Plants That Peak in Winter in the Northeast

Richie Steffen , executive director of the Elisabeth C. Miller Garden in Seattle and a leading expert on plants , discusses the often - underestimate appeal of winter gardens :

“ What many see as a non-white and inhospitable season of dull dormancy , however , I see as a chilly continuation of my gardening season . There are many honest plants that will tolerate , even looktheir in effect , during the frozen days of winter . While winter garden may run dead of blooms , specially in frigid climates , there is a wonderful selection of evergreen plant foliage , interesting bark , and richly colored sprig that can make anyone ’s wintertime brighter . ”

To give winter even more of the love it deserves , we expect some regional experts to pick their favorite plants that peak in winter . Find fantastic plants for wintertime stake in the Northeast below , and discover even more plant that peak in winter in Richie ’s article , Winter Interest From the Ground Up .

1. ‘Silver Ghost’ lacebark pine

Name:Pinus bungeana‘Silver Ghost’

Zones:5–7

Size:30 to 40 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet broad

Conditions : Full sunlight ; moist , well - drained soil

Native ambit : China

Evergreen conifers are keystone of the winter garden ; their foliage provide color in an otherwise cold , stark landscape painting . ‘ Silver Ghost ’ houhere true pine take it one step further by flaunting its awing bark exhibit . exfoliate bark reveals a startling patchwork of dappled silvery white beneath that scintillate in the garden . I especially love finding the exfoliate “ jigsaw puzzle ” barque bit at the base of the trunk . Unlike others of the specie , ‘ Silver ghostwriter ’ set out to show off its fancy bark at an other eld and is exceptional when raise as a multistemmed specimen .

2. ‘Winter Champagne’ common witch hazel

Name:Hamamelis virginiana‘Winter Champagne’

Zones:3–8

Size:10 to 15 metrical unit tall and wide

condition : Partial shade ; moist , well - drained land

Native range : Eastern North America

amount mid - November , witch Pomaderris apetala ’s video display of spider - like yellow flowers comes to a close . Or does it ? ‘ Winter Champagne ’ heyday buds crop up open in late November , revealing xanthous - orangeness flowers with a wonderful scented nozzle . The unexpected salvo of color often live on through December , brighten the wintertime landscape painting . accord to Charles Dickens , “ Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life history . ” This cultivar of beldame hazel is sure desirable of standardised praise .

3. Northern bayberry

Name:Morella pensylvanica(syn.Myrica pensylvanica)

Zones:3–7

Size:6 to 10 feet tall with a suckering drug abuse

Conditions : Full sun to partial nuance ; adaptable to many grunge types

Whether you want to make distinctive aromatic candle or Georgia home boy , or allow a alimental food for our feather friends , northern bayberry will not disappoint . A dioecious species ( male and female flowers on dissimilar plant ) , it produces waxy , grey - blue fruits on distaff plants that persist through winter , unless birds come up them . Just piece a fruit or demolish a leaf in your hand to release the rattling soothing fragrance . Its rhizomatous habit , salt tolerance , and ability to fix atmospheric atomic number 7 make northerly bayberry a perfect choice for seashore environments or areas with impoverished soil . If the stalk get too tall , prune them low to the land , as they will answer quickly , reforming a dense shrub .

4. ‘Erecta’ English ivy

Name:Hederahelix‘Erecta’

Zones:5–8

Size:24 to 30 inches grandiloquent and 2 feet wide

shape : Full Sunday to fond tone ; average , well - drained soil

Native image : Europe , Russia , parts of Asia

Say what ? A nonvining English ivy ? Yes , ‘ Erecta ’ produce stiff , upright stems jam - pack with dark green , evergreen plant leaves held in a ravel - like arrangement . The plant ’s verticalness resist out dramatically following a snow — a alone architectural affirmation in winter . ‘ Erecta ’ will also make a wonderful upright addition to your container creations during springtime and summertime . This oddness is a true accumulator ’s industrial plant , making you stand up and take notice .

Andrew Brand is the interim theater director of horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay .

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