Lucas Holman
January in Tennessee can be 70 degrees one day and then change to 25 degrees the next day. The garden can look very lackadaisical compared to what it will look like in the summer.
Even though the majority of the plants are dormant, you can still have color and texture in the garden in the winter. Here’s a quick snapshot of plants that still look great in the garden in January.
Hollies come in an array of colors, shapes and sizes. There are many cultivars that develop berries that will remain most of the winter. If you venture down any garden center aisle in the fall you will begin to see some of the new variegated hollies such as “Golden Oakland.”
Even though hollies are evergreen, they will lose their older leaves so that new ones can grow out in the spring of the next year. The majority of people grow hollies for the berries.
One of the prettier sights in the winter is a winterberry holly after it has lost its leaves. Winterberry hollies are deciduous hollies that will hold their berries for a time after their leaves fall off. I’m beginning to see more used in commercial landscapes.
If you are considering growing hollies for the berries, make sure you get males and females. The female hollies will have the berries, but you need a male holly in close proximity to produce the pollen for the berries to form. For example, if you’re growing “Winter Red” winterberry holly, you will need “Southern Gentleman” to get berries on the female.
Another type of plant that has color in the winter is gold conifers. In many landscapes right now, the gold conifers are the only bright spot. “Golden Mop” is a commonly planted landscape evergreen. It’s easily found at most garden centers and nurseries. The No. 1 planted landscape plant has to be arborvitae and there are many gold cultivars available now. Be sure and get one that will be the height you want because they don’t respond well to pruning.
Red and yellow twig dogwoods are another addition. When we think of dogwoods, we normally think of the white dogwoods that are along the road blooming in the spring. These twig dogwoods have a smaller cluster of white blooms around the same time.
The twig dogwoods are deciduous and many of them have yellow or red stems. These yellow or red branches provide significant ornamental interest in the winter after the leaves have fallen off. They also grow well in those lower areas of the yard that could potentially see a lot of moisture including a rain garden.
Lucas Holman is the UT Horticulture Extension Agent, Wilson County. Contact him at (615) 444-9584 or Lholman1@utk.edu. The University of Tennessee Extension offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. ag.tennessee.edu
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