June 2010 Newsletter©

Rose of Sharon, Butterfly Bush

And Ticks

If you drive around Memphis, you’d think there is only one summer flowering shrub…the crape myrtle.  Two often overlooked plants are the althea (Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus) and the butterfly bush (Buddleia or Buddleja davidii).  They are not evergreen, which seems to be the most important trait to many Memphians, but get past that and they are both long blooming, spectacular plants in a variety of sizes and flower color.

Altheas like moist, but well drained soil in full to part sun. Some older varieties produce an abundance of viable seed, so often you would have seedlings throughout the garden and lawn.  I don’t consider this a problem,  but for years, many gardeners considered them “weedy” and would not plant them.   However, most of the varieties offered in nurseries today are sterile.  Altheas bloom on new wood, so trimming should be done it late winter.  Flowers are produced from early/mid summer until near frost in the fall.  Fertillize in March and again in early June with an all purpose fertilizer.

Here are some of our favorite cultivars:

Amplissimus -  This one has an upright, slender growth habit to 10’ tall.  It produces an abundance of 3”, fully double, red flowers.

Aphrodite  -  Grows to 10’ tall and equally as wide.  Flowers are 3” single pink with burgundy a red throat.

Blue Satin  -  Upright narrow growth to 6’ tall and 4’ wide.  Produces large blue/purple flowers with a burgundy throat.

Blushing Bride  - Grows to 10’ tall and produces double, rich pink flowers that fade to white.

Diana  -  Compact plant when young, becomes more open at maturity.  Grows to 10’, very large 4” single pure white flowers.

Helene  -  Slender upright growth to 10’ tall and 6’ wide. Produces very large single white flowers with a dark red throat.

Jeanne D’ Arc  - Grows to 10’ tall and 4’-6’ wide. Double pure white flowers.

Lady Stanley  - Produces abundant double, light pink flowers.  Grows 8’-10’ tall and 4’-6’ wide.

Lavender Chiffon  - Unique slightly double lavender flower.  Large outer petals with anemone like center.  Grows to 6’ tall and wide.

Lucy  - Double dark red nearly magenta flowers.  Compact growth when young, becomes more open with age.  Grows to 10’ tall and 6’ wide.

Minerva  - Single lavender pink flowers with a dark red throat.  Grows to 10’ tall and 6’ wide.  Very long bloom season.

Morning Star  - Grows to 8’ tall and wide.  Beautiful double white flowers with a maroon center.

Red Heart  - Large single white with  brilliant scarlet center.  Grows to 10’ tall and 6’-8’ wide.

Violet Satin  - Single violet flower with red throat.  Grows 8’ to 10’ tall.

White Chiffon  - Slightly double pure white flowers.  Large outer petals with anemone like center.  Grows to 8’ tall.

Woodbridge – Large orchid pink flowers with deep scarlet center eye.  Grows to 10’ tall and 6’ wide.

The butterfly bush is a full sun loving plant.  They have a vase shaped growth, often the top is as wide or wider than the height, so give them plenty of room. For best appearance they should be pruned heavily in winter to 12” in height.  This will give the plant it’s best shape and largest flowers.   Fertilize in March and June with an all purpose fertilizer.

Adonis  - Fragrant almost navy blue flowers on a dwarf plant, to 4’.

Attraction  -  Reddish purple flowers.  Grows 5’-7’ tall.

Black Knight  - Dark purple flowers.  Grows to 8’ tall and occasionally larger.

Bonnie  - Large, fragrant, light blue violet flowers with a slight orange eye and grows to 10’ tall.

Empire Blue  - Violet blue flowers with an orange/yellow eye, to 8’ tall.

Honeycomb  - (B. x weyeriana) Yellow flowers and grows to 10’.  Very fragrant.

Lavender Eyes  -  Lavender flowers with orange eyes.   Mounding habit to 5’ tall and wide.

Lochinch  - Violet blue flowers, to 6’ tall and wide.

Miss Ellen  - Dark blue flowers, to 6’ tall.

Nanho Blue  (aka Petite Indigo) - Lilac blue flowers, to 5’.

Nanho Purple (aka Petite Plum)  - Purplish pink flowers, to 5’.

Nanho White  (aka Petite Snow) – White flowers, to 5’.

Peacock  - Purplish pink flowers, compact plant to 4’.

Pink Delight  - Strong grower, true pink, to 6’ tall

Pink Spreader  - Pink flowers, wider than tall, to 4’.

Purple Emperor  - Very fragrant, mauve purple, to 5’.

Raspberry Eyes – Pruplish red flowers with orange/yellow eye.  Compact plant to 5’ tall and wide.

Royal Red  - Violet red flowers, can grow to 10’ but 6’ more common.

Silver Frost -  White flowers held upright.  Silver gray foliage, grows to 6’ tall.

Strawberry Lemonade  - Pink flowers, foliage edged in yellow, maturing to cream in the summer, to 5’.

White Ball  - Dwarf compact plant to 3’, white flowers.

White Bouquet  -  White flowers with an orange throat, slight honey fragrance, to 6’+.

White Eyes – White flowers with yellow/orange eye.  Compact growth to 5’ tall and wide.

White Profusion  -  Abundant white flowers, grows to 8’ tall.

White Spreader  - White flowers, spreading growth, to 4’.

I like bugs.  Fire ants, fleas, aphids and scales have helped pay my house note and put food on my table for 35 years. But like you, I don’t want them in my yard.  Especially ticks.  My wife nearly died in 1977 from what the doctor believes was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  One of my sons has had either Lyme’s or STARI (Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness) that caused a knee to swell up to the size of a football.

We have 3 commonly found ticks in Tennessee.  From the left is the American dog tick (the carrier for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), the brown dog tick and the Lone star tick (carrier for both HME – Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis and STARI).  Lyme’s disease is carried by the deer tick (far right) which is seldom found in Tennessee.  Only the adult stage on the American dog tick attacks humans. The brown dog tick seldom attaches to humans, however the Lone star tick attacks humans in all stages of development.

The life cycle for all ticks is similar.  After hatching, tiny ticks (larva about 1/40^th of an inch long) climb grass, shrubs or trees and wait to drop onto a passing host.  After feeding, they fall off, eventually molt, emerge as a nymph and climb again to wait for another passing meal. After feeding, they fall off, molt again and emerge as an adult, climb up again and wait for another meal on which they mate and then the female falls off and lays about 5000 eggs.  This whole process may take 2-3 years.

Permethrin is the insecticide of choice for homeowners to control ticks.  Ticks are most prevelant in April-May and August-September but can be found anytime.  Spray the lawn, lower tree limbs and shrubs in your yard.  Some formulations are even approved for use on dogs.

This was May’s challenge.  We had one totally correct answer by an intrepid soul who came to the nursery and looked for it.  This is Silver Splendor Begonia.  Most winters, this one is hardy.  This last winter, probably not.

Here is June’s contest.  Two plants…get either one correct.

The contest ends on June 15^th.  Drop by either store to enter or you can email your entry to

questions@danwestonline.com. One winner, selected from all correct entries, will receive a

$25 Dan West Gift Certificate.

Thanks for shopping with us at Dan West.