Red Velvet Okra: The Scarlet-Podded Okra That Doubles as an Ornamental Red Velvet okra is a red-podded variety that looks as good in a flower bed as it does in a vegetable garden. The plants carry scarlet-red pods on deep red stems, set against green leaves and large, pale yellow flowers with dark purple centers. … Read more

Star of David Okra: The Thick-Podded Heirloom From Israel Star of David okra is an heirloom variety known for its unusually thick, deeply ribbed pods. When you slice one, each piece looks like a little star, which is how the variety got its name. It is believed to have come from Israel, where okra has … Read more

Emerald Okra: The Round-Podded Heirloom Bred for Soup Emerald okra is an heirloom variety with an unusual origin. It was bred by a soup company, not a university or a seed house. Campbell Soup Company developed it in the late 1940s and introduced it around 1950, aiming for an okra that would hold up in … Read more

Clemson Spineless Okra: The Variety That Defined Southern Okra Clemson Spineless okra is the most important okra variety ever grown in the United States. It is the variety behind the green, ribbed pods in Southern gumbo pots, fried okra platters, and pickle jars. It was developed in South Carolina in the 1930s and won an … Read more

Nugget Ninebark: The Golden Shrub Bred on the Northern Great Plains Nugget ninebark is a golden-leaved shrub that brings bright yellow color to gardens from the Dakotas to New England. In spring its leaves emerge in a bright golden yellow, then mellow to soft chartreuse and lime green as summer goes on. It is dense, … Read more

There are more types of ninebark shrubs than most gardeners realize, from 2-foot dwarfs that fit in a patio pot to 10-foot giants that can screen a whole fence line. They all go back to one tough North American native. For years it was a plain green shrub that few people noticed. That changed when … Read more

Coppertina Ninebark: The Copper-to-Red Ninebark Born From 2 Famous Parents Coppertina ninebark is a shrub whose leaves change color over the season. In spring the new leaves come out a shiny, glowing copper-orange. By summer they have deepened to a rich red, and on older growth some turn nearly burgundy. That shift comes from its … Read more

Diabolo Ninebark: The Purple-Leaved Shrub That Made Ninebark Famous Diabolo ninebark is the shrub that turned an overlooked native plant into one of the best-selling landscape shrubs in North America. Before it arrived in the late 1990s, common ninebark was a plain green shrub used mostly in windbreaks and conservation plantings. Diabolo changed that with … Read more

Mallow Ninebark: The Drought-Tough Ninebark of the Rocky Mountains Mallow ninebark is the dry-country member of the ninebark family. It is a hardy native shrub of rocky canyons, sunny hillsides, and open pine and Douglas-fir forests across the interior West. Its relatives prefer damp ground: common ninebark grows on eastern stream banks and Pacific ninebark … Read more

Ninebark Identification: How to Recognize This Native Shrub in Every Season Once you know what to look for, ninebark is easy to identify. This native North American shrub combines 4 features that rarely show up together on one plant: maple-like lobed leaves, rounded clusters of small white flowers, puffy reddish seed pods, and bark that … Read more