Rather than waiting for spring to plant, the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum recommends fall planting and hosts a sale every fall to encourage it. The plant sale Saturday will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Lincoln.
"Plants are less stressed by the heat, more likely to develop a strong root system and gardeners will be way ahead of the game next spring," said Bob Henrickson, horticulture program coordinator. Henrickson and other horticulturists will be available to answer questions on landscape design, plant selection, native plants, rain gardens, pests, diseases and other challenges.
Pawpaw trees will be available – a fast-growing, colonizing tree with large tropical-looking leaves. Native to Nebraska, it grows 20-25 feet high and 15 feet wide. Edible fruits look and taste like bananas and ripen in early fall.
One of the best trees for fall color, Henrickson said, is black gum. It grows to about 30 feet high and has waxy leaves that turn lustrous red in fall. It tends to have a very horizontal branching pattern and, important after this summer's weather, is resistant to both drought and short term flooding. For a much larger, shade-providing tree, Henrickson recommends London planetree, a tough street tree that grows to 100 feet high.
Other good additions to the landscape include an "old-fashioned" small shrub, mockorange, with fragrant flowers in early spring; native dwarf leadplant or pale purple coneflower. For shady areas, Culver's root has delicate white flowers in mid-summer and the bright-blossomed turtlehead blooms in late summer.
Plant buyers can follow the signs from the north entrance to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus on 38th and Huntington/Leighton. A complete plant list is on the web at http://arboretum.unl.edu/plantsales/
Proceeds from the Fall Plant Sale sustain the arboretum's mission and fund critical programs and services.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/4jm