This week we had three perennials for the garden. All should do well in Arkansas.
Columbine – Aquilegia – Columbine is a cool season perennial that is a member of the buttercup or ranunculus family. We have some native varieties
as well as a wide range of hybrids native to Asia and Europe. Flower color runs the gamut from yellows and oranges, to red, white, pink, purple and blue. There are singles and doubles,
with most flowers having at least two colors in them. The foliage appears early in the season, and once the weather begins to warm up, flowers appear quickly. Depending on the season, they can last until early summer. Our native species A. canadensis has slightly smaller blooms in a red and yellow combination. Many of you mentioned that your columbines never come back. Usually, they will last for 3-4 years, but they can reseed themselves. So, don’t be too tidy and quick to deadhead. Let the flowers mature and set seeds, and allow them to self-sow. Columbines are great under deciduous trees where they can get more sunlight while it is cool, and more shade as the temperatures heat up. Often the foliage disappears by mid to late summer.
Candytuft – Iberis sempervirens
is an evergreen ground-hugging plant that is covered in profuse white blooms in the spring. The foliage is a nice bluish-green, so it is a nice plant even without flowers.
It blooms best in full sun but will tolerate light shade. It needs a well-drained soil. After flowering, give it a haircut to maintain its size, but also to prevent it from getting woody. Often you will see another set of flowers after shearing.
5 leaf akebia- Akebia quinate,
is a relatively fast-growing deciduous vine native to Asia. The common name comes from the compound leaves with 5 leaflets in a rosette pattern. The plants bloom in the spring after the plant leaf out. The most common flower color is a maroon shade,
but there are rosy pink and even yellow forms available.
Another common name is chocolate vine because the flowers supposedly give off a chocolate fragrance—I personally have never been able to smell that, but maybe you have. If you are growing two varieties, you may see fruits. The fruits are actually quite large and look like a small sausage.
Supposedly, they are edible, but I have never tried them. The plant blooms best where it gets some sunlight, but it will grow in sun or shade.
Give it a trellis or fence to grow on.