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Going for the Gold! These Plants Are Real Jewels For Your Garden
Five woody plants win prestigious Gold Medal Awards for 2008 as Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's program marks its 30th anniversary.
by Denise Cowie - 8/6/2007
With its latest awards, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal Plant program celebrates its 30th anniversary of giving Gold Medal Awards to trees, shrubs, and vines that are not only beautiful and reliable ornamental woody plants, but are virtually guaranteed to thrive in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Five plants — three trees and two shrubs — have been designated as Gold Medal winners for 2008, says Joe Ziccardi, who is Gold Medal Plant Award Manager for PHS.
These winners are among more than a hundred woody plants that have been awarded Gold Medals since the program was founded in 1978 by the late J. Franklin Styer, a long-time member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and a nationally respected horticulturist.
And the winners for 2008 are...
Plants taking 2008 honors include Buxus sempervirens 'Dee Runk' (boxwood), Carpinus japonica (Japanese hornbeam), Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Duke Gardens’ (Plum Yew), Magnolia virginiana ‘Jim Wilson’ Moonglow (Sweetbay Magnolia), and Metasequoia glypostroboides ‘Ogon’ (Yellow Dawn Redwood). (For Ziccardi's profiles of all the winning plants, see the list at the end of this article.)
Although all of the winners would be a great in area gardens – that’s why they were chosen, after all – individual gardeners are likely to have favorites. Ziccardi really likes the magnolia, which he has growing in his own garden.
Moonglow takes up less space in the garden
“It’s an excellent addition to the landscape, with its late bloom, and that awesome lemony scented flower,” he says (see photo at top right). “The flower is quite large for its species, and the plant has a great persistence with its flowering. You get a good, mid-summer bloom out of it, which is nice, and it blooms when it is young – I got four or five flowers on a six- to seven-foot tree this year, and I was very surprised at that.
“And Moonglow has a more upright growth habit, which is nice for the personal landscape – it has a greater use around the home garden,” because it is narrower than the rest of the Magnolia virginianas, he adds, eventually attaining a spread of around 15 feet. It’s also fast-growing, with dark green, rather large leaves, and it is almost evergreen in this area.
And everyone loves that Gold Rush
Then there is the golden version of the Metasequoia glyptostroboides, which everyone seems to love. That’s Ziccardi’s other favorite among the 2008 winners, though he points out that this is a tree for a big yard.
“The regular [Dawn Redwood] is an old Gold Medal winner, and now we have the yellow variety, which holds onto its nice yellow foliage right through the summer,” he says. “Although ‘Ogon’ is its variety name … I’m finding that Gold Rush is the same plant. As its common name we’re calling it the Gold Rush Dawn Redwood, so if you were asking for it at a nursery, that’s what you’d ask for.
It may look like an evergreen, but it isn't
“It’s a little slower growing and just a little smaller [than Dawn Redwood], growing about six to eight inches a year. It has the same attributes as the species – it grows best in full sun and moist soil that can range from alkaline to acid. For a large yellow tree, it blends well with blues and burgundies in the foreground, and smaller evergreens would look great in front of it.”
And remember, he points out, that although this tree looks like an evergreen, it isn’t – it’s a conifer that drops its needles, which turn a coppery orange color before they fall. One of the best uses of this tree can be seen at Chanticleer in Wayne, says Ziccardi. Down near the ponds at this pleasure garden in Wayne, there is a beautiful scene that features Gold Rush Dawn Redwood (see photo second from top at right).
One winner that the deer won't love
All of the 2008 plants have great attributes. The Japanes Plum Yew, for instance, not only has a more upright habit than the prostrate version, but it is extremely deer resistant – and who could resist that? That’s because it’s toxic, and although it looks like a yew, it isn’t. (See photo bottom right)
And the boxwood 'Dee Runk' (see photo second from bottom) is a great addition to the other two boxwoods on the Gold Medal list “because it is that upright, narrow evergreen we’re all looking for,” says Ziccardi. It is excellent for use at entryways, in containers, and in a mixed border. “It has a nice stately formal look to it, and will have great uses in the garden.”
Destined to become a holiday favorite
Because of its shape, it is also likely to become a favorite at the holidays. “Garden centers are always looking for a plant to put into a one- or two-gallon pot and put some red balls on it,” he adds.
But for the health of the plant, you’d be better off keeping ‘Dee Runk’ outdoors.
What could be prettier than having a couple of them in containers near the entrance to your house – flanking the front door, perhaps – all decked out for the holidays?
