Pam Haze
Adams County Master Gardener
(10/14) Autumn is a great time to plant most trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous perennials. Planting in the fall when temperatures are cooler is less stressful for plants and for you. Getting your new plants in the ground in September and October gives them enough time to develop roots and adjust to their new surroundings well ahead of winter and the upcoming growing season.
Consider planting natives. In general, they are easier to care for and will have a better chance of prospering as compared to non-native plants since they are well suited to our soil, climate, and other growing conditions. An added benefit is their capacity to nourish and shelter native insects. This is important because bees, flies, moths, butterflies, beetles, and other insects are needed for the pollination of flowering plants. Most of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts we consume are produced by plants that rely on animal pollination. Insects provide other valuable services like helping to control non-beneficial insects like aphids. Insects are nature’s recyclers, breaking down waste and organic matter and enriching and aerating the soil. Insects are a major food source for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.
With all of this in mind, I am taking full advantage of our beautiful fall days to add more native plants that will attract and support native insects, which will in turn enrich my garden and help me to build a wilder and more effectively functioning ecosystem. This year, I am adding three New Jersey tea plants (Ceanothus americanus) to fill out a bed where I planted two tea plants three years ago. Shortly after I planted those two plants, they were nibbled down to the stem by rabbits. One of the plants recovered and has grown to nearly full size. I have been impressed with how well it performs, even in my clay soil. I was pleasantly surprised this year how little I had to water it even in very dry periods.
This is a low growing, hardy and attractive shrub suited for dry garden beds that get a good amount of sun. It will grow to, at most, three feet tall and wide in an attractive mounding form with many small branches. The dark green wrinkled leaves remain largely disease and pest free and the shrub blooms for several weeks in June with panicles of small white flowers that have an airy, frothy appearance and give off a sweet fragrance. The plant continues to add interest to the garden after pollination when the flowers give way to green three-sided seed capsules that turn brown at the end of summer. The plant is deciduous, so it will drop its leaves in the fall, but it adds interest to the garden throughout the winter with its brown woody stems.
When the flowers bloom they are a magnet for pollinators including bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and butterflies. New Jersey tea attracts hummingbirds that feed on small insect pollinators and it is a host plant for moths and butterflies. The leaves are food for larvae of the spring and summer azure butterflies, mottled duskywing skipper, and an array of moths.
New Jersey tea is tolerant of drought because it has a long taproot, but this means that once planted, it does not like to be moved. So be sure to put it in a suitable location. It prefers gravelly, acidic soils, but is adaptable to some variation in soil conditions. Note my earlier statement that it has done well in my clay soil that does not drain very well. I think this is because I mixed compost into the soil that I dug out when I put the plants in the ground and I’ve continued to put a top dressing of compost on my beds each fall. The compost improves drainage, adds organic matter, and improves soil acidity. Plants may require watering during the first year when they are getting established and during very dry conditions. Space the plants to allow for air circulation and water at the base of the plant (water the soil not the plant) to avoid powdery mildew.
The shrub grows slowly and may not flower for the first couple years. Flowering and the ability to attract pollinators will increase with maturity. Although it can send up suckers from its large roots to colonize an area, it has not been aggressive in my garden. You will want to use a tomato cage with netting or some other enclosure to protect small and tender plants from rabbits and deer. You should be able to remove the enclosure once the branches begin to get woody. I removed mine after the first growing season. Tea plants can be grown from seed or plugs. New Jersey tea can be used singly or in masses or as a hedge. You can easily cut this plant back to limit its size or allow it to grow naturally. Prune while the plant is dormant at the end of winter.
New Jersey Tea has a historical range that extends from New England and southern Canada west to Wisconsin, south to central Texas and east to Florida. It is considered rare in the northeast portion of its range in Maine. It earned the designation of wildflower of the year from the Virginia Native Plant Society in 2019.
New Jersey tea played a role in the American revolution when imported tea was scarce and expensive. To avoid purchasing tea, the colonists dried leaves from the shrub to make a tea-like beverage that is caffeine free. They also used the blossoms and roots of the plant to make dyes. Native Americans used the roots and root bark to treat sore throats and fevers.
I hope you can find a place in your garden for this small and valuable native shrub. I’m looking forward to seeing my growing collection.
Read other articles by Pam Haze
Read other articles on growing herbs or vegetables
