Boxwood Diseases & Insect Pests
Boxwoods (Buxus spp.) are adapted to a wide range of light conditions, and prefer fertile, moist, well-drained soil, which is amended with organic matter. For information on species, varieties and...
Category: Shrubs
Four Fragrant, Winter-blooming Woodland Shrubs
As we move into winter, and the fall color has disappeared, there’s typically a long wait until spring when so many of our favorite landscape plants begin to bloom. However, one special treat during...
Ligustrum
Common or European privet (Ligustrum vulgare) and Chinese privet (L. sinense) have escaped into the wild in South Carolina to become weedy and invasive pests. Birds eat the small, black fruit and...
Leaf & Needle Drop
A well-cared-for plant in the landscape that suddenly begins dropping leaves or needles can be a very troubling sight. There is usually no need to be alarmed, since leaf and needle drop often occurs...
Japanese Kerria
Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) is an underused, early flowering, deciduous shrub that thrives in full to part-shade landscapes. It is somewhat unique among flowering shrubs that kerria blooms...
Gray Mold (Botrytis Blight)
Botrytis blight or “gray mold” is a widely distributed disease caused by the fungus Botrytis species. It can infect some vegetables, soft fruits, flowers, trees and shrubs, especially...
Summersweet Clethra
Summersweet clethra (Clethra alnifolia) is a fantastic shrub with all-season garden interest and can be grown throughout South Carolina. This native species, also called sweet pepperbush, flowers...
Nandina
Nandina or heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) is an evergreen or semi-evergreen broadleaf shrub, which is tough and durable. Large plants have been growing in South Carolina for 100 or more years...
Camellia
Camellias are large, attractive, broad-leaved, evergreen shrubs that are highly prized for their flowers, which bloom from winter to spring. There are more than 2,300 named cultivars registered with...
Forsythia
Border forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia), or golden bell, ushers in spring with its vivid golden yellow flowers and is one of the most recognized shrubs in the South. These hybrid forsythias are...
Why Plants Fail to Flower or Fruit
It can be very disappointing to wait eagerly for a favorite plant to flower and it never does. Flowers and fruits are major horticultural features of plants and can fail to form for many different...
Cranberry Rootworm Beetle
The Cranberry rootworm beetle (Rhabdopterus picipes) is one of several leaf-feeding beetles and weevils that consume foliage of woody landscape plants in South Carolina. These nocturnal-feeding...