Shrub ID: Edgeworthia chrysantha (coming into bloom at BBG)

 I was in the city at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the annual horticulture trade show put on by the Metro Hort Group, Plant-o-Rama.  It is always a great event and one of the bonuses is checking in on this paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) which comes into bloom about this time of year.

 As you can see it's a deciduous shrub.  Most references list it as being hardy in USDA Zones 8-10 which would mean it wouldn't survive the winters here in New York, but as you can see, situated in the right protected spot with good sun and well-drained soil it can do quite well up here.  Below is the flower starting to emerge.  Many people know the wonderful winter interest of different native and non-native species of Hamamelis (witchhazel), not to mention Camellia japonica (Japanese camellia), but you definitely want to know about Edgeworthia as well.  The flowers will open to reveal short, fragrant, tubular flowers yellow to creamy white as we get into late winter.

 

 Edgeworthia chrysantha:
- commonly called paperbush
- native to China
- member of the daphne family, Thymelaeaceae
- grow in rich soil with ample water and sun to part-shade
- leaves are elongated, oval, mid-green
- can grow to 6' high and wide
- the genus is named after Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-1881), botanist, plant collector and employee of the East India Company
(Flora: A Gardener's Encyclopedia, 2003, Timber Press)

Crimean Linden, BBG

I always have a blast this time of year returning to Brooklyn Botanic Garden for another year of Plant-O-Rama, the Metro Hort tradeshow now in it's 16th year. It's a chance to reunite with old friends, connect with new ones, sit in on fabulous lectures and panel discussions, and enjoy celebrating the horticultural lives we lead. This year I was thrilled to finally get to see and listen to Michael Dirr, the national treasure as far as woody trees and shrubs. And even more we get to enjoy all of this over the course of a very fun, relaxed day on the grounds of a magnificent botanic garden. It's so good to visit with my colleagues who are now really the best of the best in my opinion, like Dennis Schrader from Landcraft Environments, Jim from Glover Perennials, and Erika Hanson from Anthropek Gardens, just to name a few. But it is a busy day of passing cards and networking so one of the best parts for me is taking a break from it all and being able to walk the grounds and revisit the trees I love, tended to by my BBG's sensational Arborists, Chris and Travis. Walking in with the morning sun this Crimean linden was really speaking to me so it became the shot of the day.

plant of the day: black bamboo

botanically known as Phyllostachys nigra, this is black bamboo in winter
Photos taken at Brooklyn Botanic Garden early this morning before a great day catching up with old friends and meeting new people at Plant-O-Rama, the late January tradition amongst us urban horticulturists thanks to the Metro Hort Group.
Phyllostachys nigra:
-commonly called black bamboo
-Originally from China
-grows 20-50' high and wide and does best in full sun
-new culms (shoots) go from green to brown stippling to black
-hardy in USDA cold hardiness zones 7-10
-a running form of bamboo so if you are going to plant it, be sure to stay on top of controlling it over the years! ...and if you don't know that bamboo (the genus Phyllostachys) comes in both running and clump forms, you should know that. It will help you a great deal if you ever want to add bamboos to your garden scheme.

Thanks to Flora: a Gardener's Encyclopedia for factoid confirmation.