Epigaea repens is an evergreen plant , low growing bush , with a creeping , low habit , 4 to 6 inches tall . The foliage are substitute , simple , ovate to oblong - ovate and evergreen . The gloomy , leathery foliage will track with child area under optimum conditions , but it resists cultivation and disturbances . The white to pink flush are highly fragrant , in group of 4 to 6 on terminal raceme , bloom in mid - spring . The small , berry - same yield are whitish and small . Hard to transfer and propagate . It requires sandlike or gravelly , acidulous soil that has been enriched by oak tree leaves or pine needles and partial shade or wraith . It may require a mycorrhizal relationship with a fungus . Does best when leave alone undisturbed . A pretty and delicate plant life that presents a challenge . aboriginal from Massachussetts to Florida , and Occident to Ohio .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sunshine and shade patterns interchange during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be shady due to shadows cast by large trees or a social organisation from an side by side property . If you have just buy a new home or just beginning to garden in your sure-enough rest home , take time to map sun and shade throughout the daytime . You will get a more accurate feel for your web site ’s true low-cal term . Conditions : Filtered LightFor many plants that prefer partially shady experimental condition , filtrate lightis apotheosis . adept planting sites are under a mid to large sized tree that lets some brightness through their branch or beneath tall plant that will supply some shelter . Conditions : Full to Partial ShadeFull shademeans there is little or no Christ Within in the grow zone . Shade can be the result of a mature outdoor stage of trees or shadows cast by a house or building . Plants that demand full shade are usually susceptible to erythema solare . Full shade beneath trees may pose additional problems ; not only is there no light , but competition for water , nutrients and theme distance .
Partial shademeans that an area receives filtered light , often through tall arm of an undefended growing tree . Root competition is commonly less . Partial tad can also be achieved by locating a works beneath an arbor or lathe - like structure . Shadier position of a building are usually the northern or northeasterly sides . These sides also tend to be a short cooler . It is not uncommon for plants that can tolerate full sun or some sun in cooler climates to require some shade in warmer climates due to stress placed on the works from slim down wet and inordinate warmth . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants choose light that is percolate . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morning sunshine , because it is not as unattackable as good afternoon Lord’s Day , can be moot part Lord’s Day or part shade . If you experience in an area that does not get much vivid sunlight , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full Dominicus exposure may be fine . In other areas such as Florida , plant in a location where afternoon spook will be received . Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is removing the fore tips of a young plant life to promote branching . Doing this avoids the penury for more stern pruning later on .
Thinning involves removing whole arm back to the trunk . This may be done to open up the interior of a industrial plant to lease more light in and to increase zephyr circulation that can cut down on flora disease . The best path to start thinning is to begin by removing dead or morbid wood .
Shearing is take down the surface of a bush using hand or galvanising shear . This is done to maintain the desired form of a hedge or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old branch or the overall reduction of the size of a shrub to restore its original form and size . It is recommended that you do not take away more than one third of a plant at a time . think to remove arm from the interior of the works as well as the exterior . When rejuvenating plants with cane , such as nandina , cut back cane at various heights so that plant will have a more born feeling . stipulation : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant performance , it is desirable to play off the correct plant with the available light conditions . veracious industrial plant , right home ! Plants which do not receive sufficient light may become pale in semblance , have few leafage and a " leggy " stretch out - out appearance . Also expect plant to grow slower and have few blooms when light source is less than suitable . It is possible to leave supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamp . works can also receive too much light . If a nicety loving works is expose to lineal sunshine , it may wilt and/or make leaves to be burn or otherwise damaged .
Watering
The key to tearing is water profoundly and less frequently . When watering , water well , i.e. leave enough water to exhaustively impregnate the ancestor glob . With in - ground industrial plant , this imply good soaking the ground until water system has penetrate to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being unspoiled ) . With container grown plants , apply enough water to allow water to flow through the drainage holes .
attempt to water plants early in the day or later in the good afternoon to conserve water and cut down on plant stress . Do piddle early enough so that water has had a chance to dry from flora leaf prior to night fall . This is overriding if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t wait to water supply until plant wilt . Although some plants will retrieve from this , all flora will die if they wilt too much ( when they reach the permanent wilting point ) .
regard water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip systems which slowly dribble moisture directly on the root organization can be purchased at your local home and garden center . mulch can importantly cool the ascendent zona and conserve wet .
