What’s in Bloom

Trees with ornamental bark can add texture and color to the winter garden.  This paperbark maple has beautiful exfoliating, cinnamon colored bark, which is a garden highlight any time of year.

Japanese camellias have glossy evergreen leaves and rose-like flowers in various shades of pink, red, and white that bloom at Longwood throughout the winter.  These beautiful flowering shrubs were one of Pierre S. du Pont’s favorite flowers and one of the first species planted in the Conservatory upon its completion in 1921.

American holly is a large shrub or tree, generally pyramidal, with alternating spiny, evergreen leaves. In October, female plants produce red berry-like fruit that persists into winter. A nearby male pollinator is necessary for fruit production. This native species is cold hardy (USDA zones 5 to 9), tolerant of pollution, drought, and moderately wet sites, and is resistant to deer browsing. Planted in acidic, moist, well-drained soil, it will tolerate any light conditions but prefers full sun and protection from wind.

An easy-to-grow bulb which blooms about 6 weeks after planting, amaryllis are a sign of the season.  Native to tropical America, their long stems and large, long-lasting flowers are a stand out in our Christmas display.

Native to rainforests in Brazil, Schlumbergera, grow as epiphytes, mainly on trees or shrubs but sometimes in shady places among rocks.  They do not have true leaves, but flattened, succulent stems.  Schlumbergera flowers bloom directly from the stems at the nodules, and come in a variety of colors.  The hybrid ‘Thor Carmen’ is a tough houseplant that has showy flowers that bloom in the late fall, usually around Thanksgiving, hence the common name Thanksgiving cactus.  Sometimes confused with the true Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera x buckleyi, you can tell them apart because the Thanksgiving cactus has claw-like appendages on its stems that resemble crab claws, hence another common name, crab cactus.

These bulbs produce clusters of white, fragrant flowers that can be forced to bloom indoors in winter.  Easy to grow in containers, paperwhite narcissus are a wonderful accent to the home.

Our succulent tree is made from 1,800 Sempervivum, Hens-and-chicks hybrids, in a mixture of small and large sizes.  These succulents are cold hardy, and their colors will become more vibrant and redder as the air gets colder.  They were placed into sphagnum moss on a tree frame, a process which took five days to complete.