Georgia Native Wildflowers

Volume 3, Issue 6
February 10, 2012
Georgia Native Wildflowers
Heuchera americana ‘Amethyst Mist’
Table of Contents
Georgia Native
Wildflowers pg. 1
New Picnic Table
pg. 2
What’s In Bloom?
pg. 3
Staff Spotlight:
Bradley Roberts
pg. 3
Heuchera is a genus of herbaceous
perennial plants, a handful of which are native to
Georgia. They are very popular garden plants,
grown for both their colorful foliage and sprays
of delicate flowers that appear in spring. Recent
advances in breeding among these species have
resulted in a dazzling array of showy cultivars and
hybrids, and their performance as garden perennials
has been significantly improved. Many of the fifty
or so species of this plant occur in western North
Lockerly Trustees
America from British Columbia south to Mexico.
The eastern species are commonly called Alumroot,
Monica Webb,
for the color of the roots’ interior. In the wild,
President
Alumroot occupy moist and dry woodlands,
sandstone cliffs, and exposed rocky sites. In
Joe Mangum,
gardens, they are low-maintenance groundcover
Vice President
and specimen plants that combine well with
hostas, ferns, and taller shade-tolerant perennials.
Robert Culberson, Ph.D.,
All of these species do best in shady spots with rich,
Treasurer
well-drained soils.
Sherrill Jones,
Heuchera americana, or Rock Geranium,
Secretary
is a common alumroot found in eastern North
Heuchera americana ‘Cathedral Windows’
America from Ontario and Michigan east to New
Kathy Chandler
England, south to Georgia and Alabama, and west
David Evans
to Oklahoma. This alumroot is a semi-mound
Steven
M. Fortier, Ph.D.
forming evergreen with small yellow flowers from
Jan Flynn, Ph.D.
April to June. Its leaves are shiny, leathery, and
George Hogan, Sr.
in spring are mottled with silver and purple. In
Eddie Lipscomb
summer, the leaves are green and hairy underJames Marshall
neath, 3-5 in. across, with 3-9 heart-shaped lobes.
Carol McRae
H. americana is considered one of the best
Jackie Nelson
species for southern gardens if sited in medium
to full shade. This species has been widely used Doug R. Oetter, Ph.D.
Heuchera americana ‘Ruby Veil’
Joni Smith
as a parent of the new hybrids that are currently
Bruce Vaughn, CFP
available. ‘Ruby Veil’, Amethyst Mist’, and ‘Cathedral Windows’ are all colorful cultivars that
Al Woods
feature ruby-red to ruby-purple leaves with a network of silvery gray veins.
Heuchera villosa, or Hairy Alumroot, is native to the southeastern
U.S. They are very much at home in the heat, and prove to be very reliable
in the hot, humid summers common in this region. This species is the latest
to flower and among the tallest in the genus. It features rounded to heartshaped leaves which are deeply lobed. The leaves and flower stem are hairy,
while the flowers are small, whitish-pink, and occur in open, airy panicles
up to 3’ long. We have several cultivars of H. villosa currently in production
in our greenhouses, such as ‘Georgia Peach’, which sports very large leaves
that turn a warm rose-purple color in the fall and winter. We also have ‘Lime
Marmalade’, which has ruffled lime-colored leaves and a large mounding
Heuchera villosa ‘Lime Marmalade’
habit that is incredibly showy.
We will offer these and other cultivars for purchase in our Spring Plant Sale.
Both of these Georgia native species have been used in breeding
programs to impart both colorful foliage effects and heat tolerance. A
dazzling array of choices are now available in this genus, but for the
wildflower purist, the straight species remain worthy garden subjects for the
South. Be sure to look for them at our Spring Plant Sale in April. Heuchera villosa ‘Georgia Peach’
New Picnic Table
Recently, Lockerly acquired a fourth picnic table
for our picnic area in the Grassmann Meadow. The
acquisition of this table completes the feature that
commenced in 2009. This project began with a $3,000
grant from Georgia Power, which funded the initial
construction of the picnic area and the first of the tables.
When former Trustee and Grounds Committee
member Barbie Colvin’s husband, Rick Colvin, passed
away in early 2010, donations were made to Lockerly in
his memory by his friends and family. These donations
were used to purchase two more tables and construct
a brick retaining wall for the picnic area. The newly
constructed feature was dedicated as a memorial to the
late Mr. Colvin in April of 2011. Earlier this year, Mr.
Colvin’s sister, Ann, donated funds to purchase the fourth
and last table for this area, and we are pleased to see this feature completed. In addition to the hardscape elements of the
picnic area, we have planted numerous flower bulbs and Okame cherry trees at site, and we hope you will drop by and
see this attractive setting this spring.
What’s In Bloom?
Here is what is blooming at Lockerly this week:
Camellia japonica (Japanese Camellia)
Crocus tommassinianus (Tommies)
Glandularia canadensis (Rose Vervain)
Heleborus orientalis (Lenten Rose)
Ipheon uniflorum (Spring Starflower)
Leucojum aestivum (Spring Snowflake)
Magnolia denudata (Yulan Magnolia)
Magnolia x soulangiana
(Saucer Magnolia)
Narcissus (various daffodils)
Osmanthus fragrans (Tea Olive)
Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)
Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’
(Creeping Speedwell)
Viburnum obovatum ‘Reifler’s Dwarf’
(Small Viburnum)
Viburnum tinus (Laurustinus)
Viola x wittrockiana ‘Penny Lane Mix’
(Pansy)
Leucojum aestivum
Staff Spotlight: Bradley Roberts
Bradley Roberts has been Lockerly’s Director of
Horticulture for three years. He is from Aynor, South
Carolina, which is about 30 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach.
He attended the College of Charleston and later transferred
to Horry Georgetown Technical College, where he received
his degree in ornamental horticulture. During his time as a
student, Bradley worked for a landscape architecture firm in
Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. He later became a part of
the horticulture staff at Brookgreen Gardens after completing
an internship there.
Interestingly, Jim Garner was one of Bradley’s
professors and his advisor in college. After Jim retired from
teaching and moved back to Georgia, he and Bradley kept in
touch via e-mail. It was through this friendship that Bradley
learned about a job opening at Lockerly Arboretum. Since
that time, Bradley has worked as Director of Horticulture for
Lockerly, which he says has been a challenging and
rewarding experience. He looks forward to the future of
Lockerly, and we are grateful for his hard work here.
2012 Lockerly Arboretum
Arbor Day Program
Saturday, February 18th
To celebrate Georgia Arbor Day,
Lockerly will be hosting an exciting program for anyone interested in Southern landscaping.
- Presentations by Jim Garner, Executive Director, Flo Chaffin, owner of Specialty Ornamentals,
and Bradley Roberts, Director of Horticulture
$10 registration fee. Seating is limited, so register today at (478) 452-2112 or bradleyroberts@lockerly.org