Helping Habitat Plant

Step 1: Know your zone. Consider your target location.

Princeton, Indiana is  located in growing  zone 6.   The front of the Habitat  Office is in a mostly sunny location.

Step 2: Know about your plants

Our first step was to select the plants we thought we would like and to learn about these plants.  One excellect resource for looking up plants and finding out about their characteristics is the Missouri Botantical Garden Plant Finder.  It was an especially useful resource in our case since Southern Indiana gardeners share a similar growing zone and season with St. Louis, which is often referenced in the descriptions. 
For more information about using the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, go to this page.

Step 3: Plan for Variety

Julia Rahman, Director of Princeton's Habitat for Humanity, set out with her list of plants  according to the plan.  The plan was designed so  the plants would have a variety of blooming times: spring blooms, summer blooms, fall blooms.  And she was hoping to achieve a variety of heights , colors and  textures.  The list below reflects her original choices and shows how the garden plan changed during the project.
 
Step 4: Be Flexible

Like many gardeners, Julia had to be flexible.  Sometimes the plant you want is not available or too expensive.  You have to make adjustments to your plan often while you in the garden center.  Other times a new plant you had not considered in your plan catches your eye and it becomes an addition.  Then there is the dear friend who calls you up and offers you one of her favorite plants for your garden area.  How can you refuse? 

Original Choices for Habitat Office:

• Crape Myrtle shrub (Lythraceae) - Height (the shrub is 2 to 4 feet with a spread (2 to 4 feet), Bloom (June to September),  Zones (6 to 9). Full Sun, Water - Medium

  • Note: Crape Myrtle "shrubs" can be the size of little tree and  can grow to 9 feet and have a spread of up to 20 feet.  Always read the heighth and width on the card attached to a plant you buy.

  • Crape Myrtles are not native but they are not considered invasive in Indiana.  While they do not produce seeds that most native birds will eat,  hummingbirds are sometimes attracted to them.

  • The result: While the need to find a space for a crape myrtle that would grow quite large, Julia came across the ideal crape myrtle for her limited planting area - a dwarf version of the crape myrtle shrub called Bellini Grape.
    
    

• Azalea (Ericacceae) - Height (4 to 5 feet), Spread (4 to 5 feet), Bloom (April), Zones (5 to 8), Part Shade, Water - medium

  • In SW Indiana we love azaleas.  With Azalea Path (the largest azalea garden in the midwest) just north of Princeton, we just had to include some of these early spring blooming shrubs.  However, be aware that azaleas are native to Southern U.S. and they are on the northern edge of their growing zone in Gibson County.  Therefore, they are not a likely source of food for most local insects and birds.  They also will from time to time suffer from winter damage and they like to be in part shade.

  • The result: There are varieties of azaleas that do better in the sun than others but we were not able to locate one of these.
    
    

• Red Hybrid Daylily (Asphodelaceae) - Height (2.5 to 3 feet), Spread (1.5 to 2.5 feet), Bloom (June to August), Zones (3 to 9), Full sun to part shade, Water - medium

  • In SW Indiana we see daylilies everywhere.  People enjoy growing and cross breeding daylilies to create their own special flower.  There is an American Daylily Society.  However, daylilies are not native.  They came here from China or Japan. While Daylilies are benign (not a problem) and do not support our birds or large numbers of insects, they can still provide a certain minimal benefit in providing pollen for bees.

  • The result: When the word went out that we were searching for some red daylilies, a donation came from a gardener who was thinning her patch.  Daylilies, even hybrids, multiply over time.  Part of the maintenance is periodically thinning.
    
    

• Purple Coneflower  (Asteraceae)  - Height (2 to 5 feet), Spread (1.5 to 2 feet), Bloom (June to August), Zones (3 to 8), Full sun to part shade; Water - dry to medium

  • Coneflowers are so popular that hybrid versions featuring multiple colors of these plants have been created.  However, colors other than purple are hybrids that do not produce seeds will not feed native birds and plants.  When you are looking for coneflowers, look for the purple native because it is the one that local birds and insects will.*

  • Tips on growing purple conflowers

  • The result:  While we encourage gardeners to think about the birds and plant the native variety, every once in a while there is a hybrid version that just steals your heart.  The exotic hybrid coneflowers that Habitat was given are certainly eye catchers.
    
    

• Oakleaf or Limelight Hydrangea (Hydrangeaceae)  - Height (6 to 8 feet), Spread (6 to 8 feet), Bloom (May to July), Zones (5 to 9), Full sun to part shade, Water - medium

  • Note: Full sun to part shade; Water - medium

  • While hydrangeas with "panicled flowers," like the Limelight Hydrangea, are native to China and Asia, the Oakleaf Hydrangea, which also has panicled flowers, is native to the Southeastern United States.  

  • Article about Hydrangeas native to North America 

  • Deciding Which Hydrangea to Get - Lots of Hybrids and Lots of Choice

  • The result:  There is so much choice with hydrangeas these days.  Both the Oakleaf and Limelight are show stealers.  However, the height of 6 to 8 feet and an equal width was a concern.  Both Oakleaf and Limelight are also available in a dwarf variety that is about 3 to 5 feet.  So Habitat wisely accepted a donation of two dwarf limelight hydrangeas.  They will be as stunning in their own little way as the traditional large shrubs.

