Environmental Horticulture Crop Vignettes

Phlox is a genus containing around sixty species in the plant family Polemoniaceae. Phlox consists of both perennial and annual plants that are mostly native to North America. The name phlox comes from the Greek word meaning “flame,” referring to the bright, colorful blooms they can produce.

Clematis have great variety in flower form, color, bloom season, plant height and fragrance; all factors that contribute to their reputation as “queen of the vines.”

Plant Information A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the flowering plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 139 genera with nearly 2,000 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word “cactus” derives, through Latin, from the ancient ancient Greek, kaktos, a name originally used for a spiny plant […]

Daylilies are flowering plants in the genus Hemerocallis, a member of the family Asphodelaceae. Their scientific name, Hemerocallis, is from the Greek hemeros, a day, and kallos, meaning beauty, because the flowers are only open a single day.

Plant Information Lagerstroemia or crape myrtle is a genus of about 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the family Lythraceae, that are native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia and parts of Oceania, cultivated in warmer climates around the world. The most popular species, Lagerstroemia indica, arrived in England […]

Plant Information Impatiens is a genus of more than 1,000 flowering plants in the family Balsaminaceae widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Most Impatiens species occur in the tropical and subtropical mountain forests in Africa, Madagascar, the Himalayas, the Western Ghats (southwest India), and Southeast Asia. Two species (I. turrialbana and I. […]

Plant Information Ilex or holly is a genus of about 480 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from the tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The common ancestor of most of the extant species probably appeared […]

Plant Information Ornamental flowering cherries belong to the genus Prunus in the rose family Rosacea, consisting primarily of species native to Asia. The majority of the flowering species are native to Japan and Korea, where centuries of propagation and cultivation have led to the selection of hundreds of genotypes. The most well-known ornamental cherry is […]

Plant Information Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360 million years ago in the middle Devonian period, but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous, after flowering plants came to dominate many environments. Along with club mosses, spikemosses, horsetails, and […]

Plant Information Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name giboshi. The genus is currently placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, and is native to northeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East). Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. Hybridization […]

Plant Information The genus Hydrangea is expansive and includes approximately 1,000 species, hybrids, and cultivars, which can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs up to 10 ft tall, small trees or climbers reaching up to 98 ft. They are native to Asia and the Americas, with the greatest species diversity in eastern Asia, notably Korea, China, […]

Plant Information Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, with the number of species estimated to range from 700 to 1,000. There are 3 main regions for radiation of Salvia: Central and South America with approximately 500 species, Central Asia and the Mediterranean with approximately 250 species, and eastern Asia with […]

Plant Information Gerbera belongs to the genus of plants Gerbera in the Asteraceae (daisy family). It is native to tropical regions of South America, Africa and Asia. The first scientific description of a gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) was published in 1889. This species is known as Transvaal daisy or Barberton daisy or African daisy. The domesticated […]

Plant Information Coleus, also commonly known as painted nettle, flame nettle, and painted leaf, is a native of Southeast Asia through to Australia. In the most recent taxonomic classification, coleus now belongs to the genera Plectranthus and Solenostemon in the family Lamiaceae. The common garden Coleus (Coleus blumei = Plectranthus scutellarioides = Solenostemon scutellarioides) is […]

Plant Information Pansies are members of the Viola genus, a taxon of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400–500 species distributed around the world. Viola, was named by Greeks in the 4th century BCE and was cultivated for its medicinal properties. Pansy or garden pansy is the common name for diverse cultivated […]

This first appeared as “EHC Corner: Petunia, the worthless tobacco” in the IR-4 Newsletter 50(1):14. Plant Information Modern petunia varieties we know and love are derived from two petunia species discovered in South America during the mid-1700’s through early 1800’s. The Latin name Petunia originated from one of the native Tupi-Guarani words ‘petun’ meaning ‘worthless […]

This first appeared as “EHC Corner: Holiday Greenery” in the IR-4 Newsletter 49(4):13. Plant Information The smell of cedar, pine and other evergreens are synonymous with the winter holidays. Whether wreaths or boughs hung inside or out, this greenery visually signals the start of the US holiday season and its aroma brings back childhood memories […]

This first appeared as “Spotlight on Ornamentals: Spring Forward for Fall” in the IR-4 Newsletter 48(2):8. It is currently late spring, so it seems a little unusual to be talking about fall color but growers are already producing plants for fall color. Autumn in most parts of the United States brings spectacular color to foliage […]

This first appeared as “Spotlight on OrnHort: The Exotic Orchid” in the IR-4 Newsletter 48(3):8. Orchids have been regarded as one of the most prized flowering plants, especially the large flowering tropical species. During the Victorian era, plant collectors explored tropical zones and brought back to Europe many different species. Many of the Latin species […]

This first appeared as “Spotlight on Ornamentals: A Thousand and One Arabian Rose Trees?” in the IR-4 Newsletter 46(4):4. Plant Information Throughout the world there are more than 1,000 known species of Rhododendron, or “rose trees” as directly translated from ancient Greek. Commonly known in cultivation as azaleas, Rhododendron species are grouped with ericaceous plants […]