Willis Farm Shrubs & Trees, Perennials & Fruits Catalogs 1. Plants are arranged in alphabetical order by binomial name. 2. Photographs of selected plant names below can be viewed by clicking on the blue colored plant names. 3. This list includes plants that we grow. Please call for availability. Shrubs & Trees: Please Note that We Do Not Grow All Plants in this Catalog at Any One Time. We Leave Notes Here For Your Information. Please Call for Availability. Call or Text 318-210-4507, 8 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday Maples: Family: Sapindaceae (Soapberry) NATIVE MAPLES: Acer Barbatum / (southern sugar maple) Designated as Louisiana Super Plant by LSA Ag. 30’ - 45’ Deciduous tree, with good, generally yellow, to yellow-orange fall color in south. Wildlife: Yellow bellied sapsucker, seed eaten by song sparrows and orioles. Culture: Z7-9, Prefers sun, some shade OK, likes rich well-drained, but not dry, soil. Adaptable to most soil conditions including basic soils. Likes slopes, tolerates heat & humidity. Moderate to fast growth. Medium spread. Native to Southeastern USA. Acer rubrum ‘Brandywine’ / (brandywine red maple) Brilliant red-purple fall color. Cross of A rubrum ‘October Glory’ and ‘Autumn Flame’. Deciduous tree grows to 40’, prefers slightly acid soil but adaptable. Introduction of National Arboretum. A Male selection so no weedy seedlings. Leafhopper resistance is significant, a major problem of landscape maples. Culture: Z4-8, full sun to partial shade, OK in wet or dry areas, needs acid soil for good health and best color, but fairly tolerant of wide range of soil conditions. Propagation: Easily from softwood cuttings under mist, 1-3000 IBA. Landscape Use: Excellent shade tree, street and park tree. Vermont like color. - 3100 Herren Road, P O Box 719, Doyline, LA, 71023 - Farm Phones: Cell: 318-210-4507, Available 8 am to 4 pm Monday thru Friday, - Land: 318-745-3048 page: !1 www.willisfarm.net / [email protected] Willis Farm Shrubs & Trees, Perennials & Fruits Catalogs Native: cultivar, to moist soils of eastern North America. EXOTIC MAPLES: JAPANESE MAPLE SUBGROUP: Acer palmatum / “Japanese Maple” Deciduous tree, round headed, 15-25’H x 20’W. Has shallowly to deeply 5-9 lobed mid green leaves, 2-5” long that turn orange to yellow to red in fall. Tiny purple red flowers produced in small pendant corymbs are followed by red winged fruit in late summer. Culture: Z7-8. Nearly all of the Japanese Maples need afternoon sun protection in the south, however, the straight Japanese maple, Acer palmatum (green Japanese maple), does very well in full sun here in our nursery, starts off with green leaves with margin of red in spring, the leaves do not burn in summer, and turns very a nice red color in fall. Most of the cultivars below that start out red in spring will develop sun burned leaves in summer, if not in a protected area. There are rare exceptions, note below. The green Japanese maple is in general the best performing Japanese Maple for the deep south. Exotic: Introduced from China, Korea, Japan. Buckeyes: Family: Hippocastanaceae (Buckeye or Horse Chestnut) Aesculus parviflora / (bottlebrush buckeye) Average 10’-10’ shrub, suckering, with upright, slender branches, with very good form. Very few other plants grow under this buckeye. Culture: Prefers moist, well drained soil, acid - but adaptable, and in this zone likely to do best with some shade. Pruning not necessary, but can be rejuvenated by pruning to ground. Zones 5-9, 9-4. Neutral to slightly basic soil best. Features: Attractive foliage, and very showy large, creamy white flower racemes Uses: As specimen or massed in larger space, background planting, or under shade trees. Wildlife: Hummingbirds. Native: Southeast US - Alabama & Georgia, especially in sandy soil. Aesculus pavia / (red buckeye) or (southern buckeye) This plant with 4-8” red bloom spikes in early spring following leaves, can grow into a15-25’ deciduous tree, however many in our area remain in shrub form. It tends to lose leaves in mid to late summer and this is accelerated if it is in full sun or receives little moisture. Culture: Z5-9, 9-5. It grows in part shade in a wide range of soils from slightly acid to slightly basic that are moist but tolerates only brief flooding. Many of ours here grow on dry hillsides. - 3100 Herren Road, P O Box 719, Doyline, LA, 71023 - Farm Phones: Cell: 318-210-4507, Available 8 am to 4 pm Monday thru Friday, - Land: 318-745-3048 page: !2 www.willisfarm.net / [email protected] Willis Farm Shrubs & Trees, Perennials & Fruits Catalogs Wildlife: In this very important example of mutualism this plant is pollinated only by the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, and is the first spring food for this bird. Native: WV to FL to TX. Serviceberry: Family: Rosaceae (rose) Amelanchier arborea / (downy serviceberry) A small deciduous tree or large shrub, it may sometimes reach 30’. Use in mixed natural setting, shrubby border, or understory tree. Culture: Zones 4-9, 9-4. Grows well in moderately moist to dry Acidic soil, full sun to full shade. They seem to grow well on hillsides. Flowers: Small, creamy white flowers. Fruit is 1/4” red pome. Wildlife: Fruits eaten by birds and flowers attractive to hummingbirds. Native: Eastern USA, ME to FL, to midwest. Azaleas: see Rhododendrons Beautyberry: Family: Verbenaceae, (verbena or vervain) Callicarpa americana / (American beautyberry) or (French mulberry) 4-6’ open woodland shrub with tiny white spring flowers and showy purple fall fruit in 2” bunches. Big green leaves are showy. Good for flower arrangements. Cultivation: Z5-9, 9-1. Will grow in a variety of soils,, from dry to wet. It can be pruned severely right before new spring growth to control size and refresh an older plant. Does well in filtered shade, but more fruitful and denser in full sun. Wildlife: Important bird food Native to eastern North America. Sweet Shrub: Family: Calycanthaceae (sweetshrub) Calycanthus floridus / (sweet shrub) or (carolina allspice) 6-8’ shrub, sun to shade, sweet smelling, distinctive, 2” maroon blooms on current seasons growth in spring. A first rate native shrub. Masses of these shrubs can be viewed at Briarwood. Cultivation: Sun to shade. Prefers acid to neutral, moist soil, flooding tolerated. Z6-8. Native: to woodlands, hillsides, and sandy streams from PA & OH to FL & LA. - 3100 Herren Road, P O Box 719, Doyline, LA, 71023 - Farm Phones: Cell: 318-210-4507, Available 8 am to 4 pm Monday thru Friday, - Land: 318-745-3048 page: !3 www.willisfarm.net / [email protected] Willis Farm Shrubs & Trees, Perennials & Fruits Catalogs Camellias: Family: Theaceae (tea plant family) All plants in the camellia genus are exotic (non-native), we do grow a few Camellia japonica, but none are being grown at the present time and only two Camellia sasanqua listed below. They are both very desirable plants and both are in the LSU list of “superplants”. Exotic: All Camellias originate from the far east. Sasanquas Camellia sasanqua / (sasanqua) Upright to spreading shrub growing to 20 x 10’, the species bearing single, fragrant cup shaped white flowers in fall to winter. Cultivation: Z 7-10. In contrast to the C. japonica the sasanqua group will grow in full sun, otherwise culture is similar. Exotic: Introduced from China, Japan, Korea. Camellia hiemalis ‘Shishigashira’ / (shishi sasanqua) Designated Louisiana super plant by LSU. 4-5’ evergreen shrub, 4-5’’ wide, with diffuse bright rose semi-double blooms. Flowers are perfect for cutting. Excellent choice for a colorful low hedge, espalier, or ground cover. Lower growing than most camellias, it is excellent in foundation plantings and at our home is in bloom at Christmas time.It grows slowly enough so that a yearly trimming will keep it down to 2 or 3 feet if desired. Blooms November into January. A hedge as well as a specimen plant. Exotic: Camellia sasanqua ‘Leslie Ann’ Louisiana super plant. This sasanqua is a very beautiful fall flowering plant with exquisite 3”-4” white semi-double blooms edged in pink. It tends to grow in a tall, upright fashion about 10’ or slightly more and about 6’-8’ in diameter. It is hardy in zones 7-9, and is best in sandy, acid soil. It forms beautiful specimen plants in our yard, and with it upright form is good for allees and to form borders. Exotic: Button Bush: Family: Rubiaceae (madder family) Cephalanthus occidentalis / (buttonbush) - 3100 Herren Road, P O Box 719, Doyline, LA, 71023 - Farm Phones: Cell: 318-210-4507, Available 8 am to 4 pm Monday thru Friday, - Land: 318-745-3048 page: !4 www.willisfarm.net / [email protected] Willis Farm Shrubs & Trees, Perennials & Fruits Catalogs This is a deciduous wetland shrub generally 8-10’ tall and wide with tiny creamy white flowers in 1 1/4” spherical heads which are rather showy. It is at its best beside ponds or streams. Cultivation: It is best in full sun, with moist soil. It cannot tolerate drought. Z 5-10. Wildlife: A very good plant for wildlife, it attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds and the seeds are important for birds including ducks. Medicinal: Choctaw and Seminole Indians used the bark for treating diarrhea and stomach aches. Native: Across eastern USA, and southwest to CA. Redbuds: Family: Fabaceae Cercis canadensis / (redbud) 20-35’ deciduous tree, often multistemmed with heart shaped leaves, pointed at the tips, to 4” long, bronze when young turning yellow in autumn. Has rosy purple blooms before leaves appear. One of the outstanding southern native small flowering trees. Cultivation: Z5-9. Will grow in acid to alkaline soil, moist, well drained locations best, in full sun to light shade.