Phase II - Flowering Deciduous Shrubs For "The Wilderness": Like you I fell in love with the Red Buckeye. It was in bloom a

» JudyLowe - Like you I fell in love with the Red Buckeye. It was in bloom a

Like you I fell in love with the Red Buckeye. It was in bloom and I was surrounded by horticulturists singing its praises. However (isn't there always a "but"?), before I could plant one I discovered that they start to lose their leaves (and look ugly) in August -- at least in zone 7 of Tennessee and North Carolina, anyway. Since it's usually put in such a prominent location because of its beauty in bloom, it also calls attention to itself as it begins to turn color and lose leaves. Besides, I don't want my leaf-raking to stretch from August to mid-December (which is when I usually hope to stop). So I passed. Bottlebrush buckeye, though, is a delight is my yard and everywhere else I've seen it..

Marge, where do you live? Or, if you'd rather not say, in which USDA Zone do you garden? As I read the other gardening columns -- all of which are fascinating -- I often want to know when someone says this plant like these conditions, where she lives so I can adjust the advice for my part of the world. I suggested to Carol that we might include out USDA zone with our names at the top of our articles. But I don't know if that's practical.

Thanks for the inside look at your garden. Judy Lowe, Southern Gardening

-- posted by JudyLowe