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Missouri Botanical Garden: Plants in Bloom

AT A GLANCE

February 22 - February 28, 2002

• It may still be winter outside, but spring is in full swing in the Shoenberg Temperate House. The fragrance in this house is incredibly rich now, thanks to the blossoms of the winter daphne (Daphne odora 'Marginata), the paperbush (Edgeworthia papyrifera) and the fragrant sweetbox (Sarcococca ruscifolia). The tiled Moorish Garden features daffodils (Narcissus 'Dutchmaster), tulips (Tulipa 'Passionate') and hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis 'Atlantic').

• The camellias are at their peak of colorful bloom, making the Linnean House a rare treat on a cold winter day. Cheerful cyclamen (Cyclamen 'Halios Series') illuminate the beds beneath the camellia trees and the heady aroma of the Fragrant olive trees (Osmanthus fragrans) wafts throughout the house.

• The fragrant flowers of witchhazel (Hamamelis spp.) perfume the air on warm, sunny days. The most varied collection of species and cultivars can be found in the Jenkins Daylily Garden. Some of the largest specimens are located in the Japanese Garden.

• Snowdrops are blooming in many locations on the grounds. The earliest crocus can be found blooming by the tram path in the “field“ north of the Lehmann Building. A large patch of blue Snow crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) is flowering in the Jenkins Daylily Garden

• Flowering apricot trees (Prunus mume) and Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) are blooming in the Chinese Garden.

• Fruits of the Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) are very showy. Especially noteworthy is the clump (I. verticillata 'Afterglow') by the statue of Henry Shaw by Tower Grove House, and the hedges (I. verticillata 'Red Sprite') in the Kemper Bird Garden.

• Pansies and Violas flower until severe cold arrives. Additional flowering occurs sporadically during mild winter spells. Well-rooted plants will begin to grow and flower again with the arrival of spring.

• With unseasonably cold weather expected to drop nighttime temperatures into the low teens by mid-week, some damage to landscape plants is expected, but this will mostly be to those few plants that have already broken dormancy. Still-dormant plants should have minimal to no injury.

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