Horticulture Happenings in Cincinnati
Cynthia Druckenbrod
Cephalanthus occidentalis Sugar Shack
On November 8-9 Jen Moeller and I travelled to Cincinnati to represent SLGC at a mini-Menice symposium hosted by the Cincinnati Garden Club. We also attended the sold-out native plants workshop held at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden featuring perennially popular speaker, Dr. Doug Tallamy, among others. Both workshops were fantastic! Nancy Linz from the Cincinnati Garden Club taught various methods of propagating Rex Begonia from leaves. We also completed a fun native seed sharing project and planted the seeds in 1-gal milk jugs.
The native plants symposium opened with Dr. Tallamy discussing how to restore the little things that run the world. According to him, “Insect populations have declined 45% globally since 1974.” He described how we can make simple changes in our landscapes to keep insects around. Of course, this involves using native plants! Dr. Tallamy gave us a list of best plants for supporting butterflies and moths. You can search this database from the National Wildlife Federation.
Other speakers at the symposium included Larry Weaner, a landscape architect from Pennsylvania who specializes in natives. His list of native perennials is categorized by their growth habits- competitive or aggressive species vs. more well behaved ones - and their light and moisture requirements.
Paul Bousemen, the Associate Director at the Mesker Park Zoo, gave a great talk on Natives for Neat Freaks: High Value Plants for Lower Effort Gardens. He, like the other speakers, did not discriminate against cultivars of native plants. Some of his recommendations for shrubs included: Cephalathus occidentalis Sugar Shack® (Button Bush), Fothergilla spp. and cvs. and Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’ (Sweetspire). Two of the plant lists, Best Host Plants for Butterflies and Moths and Native Perennials by Competitive Level, can be read here. We hope this will inspire you to plant some new natives in your yard next season!