See how Gold Medal plants look in the garden
The 2008 Gold Medalists were unveiled late last month at the annual Woody Plant Conference at Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, where all of these winning plants can be seen in a garden setting.
Many of the plants can also be seen at other public gardens in the region, such as Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania in Chestnut Hill, and Chanticleer in Wayne. (Chanticleer is also a sponsor of the Gold Medal program.)
What makes a woody plant a winner?
Medal-winning plants are chosen by an independent panel of experts for their proven performance and hardiness in the growing region that extends from New York to Washington, D.C., says Ziccardi. The plants don’t have to be new on the market, but they do have to be easy to grow, pest and disease resistant, cold-hardy in Zones 5 through 7, and, of course, beautiful in the garden.
The panel that picks these stellar performers includes well-known nurserymen and horticulturists as well as representatives from public gardens such as Chanticleer, Morris Arboretum, and Scott Arboretum. Even home gardeners get a say – they are represented by Richard L. Bitner, a doctor who is also an accomplished gardener.
Find a nursery, plant a winner next spring
The 2008 Gold Medal winners should be readily available next spring in area nurseries and garden centers, such as Mostardi Nursery in Newtown Square and Meadowbrook Farm in Meadowbrook.
Gold Medal plants are profiled online at www.goldmedalplants.org, a web site that also lists nurseries and garden centers that sell the plants.
To find a nursery in your area, check out www.plantsourcedelval.org, a resource for gardeners that is sponsored by Chanticleer, Scott Arboretum, and the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group. This web site breaks out nurseries by county.
Joe Ziccardi's profiles of 2008 Gold Medal winners
Buxus sempervirens ‘Dee Runk’ (Common Boxwood) is an upright conical evergreen shrub with blue-green foliage (see photo at right, second from bottom). Deer-resistant and pollution tolerant, ‘Dee Runk’ also adapts well to full sun and poor soils. A reliable, stately choice for the formal garden or foundations, as a specimen, or in containers, it grows 10 feet high by 3 feet wide in all light conditions. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
Carpinus japonica (Japanese Hornbeam) is a small deciduous tree characterized by its fan-shaped branching structure and wide-spreading rounded habit. Its exotic, Asian demeanor makes it a desirable under-story or small accent tree. Carpinus japonica provides year-round interest. In the spring, the tree is profusely adorned with thumb-size cone-shaped nutlets in shades of cream, tan, and green (see middle photo at right); they turn brown upon maturity and persist into fall. Its clean serrated foliage is dark green in the summer and turns yellowish in the fall. Grows 25 feet high by 15 feet wide in full or part sun, and is hardy in zones 4 to 8.
Cephalotaxus harringtonii ‘Duke Gardens’ (Japanese Plum Yew) is an attractive evergreen shrub with dark green needles. An extremely deer-resistant alternative to the common Yew, ‘Duke Gardens’ is identified by a more disciplined upright habit than ‘Prostrata’ and is useful as a foundation plant or in mass (see photo bottom right). It tolerates all light conditions, from shade to full sun, and grows about 3 feet high by 4 feet wide in zones 6 to 9.
Magnolia virginiana ‘Jim Wilson’ Moonglow ™ (Sweetbay Magnolia). Retaining most of its leaves throughout a normal Mid-Atlantic winter, this almost-evergreen native Magnolia was selected for its fast growth, cold hardiness, and lush dark green foliage. The unique upright habit of ‘Jim Wilson’ is enhanced by beautiful creamy-white flowers in late spring (see photo top right). These two to three inch, long-lasting blooms lace the air with a pleasant lemony scent. Pest-resistance and adaptability to wet sites, characteristics shared by the well-respected species, add to the versatility of Moonglow™. Growing to 35 feet high and 15 feet wide, it prefers acid soil and a part-sun location. Hardy in zones 5 to 9.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Ogon’ (Yellow Dawn Redwood). This is a bright-yellow-needled cultivar of the majestic “living fossil” (see photo second from top at right). Growing slightly smaller and more slowly than the species, ‘Ogon’, also known as ‘Gold Rush’, contrasts well with blues and burgundies in the landscape, eventually turning a coppery orange in the fall before shedding its needles. It has no pest or disease problems, and tolerates soil types from dry to boggy and acid to alkaline. It prefers full sun and will eventually grow to 80 feet high by 30 feet wide (in 60 years). ‘Ogon’ is hardy in zones 4 to 8.