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Species and cultivar guides for trees, shrubs, and perennials suited to Western Washington.
Your soil is closer to right than you think, but the cultivar you choose and whether you address drainage before planting determines whether blueberries thrive or decline. A selection guide built on PNW 656 cultivar data crossed with soil tolerance and disease resistance for the Puget Sound lowlands.
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Your hydrangea will not bloom, or it scorched in the heat, or you cannot tell the nursery benches apart. Here is how to match hydrangea species and cultivar to the site you actually have in the Puget Sound lowlands.
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Native groundcovers provide ecological function, reduce maintenance needs, and create resilient landscape solutions for Western Washington gardens.
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You are standing at the nursery in May, looking at four tables of tomato starts.Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, San Marzano, Big Boy.
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Disease-resistant crabapples that stay clean from April bloom through October fruit drop. Organized by size, with pollination data and the native Pacific crabapple.
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You are standing in the garden center in March, looking at a row of bare-root apple trees.The tags say Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp.
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You already have one.That is the starting point for most conversations about Callery pear (*Pyrus calleryana*) in the Puget Sound region.
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A native evergreen that screens, fixes nitrogen, and asks for almost nothing in return. Privacy, wind protection, and soil improvement in one fast-growing package.
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The tallest native hardwood in the Puget Sound region, and why you need to understand it before you decide to keep or remove one.
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Oregon White Oak is a native deciduous tree with ecological significance in prairies and oak savannas. It requires well-drained soil and full sun.
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The native dogwood that lights up Puget Sound forests in spring, and the anthracnose threat reshaping its future.
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The bark gets all the attention. Copper-red to deep green, peeling away in thin papery sheets to reveal smooth satin underneath, madrone seems impossibly sculpted.
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Washington's state tree and the shade-tolerant climax species that defines old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest.
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Walk a cedar trail in old growth forest, and you know you are home.The scent hits first: warm, complex, almost medicinal.
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Western Serviceberry is a deciduous shrub to small tree with white flowers and edible berries. It grows to 20-30 feet and provides wildlife value.
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Catawba rhododendron in the Puget Sound region: hardiness, shade performance, what kills them, and how to prevent root rot in maritime gardens.
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The evergreen hedge everywhere in the Puget Sound region: what it tolerates, what threatens it, and the invasiveness problem nobody talks about.
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Ponderosa pine in maritime gardens: why this east-side native demands deliberate siting, disease management strategies, and what to expect in the Puget Sound region.
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Strawberry tree in the Puget Sound region: the Mediterranean evergreen that thrives in clay and drought. Why it outperforms our native Pacific madrone.
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Gulf Stream Nandina is an evergreen shrub offering year-round interest with delicate foliage and persistent berries. It performs well in part shade with good drainage.
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Vine maple in the Pacific Northwest: native shade tolerance, fall color potential, disease management, and how to preserve the layered form that makes it distinctive.
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Rose of Sharon produces showy hibiscus-like flowers on a deciduous shrub reaching 8-12 feet. It tolerates full sun and well-drained soil in Western Washington.
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When you see the first crimson flower clusters hanging from bare branches in early March, you know spring is arriving in Western Washington.
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The most planted ornamental grass in the Puget Sound region, and for good reason. Sterile, upright through winter rain, and tolerant of clay soils.
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The nitrogen-fixing pioneer that rebuilds disturbed landscapes across the Puget Sound region, and what it means for your property.
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You've stood under your mature Douglas-fir and watched the lawn struggle.You've tried shade-tolerant grasses. You've mulched generously. You've accepted the bare patches.
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Red Obelisk European Beech is a narrow, columnar cultivar with deep burgundy foliage. It maintains its compact form with minimal pruning in Western Washington.
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If you drive through any new residential development in Western Washington, you'll spot Sky Pencil Holly.
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You have driven past this plant a hundred times without registering it. It is the low, glossy-leaved mat hugging the sandy shoulders along the I-90
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If you're looking for a golden conifer that won't overwhelm your Western Washington garden, Cripps Golden Hinoki Cypress deserves your attention.
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Sitka Spruce is a large coniferous tree native to the Pacific coast. This guide covers species characteristics, site requirements, and landscape suitability.
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If you have seen a tree with feathery, fern-like leaves topped with fluffy pink flower puffs blooming in midsummer, you have encountered a silk tree.
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The moss-covered canopy giant of Western Washington forests. Massive leaves, fast growth, and a growing decline you need to understand before planting.
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Bitter Cherry is a native deciduous tree with white flowers and red to black fruit. It establishes quickly and provides food for wildlife.
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When November arrives and the deciduous trees shed their leaves, your landscape enters a four-month period of dormancy. Everything turns gray.
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If you've grown eastern redbud (*Cercis canadensis*) in Western Washington, you've already proven you can succeed with the genus.
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You're not going to find Pagoda Dogwood crowded into the ornamental section of your local nursery.It's not the tree garden centers push in spring marketing blitzes.
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Flowering Dogwood is a deciduous to semi-evergreen species with showy white or pink bracts. It thrives in dappled light conditions and well-drained acidic soil.
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You already own one. Or you are about to. Japanese maple is the most planted ornamental tree in residential landscapes across the Puget Sound lowlands.
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Regional guide to Japanese maple for the Puget Sound lowlands: cultivar selection, disease management, siting decisions, and seasonal care grounded in WSU and PNW handbook data.
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The iconic conifer that defines the Pacific Northwest landscape, challenging to grow well but irreplaceable as a timber tree and ecological cornerstone.
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