Plant/Tree of the Month
August 2001

Franklinia, Petunias, Clethra

Franklinia alatamaha or Franklinia tree

The College of Wooster has only one specimen of this uncommon and interesting small tree and you can see it in the Holden Quad. It blooms in July and August with fragrant white flowers with yellow centers. It has an upright spreading growth habit with vertically striped bark. A good choice for a protected site but difficult to find at your local nursery.

'Wave' Petunias

These beautiful annual flowers can be seen at the West end of John P. Papp Football Stadium. The primary reason to plant annual flowers is COLOR and these 'Wave' petunias provide massive doses. They look good in May, spread quickly and provide pastel colors until frost in the fall.

Clethra alnifolia or Summersweet Clethra

The garden between Severance Chemistry and Mateer on the East side of those buildings holds four Clethra. They are located near the benches so that weary walkers can sit on the benches in the garden and enjoy their strong sweet fragrance in July and August when they bloom with white bottle brush shaped flowers. They are a deciduous shrub (lose leaves in winter) and a good choice for the fragrance conscious home gardener.

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