The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
15 Basic Ways To Landscape Your Homepage
The boxwood is a tenacious plant, tolerating smoke and dust of city dwellings. It will flourish for years as a tub plant and thrives in climates from Florida to Maine. All box plants prefer an acid moist soil and their shallow fibrous root systems require a permanent mulch. Tub plants should be enriched from time to time with commercial fertilizer to maintain root vitality.
The hollies represent another useful group of evergreens. Shiny leaves and red berries are characteristics of many better varieties of hollies. You will find a suitable variety for almost every section of the United States. The local nurseryman is your best source of information about those plants most suitable for your area. Many bushy hollies are useful for foundation plantings where rather formal branching fits into the landscaping plan. Some varieties are even usable as low hedges. Hollies are best in rich loam and respond well in shady locations.
Camellias are one of the most beautiful and valuable evergreen flowering shrubs. However they are usually grown in the South Atlantic states, along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas and on the Pacific Coast. Warmth and moisture are important.
Camellias will range in height from four to 10 feet or they can develop into small trees. They thrive in filtered sun along the coasts but need more shade further inland. The plants are of upright growth with glossy dark green leaves. Their flowers are single, double or semi-double and appear in white, pink, rose, red or variations of these colors. Camellias are ideal as specimen plants, hedges, boxed, or grouped with azaleas, rhododendrons, daphnes and Pieris for a year-long show. Another variety, C. sasan-qua is graceful and willowy. It is useful as a half-climber or as a groundcover. Camellias require a well drained acid soil, usually obtained by the proper use of acid fertilizers or leaf mold.
Most broad-leaved evergreens are received from the nursery with roots in a ball of burlap-wrapped earth. Others might arrive in boxes or tin cans. If yours come as a balled shrub immerse the ball in water in order for the roots to have a thorough soaking before being planted. If your plant is canned use tin snips to cut the can away. On boxed material, remove the box after the plant is set and then fill the hole with soil.
After planting your new broad-leaved shrubs be sure the soil is kept damp. A strong spray of water on the foliage will promote new growth and keep it clean.
