Expand Your Knowledge of Flowering Shrubs
- See the big picture - there is a system to understanding them
- Learn about more species than you currently know
- Explore more and better ways of cultivating shrubs
- Become a better plantsperson
Flowering shrubs are small to medium sized plants with single or multiple stems arising from the ground. They are perennial plants; that is, they grow for many years. Their wood is usually hard (unlike herbs and succulents). The characteristics that define a shrub are however very general comments on the growth habitat used to distinguish it from other growth habits such as those of trees, climbers, creepers, herbs, annuals, and biennials.
Lesson Structure
There are 9 lessons in this course:
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Scope and Nature of Flowering Shrubs
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Why Grow Shrubs
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Choosing Appropriate Shrubs
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Classification and Naming
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Shrub Nomenclature
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How the Genus Rosa is Split Up
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Broad Rules when Writing Plant Names
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Ranks of Classification
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Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons
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Dahgren System for grouping families into orders
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Cronquist System
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Continuing Change
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Rosids
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Order Rosales
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Order Malphigiales
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Order Sapindales
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Order Malvales
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Order Saxifragales
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Asterids (Asteranae)
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Myrtles (Myrtiflorae)
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Solanales
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Cornales
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Dipsacales
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Boraginales
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Rules for Identifying Plants
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Botanical Key Concept
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How to Establish and Care for Shrubs
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Choosing Shrubs
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Preparing the Garden
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Consider the Site
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Getting Soil Ready
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Time of Planting
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Planting Shrubs
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Staking
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Shrub Maintenance
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Good Hygiene
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Watering
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Nutrition
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Mulching
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Pruning
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Inspecting for Pest and Disease
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Common Problems - pests, diseases, environmental issues, weeds
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Controlling Pest and Disease
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Working with the Space Available
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Controlling Roots
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Controlling plant growth
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The Rosids
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Superorder Rosanae - Fabids, Malvids & others
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Rosaceae : Chenomeles, Cotoneaster, Kerria, Pyracantha, Rosa, Spiraea
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Rhamnaceae : Ceonothus
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Eleagnaceae : Eleagnus
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Saxifragaceae – Deutzia, Hydrangea
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Celastraceae – Euonymus
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Euphorbaceae – Codiaeum
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Hypericaceae – Hypericum
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Cistaceae -Cistus
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Malvaceae – Hibiscus
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Thymelaceae - Daphne, Pimelea
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Rutaceae -Boronia, Choisya, Coleonema,Correa, Crowea, Fortunella, Murraya
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The Asterids (Superorder Asteranae)
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Introduction to Asteranae: Lamids & Campanulids
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Differences between Asterids and Rosids
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Asterid Shrub Families
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Acanthaceae - Justicia/Beloperone, Barleria, Pachystachus, Aphelandra, (Order Lamiales)
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Lamiaceae -Lavendula, Ocimum (Basil), Prostanthera, Salvia, Rosmarinus, Westringia, Leonotis, Prostanthera (Order Lamiales
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Scrophulariaceae -Hebe, Eremophila, Myoporum, Veronica (Order Lamiales)
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Verbenaceae -Aloysia, Clerodendrum, Duranta, Lantana, Verbena (Order Lamiales)
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Oleaceae – Forsythia, Ligustrum, Jasminum, Syringia (Order Lamiales)
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Rubiaceae – Bouvardia, Coprosma, Gardenia, Luculia, Musseanda, Pentas (Order Gentiales)
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Order Ericales
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Introduction
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Ericaceae -Andromeda, Rhododendron (includes Azaleas), Calluna, Erica, Kalmia, Pieris, and Vaccinium (Blueberry).
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Theaceae - Camellia, Gordonia, and Stewartia.
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Clethraceae - Clethra
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Syracaceae - Halesia and Styrax
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Significant Shrubs in Myrtiflorae
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Introduction
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Lythraceae – Cuphea, Pomegranate
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Myrtaceae - Bauera, Callistemon/Melaleuca, Leptospermum and others
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Melastomaceae – Tibouchina, Melastoma, Medinilla, Osbeckia
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Onagraceae – Fuchsia
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Corniflorae and Solaniflorae
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Introduction
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Caprifoliaceae -Abelia, Kolkwitzia, Lonicera, Viburnum, Weigelia (Order Dipscales, Superorder Cornifloae)
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Cornaceae - Cornus (Order Cornales, Superorder Corniflorae)
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Hydrangeaceae - Hydrangea, Deutzia, Philadelphus (Order Cornales, Superorder Corniflorae)
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Boraginaceae – Heliotropum (Superorder Solaniflorae)
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Solanaceae - Browallia, Brunfelsia, Cestrum, Solanum (superorder Solaniflorae)
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Other Important Shrubs
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Berberidaceae -Berberis, Mahonia, Nandina
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Buxaceae – Buxus
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Fabaceae – Genista, Pultenaea, Acacia
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Plumbaginaceae – Ceratostigma (Plumbago)
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Polygalaceae – Polygala
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Proteaceae – Banksia, Grevillea, Protea
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Plant Selection and Design
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Discuss the scientific classification, scope and nature of shrubs, and compare some of the differences in appearance characteristics between important plant orders and families that encompass horticulturally significant shrubs.
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Describe different techniques used to prepare for planting, plant, nurture and maintain shrubs in different horticultural situations.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are related to roses, in that they are on occasion classified into the taxonomic order Rosales or the superorder Rosanae.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are related to lavender, in that they are on occasion classified into the taxonomic superorder Asteranae.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are related to rhododendrons, in that they are on occasion classified into the taxonomic order Ericales.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are related to Leptospermums, in that they are on occasion classified into the taxonomic order Rosales or the superorder Myrtiflorae.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are related to Viburnum and Cestrum, in that they are on occasion classified into the taxonomic groups Corniflorae and Solaniflorae.
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Identify and describe a variety of different commonly grown flowering shrubs that are from significant plant families not studied earlier in this course.
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Select appropriate shrubs and explain how to use them in different places.
Where Do You find Shrubs? - Where do you Grow them?
In their natural habitat, some shrubs occur as the predominant or tallest plants in the landscape, where they grow above, and provide protection for, lower plants such as herbs and grasses. Such shrubs are often better adapted to dealing with full sun and weather extremes. Others occur in their natural habitats under the canopy of trees which provide shade and protection for them. To know where a plant grows in nature can be an indication of the conditions that best suit it in a garden.
Don't Worry about Occasional Contradictions
Many of the most grown shrubs in horticulture are related to each other. We know this by genetic and morphological (appearance) similarities. This is not a perfect system, and you may find contradictions but using it is by far the best way to build a knowledge of identifying and cultivating what amounts to hundreds of thousands of different plants.
Large numbers of flowering plants are firstly broken into large groups, then sequentially, those groups are subdivided again and again; forming various levels of classification.
The lowest levels of classification thus have the greatest number of shared characteristics - not only in terms of what they look like (and genetics); but also in terms of how they should be cultivated. By understanding these classifications helps you to do two things much easier:
- identify plants and remember their names, and,
- become informed about how to grow plants.
Remember:
- The scientific system of classifying plants is a mans attempt to simplify nature - and different scientists don't always agree - so sometimes there are seemingly contradictory classifications.
- Classifications do change from time to time - so if you are looking at two different names for the same plant, one might be from the past, and the other current
- Plants tend to perform similarly to those plants they are related to and classified closely to.
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