Plants for the Maine Landscape
Selected Readings and Content
UMaine Extension Bulletins
- Maine Native Plants
- Gardening to Conserve Maine’s Native Landscape: Plants to Use and Plants to Avoid, Bulletin #2500
- Native Plants: A Maine Source List, Bulletin #2502
- Native Trees and Shrubs for Maine Landscapes
- Striped Maple or Moosewood (Acer pensylvanicum), Bulletin #2561
- Hazel Alder or Speckled Alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa), Bulletin #2562
- Shadblow Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), Bulletin #2563
- Alleghany Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), Bulletin #2564
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), Bulletin #2565
- Sweet Birch (Betula lenta), Bulletin #2566
- Gray Birch (Betula populifolia), Bulletin #2567
- American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), Bulletin #2568
- Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), Bulletin #2569
- Common Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Bulletin #2570
- Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), Bulletin #2571
- Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), Bulletin #2572
- Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus), Bulletin #2573
- American Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), Bulletin #2574
- Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Bulletin #2575
- Common Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), Bulletin #2576
- Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), Bulletin #2577
- Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra), Bulletin #2578
- Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), Bulletin #2579
- American Elder (Sambucus canadensis), Bulletin #2580
- Scarlet Elder (Sambucus racemosa var. pubens), Bulletin #2581
- Showy Mountain Ash (Sorbus decora), Bulletin #2582
- Nannyberry Viburnum (Viburnum lentago), Bulletin #2583
- Flowering Crabapples in Maine, Bulletin #2508
- Maine Invasive Plants
- Asiatic Bittersweet, Bulletin #2506
- Autumn Olive / Russian Olive, Bulletin #2525
- Black Swallowwort, Bulletin #2523
- Brazilian Waterweed, Bulletin #2524
- Common Buckthorn and Glossy Buckthorn, Bulletin #2505
- Common Reed (Phragmites), Bulletin #2532
- Eurasian Milfoil, Bulletin #2531
- Fanwort, Cabomba, Bulletin #2522
- Garlic Mustard, Bulletin #2526
- Hydrilla, Bulletin #2527
- Japanese Barberry, Bulletin #2504
- Japanese Honeysuckle, Bulletin #2528
- Japanese Knotweed/Mexican Bamboo, Bulletin #2511
- Japanese Stilt Grass (Chinese Packing Grass), Bulletin #2529
- Lesser Celandine, Bulletin #2534
- Mile-a-Minute Weed (Devils Tail, Tearthumb), Bulletin #2533
- Multiflora Rose, Rambler Rose, Bulletin #2509
- Porcelainberry, Bulletin #2521
- Purple Loosestrife, Bulletin #2508
- Shrubby Honeysuckles, Bulletin #2507
- Variable-Leaf Milfoil, Bulletin #2530
- Water Chestnut, Bulletin #2535
- Invasive Plants Threaten Maine’s Natural Treasures, Bulletin #2536
Plants for the Native Landscape (From the GardenPro Answer Book)
- Plants for Very Dry Soil and Full Sun
- Plants for Very Wet Soil and Full Sun
- Plants for Very Dry Soil and Shade
- Plants for Very Wet Soil and Shade
- Tolerance of Trees and Shrubs to Salts in Soil
- Plants for Compacted Soils
- Trees and Shrubs for Clay Soils
- Plants for Rain Gardens
- Shrubs With Seasonal Interest
- Groundcovers
- Perennials: Flowering Seasons
- Annual Flowers for Special Uses
- Plants for Pollinator Gardens
- Small Trees for Small Spaces
- Plants for Seaside Gardens
- Plants Usually Not Preferred by Deer
- Plant Tolerance of Japanese Beetles
UMaine Extension Videos
Books
- Maine Forest Service, Forest Trees of Maine, Centennial Edition also available online
- Mittlehauset, Gregory, Rooney and Weber The Plants of Acadia National Park Orono, ME, University of Maine Press 2010 (Plants of Baxter State Park due out in 2017)
- Lawrence Newcomb, Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide New York and Boston, Little, Brown and Co. 1977, video on how to use the guide
Additional Resources
- Native Plant Finder, Maine Audubon
- Forest Trees of Maine, Centennial Edition – 1908 to 2008, Maine Forest Service
- Invasive Plant Law, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
- Native Plant Trust (formerly the New England Wildflower Society)
- Plant Native, Organization Website
- UConn Plant Database
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map for Maine
Master Gardener Volunteer Training
Core competencies
At the end of these sessions you will be able to articulate and explain:
Herbaceous Landscape Plants
- The life cycles of flowering annuals, biennials and perennials
- The criteria for appropriate herbaceous plant selection for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes:
- For different site conditions (sun, shade, wet, dry, etc)
- To address landscape conditions or problems (screening, wet swale, heavy traffic etc.)
- Explain the most common ways in which herbaceous plants are propagated
- Group plants with similar needs (water, fertilizer, sun) for easier maintenance
- General flower garden care during the season.
- Site selection
- Soil preparation
- Transplanting
- Managing weeds
- Fertilizing
- Effective irrigation
- Give examples of plants and plant combinations that are suitable for Maine gardens and relatively new in the trade.
Woody Landscape Plants
- The three forms in which trees and shrubs can be purchased and the advantage disadvantages of each form
- Balled and burlapped (B&B)
- Containerized
- Bare-root
- The basic steps and considerations for planting a tree or shrub
- Selecting the proper tree for the site
- Timing
- Hole size (depth and width)
- Pros and cons of amending backfill
- Watering
- Staking
- Mulching
- How and when to properly transplant different landscape trees
- Timing
- Root pruning
- The basics of landscape tree or shrub care
- Establishment period and water needs
- Fertilization
- Pruning
- The basics of pruning landscape trees and shrubs
- Reasons for pruning (safety, plant health, control size, direct growth, promote flowering or fruiting)
- Necessary tools, tool care and safety (pole pruners, loppers, pruning saws and hand shears)
- Appropriate timing (time of year, age of plant)
- Types of pruning cuts (heading and thinning) and how plants respond
- Non-native, invasive woody plants in Maine and why they are a problem in managed landscapes. (Norway Maple, winged euonymus, oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, shrubby honeysuckle, etc.)
- Familiarity with some of the typical native trees and shrubs appropriate for different landscape conditions. Group plants with similar needs (water, fertilizer, sun) for easier maintenance.
- Sunny, well drained landscape
- Shady, woodland landscape
- Seasonally flooded landscape
- Coastal, lakeside or alpine landscape (Choose what is most appropriate for your region of the state
Practical Skills Gained and Strengthened
- Right plant, right place: Give examples of plants and plant combinations that are suitable for Maine gardens
- How to select healthy plants from a retailer
- How to plant and care for woody landscape plants
- Proper use of different pruning cuts (heading and thinning), taking into account how the plants will respond
- Be able to recommend typical native trees and shrubs appropriate for these different landscape conditions
- Sunny, well drained landscape
- Shady, woodland landscape
- Seasonally flooded landscape
- Coastal, lakeside or alpine landscape