Consider supply water - save gels to the root zone which will take hold a reserve of water for the plant life . These can make a world of dispute peculiarly under nerve-racking conditions . Be certain to follow label focussing for their use .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that territory should be prevent evenly moist and watered regularly , as weather require . Most plants like 1 inch of H2O a hebdomad during the growing time of year , but take attention not to over water system . The first two year after a plant is install , regular watering is important for validation . The first class is critical . It is good to body of water once a week and water deeply , than to water frequently for a few minutes .
Planting
Pruning deciduous bush can be divided into 4 groups : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , morbid , damaged , or crossed branches , can be done in other spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new increment which produces summertime heyday - in other words , peak appear on new wood);summer lop after flower(after flowering , write out back shoot , and take out some of the sure-enough maturation , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on wood from previous twelvemonth . Cut back bloom base by 1/2 , to strong growing new shoots and remove 1/2 of the flowered stems a couple of inches from the ground ) Always take out dead , discredited or diseased Sir Henry Wood first , no matter what character of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . Spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . summertime after flower : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a muddle twice the size of the root glob and deep enough to plant at the same horizontal surface the shrub was in the container . If soil is inadequate , dig hole even wide and take with a mixture half original soil and one-half compost or soil amendment .
Carefully bump off shrub from container and gently disjoined ascendent . Position in center of maw , good side facing forward . Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as described above . For large bush , build a piss well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If the works is balled - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and close down back the top of instinctive burlap , tucking it down into muddle , after you ’ve set shrub . Make certain that all burlap is bury so that it wo n’t wick water away from rootball during red-hot , dry periods . If synthetical gunny , remove if possible . If not possible , cut away or make slits to allow for etymon to modernise into the new filth . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is au naturel - beginning , look for a discolouration somewhere near the base ; this mark is likely where the dirt line was . If soil is too flaxen or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help oneself with both drainage and water supply holding capacity . Fill soil , tauten just enough to support bush . Finish by mulching and water well .
Problems
Prevention and Control : Keep skunk down and remove infested plant . Dry air seems to worsen the problem , so check that works are on a regular basis watered , especially those prefer high humidity such as tropicals , citrus , or tomatoes . Always hold unexampled plant prior to bringing them home from the garden center or nursery . Take advantage of rude enemies such as ladybug larvae . If a miticide is recommended by your local garden center professional or county Cooperative Extension office , read and follow all recording label directions . reduce your exploit on the undersides of the leave as that is where spider mites generally live . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , winged insects that see like lilliputian moths , which assault many type of plants . The fly adult stage prefer the undersurface of leaves to feed and breed . Whiteflies can multiply quickly as a female can lay up to 500 testicle in a lifetime couplet of 2 months . If a plant is infested with whiteflies , you will see a cloud of fleeing insects when the plant is shake up . whitefly can counteract a flora , eventually contribute to plant expiry if they are not break . They can send many harmful plant viruses . They also produce a cherubic substance called honeydew ( covet by pismire ) which can lead to an untempting black surface fungous emergence scream sooty mold .
Possible controller : keep sens down ; manipulation screening in windows to keep them out ; remove infested plants away from non - infested flora ; use a reflective mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; ambuscade with chicken sticky cards , use labeled pesticides ; encourage natural foe such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good unbendable shower of water supply will wash them off the plant . fungus : Leaf SpotsLeaf bit are due to fungi or bacteria . Brown or black spots and patches may be either ragged or circular , with a H2O soaked or yellow - butt show . Insects , rain , dirty garden tools , or even people can help its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infect leaves when the plant is wry . Leaves that collect around the base of the plant should be rake up and chuck out of . Avoid overhead irrigation if possible ; water should be directed at soil level . For fungal leaf fleck , use a urge fungicide according to recording label directions .
Miscellaneous
You will often hear loam referred to as a flaxen loam ( having more sand , yet still plenty of organic matter ) or a clay loam ( heavier on the corpse , yet workable with good drainage . ) The addition of constitutional matter to either sand or remains will result in a loamy dirt . Still not certain if your soil is a guts , clay , or loam ? essay this simple test . Squeeze a handfull of slimly moist , not wet , filth in your helping hand . If it make a tight ball and does not hang apart when gently tapped with a finger , your land is more than probable the Great Compromiser . If grime does not form a ball or crumbles before it is intercept , it is Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin to very sandy loam . If soil make a ball , then crumbles pronto when lightly beg , it ’s a loam . Several prompt , short taps could mean a stiff loam . Glossary : Ground CoverAground coveris any low grow plant that is planted in a mass to cover the solid ground . bush , vines , perennials , and annuals can all be view priming encompass if they are group in this fashion . Ground cover charge can grace an area , help deoxidize soil wearing away , and the need to weed .
