Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - April 11, 2012
From: Monroe, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Non-Natives, Shrubs
Title: Non-native photinias in Monroe NY
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Two Questions: Is the weather too cold to plant red tip photinias in Monroe NY? What is a good alternative evergreen shrub to hide chain link fence?ANSWER:
From an article from Mississippi State University:
"Red-Tip Photinias Almost Eliminated:
Ten years ago, one of the most popular shrubs in the South was the Red-tip Photinia (Photinia fraseri). Everybody wanted this handsome evergreen shrub and it was widely grown by Southern nursery growers for use in both commercial and residential landscapes.
Red-tip is a wonderful, large, evergreen shrub with attractive foliage and showy white flowers. Its claim to fame is brilliant red new foliage that appears in the spring.
Nevertheless, in the last ten years or so, Red-tip has gone from the top of the list to the bottom due to intense pressure from a devastating fungal disease.
Red-tip is highly susceptible to the fungal pathogen known as Entomosporium that causes leaf spots and ultimately defoliation. The disease has all but eliminated Red-tip from the list of recommended shrubs for Southern landscapes. In fact, the disease is so widespread that one plant pathologist jokingly explained that there are two types of Red-tip, those that have the disease and those that are going to get it! So, even though newly planted Red-tip bushes may stay disease free for many years, ultimately they will succumb to the inevitable."
You will notice this refers to "Southern Landscapes," so we went hunting for the USDA Hardiness Zones in which it can live. Orange County, NY, at the northern edge of the New York Metropolitan area, is in USDA Hardiness Zone 6a, with average annual minimum temperatures of -10 to -5 deg. F. From this Dave's Garden article on the plant, we learned that the photinia needs USDA Hardiness Zones from 7a to 9b. You might also be interested in reading some of the comments from others who have raised it.
Since the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, protection and propagation of plants native not only to North America but to the areas in which the plant normally grows, this will not be in our Native Plant Database. Red-tip photinia is native to warm temperate Asia from the Himalaya east to Japan and south to India and Thailand.
So, we will search our Native Plant Database for evergreen shrubs native to New York. There will not be a lot of choices in your climate, but we found 6 possibilities. Since you did not designate a height or amount of sunlight, you will need to read the complete description of each plant in our Native Plant Database. Click the link on each plant to go to our webpage on that plant for information.
Evergreen Shrubs for New York:
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick)
Leucothoe fontanesiana (Drooping leucothoe)
Ledum groenlandicum (Bog labrador tea)
From the Image Gallery
More Non-Natives Questions
Care of Rio Grande Wild Petunia
July 17, 2007 - I have bought the Rio Grande Wild Petunia, Ruellia davisiorum. How should I look after it?
view the full question and answer
Death of lantana in Bryan TX
March 28, 2013 - I would like to know what killed several new gold lantana in a single bed that died over the winter. They looked quite healthy last fall. I have several other new gold lantana that survived the wint...
view the full question and answer
Mulching vegetables with straw
June 13, 2007 - I have a small garden with 4 different veggies, tomatoes, hot peppers, squash & cucumbers. which plants is it OK to put straw under? which plants will straw hurt the stalks or other possibilities? tha...
view the full question and answer
Freeze damage to my Norfolk Island Pine in Houston, TX
March 18, 2010 - Houston, Texas experienced a rare 3-day snow event this winter that allowed snow to stay on my 20 ft. Norfolk Pine, in the ground for over 10 yrs. Every branch is now brown with all dead foliage. I ha...
view the full question and answer
Ficus pumila on Stucco Walls
October 06, 2015 - Can the creeping fig vine damage the stucco covered walls?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |