeria 'Globosa Nana' 1 gal.
Cryptomeria 'Elegans Nana' 1 gal
Chamaecyparis 'Kings Gold' 1 gal

10/14/09
Buxus 'Winter Gem' 5g
Abelia 'Rose Creek' 3 gal
Juniper 'Blue Star' 3 gal
Loropetalum 'Ruby' 3 gal

10/08/09
Daphne odora 3 gal
Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' 3 gal
Thuja occ. 'Emerald' 1 gal
Chamaecyparis obt. 'Filicoides' 3 gal

10/06/09
Acer p. d. 'Crimson Queen' 24-30"
Acer p. d. 'Crimson Queen' 30-36"
Buxus sempervirens 18-24
Buxus s 'Suffruticosa' 18-24
Buxus s 'Suffruticosa' 24-30"
Buxus s. 'Rotundifolia' 30-36'
Prunus l. 'Schipkaensis' 3-4'
Thuja o. 'Emerald Green' 5-6'
Thuja o. 'Emerald Green' 5-6 Spiral
Picea glauca 'Conica' 1 gal.
Prunus l. 'Otto Luyken' 6 gal
Prunus l. 'Schipkaensis' 6 gal.

10/02/09
Ilex x 'Nellie Stevens' 5'
Ficus 'Brown Turkey' 3 gal

09/25/09
Rubus 'Navaho' Blackberry 1 gal
Rubus 'Caroline' Raspberry 1 gal

09/24/09
Daphne genkwa 3 gal
Loropetalum 'Zhuzhou Fushsia' 3 gal
09/17/09
Rhododendron cat. 'Chinoides' 3 gal
'Nova Zemba'
'English Roseum'
'Purple Splendor'
'Roseum Elegans'
'P.J.M.
09/14/09
Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee' 15 gal.
"Natchez'
'Tuscarora"
Ilex x 'Oakleaf' 15 gal
Magnolia grandflora 'Little Gem' 15 gal

09/11/09
Buxus micro. var. korean 3 gal

09/03/09
Cryptomeria 'Globosa Nana' 3 gal.

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Not only does a plant's length of establishment affect it's durability, but placement in the landscape also plays an important role. If a plant is planted near the foundation of the house or at the base of a brick or stone wall, there will be more radiant heat available to a plant and it's root zone than a plant that is planted in an bed that is open on all sides. Courtyards and enclosed backyards also provide some degree of protection as well. Each individual environment that a plant is planted in is considered a microclimate. As you can see, there are many factors that can influence these microclimates and play a part in plant hardiness.

As the temperatures drop, some plants you may consider providing additional protection (depending on the afore mentioned factors) are palms, Encore Azaleas, gardenias, hawthornes, and oleander. One important consideration in preparing those tender plants for the cold temperatures, is to make sure the plants are well watered. Broadleaf evergreen plants are much less likely to suffer leaf damage due to cold drying winds when they are well hydrated. You may also wish to cover plants with burlap, sheet or other type of breathable material and secure edges with brick or rocks. It is important to secure the edges to prevent wind from getting under the cover and causing it to flap around, which could cause breakage. Depending on the size of the plant, you could use an upside down pot or a trash can inverted over the plant.

When protecting palms, the main concern is the growing point. This is where the new fronds emerge in the center of the crown. If this growing point is damaged, many palms will not recover. To protect the growing point, gather all the fronds upward and secure together above the crown.You can then wrap the growing point with burlap, blanket, or other type of insulating material. You could also make a circular cage around the trunk of the palm and fill with leaves to provide an insulating layer, or a combination of these two techniques.

Hope everyone has a good winter, bundle up and spring will be here before you know it.

At Pender Nursery we are starting a recycling program for our used pots. We will be working with Blue Ridge Plastics who will be accepting our used pots. It will save us from taking up extra space in the dumpster, which costs us money, and the plastic will not end up in a landfill, but into products that contain recycled material.

Representatives from Blue Ridge Plastics came to the nursery for a tour and checked out our pot pile. Almost everything we have will work. Blue Ridge Plastics processes Post-Industrial and Post-Consumer plastic scrap at its plant in Eden NC. Blue Ridge specializes in the grinding and washing of any olefin (ethylenes andf propylenes) to produce clean, extruder-ready regrinds.

So join Pender Nursery in making this a greener, cleaner world. Recycle!

This new and exciting dwarf butterfly bush was developed by Dr. Dennis Werner, director or the JC Raulton Arboretum and a plant breeder in the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 'Blue Chip' is the first release in the Lo and Behold™ series of dwarf Buddleia.

Offering multi-season color and interest, Encore Azaleas make a great base plant for container plantings. Whether your hometown often experiences winters that are a little too frosty for Encore Azaleas, or you live in warmer regions and just want to add an impressive accent to your patio, Encore Azaleas can brighten any area now! The sky is the limit with these impressive blooming azaleas; add mixes of perennials, annuals, grasses, or cascading plants to make unique and interesting combinations of brilliant color and texture.

Also, under the Plant Guide you will see a Search bullet. This search feature allows you to search by botanical name, common name, or other parameters such as sun requirements, height, water requirements, etc. to find the right plant for a particular location. Good luck in your search!

Hardy geranium, also known as cransbill, is well suited for zones 5-8. They should not to be confused with the florist geranium (Pelargonium) which is an annual. Hardy geraniums are a valuable addition in most garden situations from full sun to part shade, although in hotter climates half shade would be preferable. Due to a large increase in popularity over the past decade, hundreds of new varieties have been introduced in recent years. Out of this flurry of new varieties there is a wide range of climatic variability and many have turned out to be inferior selections.

'Rozanne' is one of these recently introduced varieties, but stands apart from the rest due to its vigorous habit, heat tolerance, and extended bloom period. 'Rozanne' was found in the garden of Donald and Rozanne Waterer in Somerset, England in 1989, and released by Blooms of Bressingham in 2000. 'Rozanne is a cross between Geranium himalayense and Geranium wallichianum 'Buxton's Variety'.

'Rozanne' develops a mounding habit 20" high and 24-30" in spread. Foliage is deeply lobed and dark green with light marbling. 2.5" iridescent violet-blue flowers are cup-shaped, with darker veining and a light center. 'Rozanne' is a sterile hybrid which extends the bloom time is from late spring to early fall. Should plants start to look ragged during the summer months, shear the plants back to 3" above the ground to rejuvenate growth for a fall full of color.

'Rozanne' works well for the front of the border and as a companion plant with many other perennials, including Phlox paniculata, Hemerocallis, Iris and ornamental grasses. It prefers moist well drained garden soils, but will tolerate a wide range of soil and climatic conditions.

American Nursery and Landscape Association

American Society of Landscape Architects

International Plant Propagators Society

Johnston County Nurserymen's Association

Johnston County Nurserymen's Marketing Association

Maryland Nursery & Landscape Association

National Federation of Independent Business

J C Raulston Arboretum

NCSU Horticulture

Encore Azalea

NC Green Industry Council

Perennial Plant Association

South Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association

Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association

West Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association

Wholesale Nursery Growers of America