Walter Reeves: Dinner plate hibiscus is a real showstopper

By Walter Reeves

For the AJC

Q: Have you ever heard of a plant called a "dinner plate hibiscus"?

-- Suzette Bergbower, e-mail

A: Dinner plate hibiscus refers to swamp hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos. Some gardeners call it swamp mallow or rose mallow. It gets its name from the flower size: 6 to 8 inches across. The Disco Belle series is common in nurseries, along with ‘Lady Baltimore’, ‘Lord Baltimore’ and ‘Luna’. The stems die back in winter but sprout vigorously each spring.

Q: Is it possible to grow chicle here in Georgia? We need an evergreen tree on our property, and it would be awesome to have a nice evergreen that also can be consumed.

-- Nancy Davis, e-mail

A: You won’t be able to grow your own bubblegum in Georgia. It is not winter hardy in Atlanta. The chicle tree is a tropical plant native to southern Mexico and South America. The bark is sliced each year, and the gum oozes out, to be collected and made into organic chewing gum. Most commercial chewing gum is made from modified rubber these days. If you are bound and determined to chew tree gum, try blobs of sap from a pine tree or sweetgum. Both are flavorful and have been enjoyed by adventuresome boys for generations. However, I don’t think either can be used to blow bubbles.

Q: I have about 30 tropical orchids. Are there outdoor garden orchid plants that will grow in Atlanta?

-- Bob McLean, e-mail

A: Although you won’t find any that grow in trees like tropical orchids do, there are ground-dwelling orchids that grow very well in Atlanta. Local garden writer Martha Tate recently posted photos of her Calanthe discolor on her blog www.gardenphotooftheday.com. Various species of Bletilla ground orchid are available online. The intrepid plant rescue groups of the Georgia Native Plant Society (www.gnps.org) often find cranefly orchid, Tipularia discolor, in Georgia woodlands. In addition, native ladyslipper orchids are beautiful members of the terrestrial orchid family.

Q: After a severe pruning on our Burford hollies, the oval-shaped leaves with one spine have reverted back to a leaf with spines all around, making them intolerable to work near. Can I force them back to the original leaf?

-- Peggy King, e-mail

A: Every ‘Burford’ holly in the world originated from a chance seedling discovered by Thomas W. Burford when he was a gardener at Westview Cemetery in southwest Atlanta. Its parentage is not certain, but at least some of ‘Burford’ holly’s lineage includes Chinese holly, Ilex cornuta, a spiny terror. It's common for ‘Burford' holly to sprout limbs that revert back to its Chinese holly ancestors. About the best you can do is put on a leather jacket and use long-handled pruners to clip out the offending limbs at their base.

Q: I am looking for ferns that are full sun tolerant and deer resistant.

-- Anita McBurney, Alpharetta

A: Deer don't much care for ferns in general. I find Southern shield fern, Thelypteris kunthii, easy to grow in full sun if I water when it’s really dry. Autumn fern, Dryopteris erythrosora, holly fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, and Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides, are evergreen and drought tolerant, but they need a little shelter from hot afternoon sun.

Listen to Walter Reeves 6-10 a.m. Saturdays on AM 750 and 95.5 FM News-Talk WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.