• Endless Summer Hydrangea (Hydrangeaceae)  - Height (3 to 4 feet), Spread (3 to 4 feet), Bloom (June to Sep.), Zones (5 to 9), Part shade, Water - medium

  • Bigleaf hydrangeas with "mophead flowers," like the "Endless Summer" hydrangeas, are native to Asia. Unlike the Limelight and the Oakleaf, these hydrangeas need to be in a partly shaded or shaded area.  They do best in partial shade.  They are likely to look limp during the day if they get too hot or too dry.  They do bloom most of the summer right into early fall providing a lot of color in the garden.  They are relatively easy to care for.

  • The result:  An area of the designated planting area is shaded during part of the day by the porch.  The planning group originally chose that spot for a donated Endless Summer Hydrangea and that part of the plan did not change.

A Surprise Twist in the Plot!

• The Butterfly Bush -- (Scrophulariaceae)  - Height (6 to 12 feet), Spread (4 to 15 feet), Bloom (June to September), Zones (5 to 9), Full Sun, Water - medium

  • Note: This is a description of a standard butterfly bush.  There is a dwarf hybrid that only grows 2 feet high.

  • Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Becomes weedy and sparse with diminished flowering performance if not grown in full sun. Does poorly in wet, poorly draining conditions. Will adapt to clay soil if properly amended. In USDA Zones 5 and 6, this plant will often die to the ground in winter and therefore is often grown therein in the manner of an herbaceous perennial. Even if plants do not die to the ground in winter, they often grow more vigorously, produce superior flowers and maintain better shape if cut close to the ground in late winter each year.  

  • The result:  When Habitat received two dwarf limelight, the hydrangea in the center plan had to be redone.  The butterfly bush stepped forward to take the coveted place in the center of the garden plan.  Habitat was given a dwarf Pugster butterfly bush and the complete description of this hybrid is available on this Missouri Botanical Garden page.

  • The suggestion: While the butterfly bush will be an appropriate centerpiece and will joyfully attract bees and butteflies, the smaller version will not give height to the center of the display as in the original plan.  That was when one of the Master Gardeners helping with the project suggested that red canna lilies might be placed behind the butterfly bush to give some more color and height, especially in the first year.  While canna lilies are annuals in this area and have to be replanted each spring, they are capable of growing 6 to 8 feet tall during a single summer.  We will see if that idea works.  The fun of planning a planting area is that you can always change your mind and often it is possible to change your plants.  Every year is a little bit different show as the younger plants  grow and change the way the whole display looks.

Optional Additions for Habitat Office or It is Hard to Say No When Offered a Plant!

• Varigated Hostas  -- once the initial garden is established, there may be some partial shady places where filler is needed

• Hostas (Asparagaceae)  - Height (1 to 2 feet), Spread (1 to 2 feet), Bloom (June to July.), Zones (3 to 8), part shade to full shade, Water - medium

  • Easily grown in evenly moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Plant in locations protected from wind. Hostas are generally considered to be low-maintenance perennials.  The front of the building is not an ideal place for this plant but while the other plants are growing, these plants will fill in some space.  And they can easily be transplanted at any time.

  • The result:  An area was set as side to see how these hostas will do in the area.  The donor has used this variety in some areas that get some sun.

• Autumn Joy Sedum (or Stonecrop) (Crassulaceae)  - Height (1.5 to 2 feet), Spread (1.5 to 2 feet), Bloom (Sep. to Oct.),
  Zones (3 to 9), Full sun, Water - dry to medium.  

  • Are you looking for a plant that can be a filler, much as hostas are used, but can tolerate some sun.  The Autum Joy sedum and similar stonecrop or sedum plants can help out.  These are not creeping sedums but sedums that mound and take on the appears of a small shrub, flowering in late summer.  If Julia's hostas start to stress in this location because there is too much sun or not enough moisture, Autum Joy Sedum could take their place as plant that would provide both texture and filler while waiting for the larger plants to mature.  Like hostas, these plants are low maintenance and easy to transplant.

  • The result:  They will be waiting backstage as an understudy to the hostas.
    
    

• Black-eyed Susans or Brown-eyed Susans (Asteraceae)  - Height (2 to 3 feet), Spread (1 to 2 feet), Bloom (June to September)

  • Note:  Zones (3 to 7), Full sun, Water - medium 

  • This biennial or short-lived native perennial is easily grown in average, moist, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates light shade, but plants may need support if grown in too much shade. Best in moist, organically rich soils. Tolerates heat, some drought and a somewhat wide range of soils. 

  • The result:  It is always good to have a Plan B in any endeavor.  Black-eyed Susans, like lilies, require some periodic thining and there fore are a little more maintenance than hostas or sedums.  However, they can handle the sun and dry conditions.  They also add a lot of mid-summer to fall color in the garden.  Adding these to the current mix is an option.