KAT's Hidden Gems

Picea mariana fastigiata 'Wellspire': Wellspire Spruce

2009-10-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Wellspire Spruce is another excellent choice for tight areas that can use a great vertical accent or specimen. Wellspires typically get to be about 20' tall by 6' wide with dark green needles and a dense upright form. Wellspire Spruce prefer well-drained soil, sun to partial shade exposure and use water moderately.

Schizachyrium Scoparium: Little Bluestem

2009-10-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Schizachyrium scoparium or Little Bluestem is a native grass that thrives in the Kansas City area. The clumping grass reaches an average height of 36" and a width of 18". It is beautiful en masse and is tolerant of a wide variety of soils. The blue-green leaves are topped with purplish blooms in the early Fall. The plant maintains an amazing reddish-tan hue throughout the Winter as the blooms give way to white fluffy seed heads. Wildlife like this plant and it can be used as erosion control.

Orange New Zealand Sedge: Carex testacea

2009-09-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Orange New Zealand Sedge is a Winter show stopper. The leaves of this plant turn from an olive green to a burnt orange color late in the season. It can handle partial sun to full shade and likes moist, well drained soils. Average size is 18" by 18" and the bloom is virtually indistinguishable from the leaves.

Bruns Spruce: Picea omorika 'Bruns'

2009-08-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Bruns Spruce is a great accent or vertical accent tree that grows to about 30' by 15'. It has an upright semi-weeping growth habit of bluish green foliage with silver undersides. The cones are purple upon first appearance and compliment the fine texture of the tree. Bruns spruce prefer rich, deep soil and full sun exposure. Avoid standing water and urban pollution. Deep red bark is also of landscape significance.

KAT has a large selection of these impressive trees to choose from. To browse our inventory click here and enter Utopian as the username and Trees as the password. If it kicks you out the first time, just re-enter the same names and you should be connected.

Hinoki: Chamaecyparis obtusa

2009-06-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Another great group of plants here at KAT are Chamaecyparis obtusa or Hinoki false cypress which is a native to Southern Japan and the island of Taiwan. It is an amazing family of plants that has a range of shapes, colors, and sizes from uprights to pyramidals to globes and standard grafts. The soft reddish bark is an attractive feature that compliments the flat frond-like branching structure. I think the Hinoki makes a great focus plant that never fails to attract compliments especially because of it's unique texture. Hinokis needs some protection here in the Kansas City area and is a slow grower. Most varieities are quite tolerant of pruning and are slow growers.

Fringe Tree: Chionanthus Virginicus

2009-05-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

A true jaw-dropper, Chionanthus Virginicus, or Fringe Tree is a small tree or large suckering shrub native to the Eastern United States. It is known for it's very showy, fragrant flowers which hang in long panicles and appear just as the tree is leafing out in the Spring. The tree is absolutely amazing in full bloom! Fringe Tree prefers moist, fertile, well drained soil. It can be used as a specimen or in native plantings, and also thrives in urban settings. At maturity, Fringe Tree can get to be 20' tall with approximately the same width and is an extremely slow grower. We have many beautiful sizes to chose from here at KAT. Come out and see us and we will help you pick out a great specimen.

Full Moon Maple: Acer Japonicum 'Meigetsu'

2009-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

As the trees around the nursery continue to explode with color, I could not help but notice the Full Moon Maples yesterday afternoon. The contrast between the large green deeply lobed leaves, bright red flowers, and reddish twigs is absolutely stunning. This tree makes a great specimen and is very hardy. It can reach up to 20' tall with roughly the same spread. Be aware that this plant is a slow grower. It likes sun to partial sun and well drained soil, but can handle some wetter environments. It also has amazing Fall color as the leaves turn bright orange. As always, please visit our website at www.katnurseries.com to check our inventory. Click on the "Browse our Inventory" link and input the username: utopian and the password: trees.

Columnar Beech: Dawyck Purple and Dawyck Gold

2009-04-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

I was shocked last week when I was wandering the nursery to find a multitude of beautiful columnar Beech trees. Kat Nurseries carries both the Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Gold' and Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple' varieties. Dawyckii Beeches originated on the Dawyck estate in Scotland around 1800, but were not introduced to the nursery trade until the early 20th century. They are an ideal tree for places where a strong vertical accent is needed and grow fast, tall, and, narrow. Typical height is 50' with an average width of 9'. They prefer fairly sunny areas with moist, light soil. New growth is gold on 'Dawyck Gold' and purple on 'Dawyck Purple'. 'Dawyck Purple' will hold it's purple color through the Fall until it turns copper. New growth on 'Dawyck Gold' will turn green in the Summer, but a second flush of gold colored new growth provides a great mid-Summer contrast. Like, 'Dawyck Purple', 'Dawyck Gold' has a beautiful copper fall color. Please check our website at: www.katnurseries.com to view current availability. Username is Utopian. Password is Trees.