Mt. Cuba Center is proud to be part of the Blue Star Museums program! From today through Labor Day, active duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, receive free admission to explore our gardens and natural landscapes. We’re honored to welcome those who serve and their loved ones for a season of beauty, relaxation, and discovery. Learn more here: https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/blue-star-museums
Pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) is a deciduous, multi-stemmed, upright native azalea. Generally growing 3-8’ tall, it prefers a location in part shade in an acidic, organically rich, moist soil that is well-draining, though it can tolerate drier, sandy to rocky soils as well.
This slow growing, suckering shrub produces clusters of six to twelve, 1½” diameter, slightly fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers in varying shades of light to deep pink, and white. It blooms in April to early May with the emerging leaves or just before. Foliage is bright green, turning a dull yellow in autumn. Zones 4-9.
Fun Fact: Pinxterbloom azalea is the only Rhododendron species that can be seen growing naturally in the Delaware Piedmont. While coast azalea (R. atlanticum) and swamp azalea (R. viscosum) are also native to all three counties, they are confined to the Coastal Plain ecoregion.
To learn more about pinxterbloom azalea, check out our Native Plant Finder tool, link in bio!
Yesterday's What's That Wednesday post featured a close-up look at the fertile fronds of cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)!
This species features showy, cinnamon-colored fertile fronds in early spring followed by large arching sterile fronds for the remainder of the growing season, making this an attractive addition to shaded areas. The erect fronds normally grow 3½’ but can grow taller in wetter areas. Although the fertile fronds fade by early summer, the sterile fronds turn a golden yellow in fall, providing additional seasonal interest and texture. Cinnamon fern thrives in moist, humus-rich, acidic to average soil in partial to full shade and its fibrous root system is excellent at holding the soil in place, especially streamside. Suitable companion plants for cinnamon fern include golden ragwort (Packera aurea), great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum). Zones 3-9.
For more information about cinnamon fern, check out our Native Plant Finder, link in bio!
We're rounding out our Trillium Tuesday series with bent trillium (Trillium flexipes)!
This fleeting spring perennial is a delightful addition to the woodland garden with its appealing white, three-petaled blossoms held above robust foliage on gently curving flower stalks. Bent trillium is at home in moist and well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic soils in shade to partial shade. This wildflower can grow to 20″ tall, developing robust, multi-stemmed, many-flowered clumps. It is particularly effective in naturalized woodland masses. Bent trillium partners texturally well when naturalized with rue-anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum), and Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). Zones 4-7.
To learn more about bent trillium, check out our Native Plant Finder tool, link in bio!
Don't miss our first Twilight on the Terrace for the season this Friday! We kick off the concert series with a Carole King Tribute featuring Lori Citro and the Accidentals. Live music, food trucks, drinks, free tours, and a spring Friday evening in the garden is a great way to start your weekend! Learn more and grab tix on our website: https://bit.ly/3t9GbI2
The masses of delicate, diminutive flowers of Quaker ladies (Houstonia caerulea) are a wondrous sight in early spring. The pale blue blossoms with yellow centers arise from dense clusters of tiny leaves and are held on slender stems up to 4″ tall. Plants form mat-like clusters that create an ethereal carpet of color suspended above the garden floor. Quaker ladies thrive on shady slopes and windswept garden edges where soils are well-drained, bare or moss-covered, and with minimal competition. Low competition plants such as bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), heartleafs (Hexastylis spp.), wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), shooting-star (Primula meadia), yellow stargrass (Hypoxis hirsuta), and several fern species make attractive companions. Zones 3-8.
To learn more, check out our Native Plant Finder tool, link in bio!
Today's Fauna Friday highlights the red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens)! Newts are salamanders in the family Salamandridae. Thus, all newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts.
The red-spotted newt is a subspecies of the eastern newt (N. viridescens) with a complex and variable life cycle that is dependent upon population and environmental characteristics. These newts often have three distinct life stages: the aquatic larva, the terrestrial juvenile, and the aquatic adult.
Once hatched, the gilled larva remains in its aquatic environment for 2-5 months. Upon entering the second life stage, the now juvenile newt (also called the red eft) often leaves the water to travel across land for 2-3 years. In a classic example of aposematism, red efts have a bright coloration that warns predators of their toxicity.
Red efts (second photo) can travel far from their natal waters, ensuring different genes are spread to new populations. Such genetic outcrossing prevents inbreeding. When a terrestrial red eft finds a suitable body of water, it enters the third life stage, transforming into an adult. Red-spotted newts can be found in a variety of habitats including ponds, swamps, and streams. However, they are quite sensitive to environmental changes, including fluctuations in water quality and temperature. When a habitat is polluted or degraded, newt populations decline. These sensitive animals act as indicator species, signaling the health of the ecosystem. The presence of so many newts in our ponds is a clear indication of high quality habitat.
Have you ever seen a red-spotted newt?
Our team collected a whopping 729 pounds of invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in 4 hours! You could smell the giant piles from quite a distance!
Garlic mustard is a biennial species, meaning it completes its life cycle over two years. In its first year, it forms a low-growing rosette of rounded leaves, and it produces tall flowering stalks with small white blooms in the second year. Manually pulling out plants (roots and all) in mid-April to early May can help control infestations. Since the seeds may persist in the soil for up to 5 years, it is important to remove the plants before they set seed later in the spring. Pulled plants in late stages of development can still set seed, so any blooming plants should be removed from the site to prevent adding to the seed bank. Like all of our garden waste material, the garlic mustard collected by our team was composted. Our compost system gets hot enough to render any seeds unviable.
To learn more about controlling garlic mustard, check out this comprehensive resource from the Penn State Extension, link in bio!
We’re doing something a little different for today’s What’s That Wednesday! Last week, our Horticulture and Grounds crews teamed up to see who could harvest the most invasive garlic mustard in a 4-hour period. Can you guess how many total pounds they harvested?
It's Trillium Tuesday!
Today we highlight twisted trillium (Trillium stamineum), which garners considerable attention with attractive, mottled silver and green leaves, as well as narrow, twisted, propeller-shaped flower petals borne on 12-15″ tall plants. The dark maroon colored petals contrast with alternating silvery-green sepals, further enhancing twisted trillium's floral appeal and giving it a unique architectural charm. Preferring moist, well-drained, organic and alkaline soils, twisted trillium is ideal for use as a specimen or massed in the shady garden. Twisted trillium effectively combines with rue-anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), shooting-star (Primula meadia), plantain-leaf sedge (Carex plantaginea), and northern maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris). Zones 5-9.
To learn more about twisted trillium, check out our Native Plant Finder tool, link in bio!
