Category Archives: Shrubs
“Good things come to those who wait”.
Really? Does that apply with plants also? Cause I ain’t feeling that dawg. I’ve waited and waited and for me at least, the good never comes. In fact, it usually gets worse.
That is, until my Hydrangea ‘Lady in Red’ took off this spring, and I never saw it coming:
I planted this lacecap hydrangea back in 2006 as I was seduced by the promise of stunning fall color. She was given a prominent location along the path to my front door and I was pumped.
Well, for three years, I waited for something – reddish/purple fall color, blooms, the deep red veining – and I got a big bag of nothing. It looked like one of my ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas. Nothing terrible, just “OK”.
In 2009, I relocated LIR to a minor league location to let it fade into the sunset. If the deer found it, so be it. Over the next two years I forgot about it and moved on.
Fast forward to 2011. LIR decides to put in an effort and damn if she didn’t look good y’all. The foliage was clean as can be with a nice reddish hue and with red veining on the leaves/stems as originally promised:
She also bloomed her butt off:
So I should leave it be and let her enjoy the new location, right? Wrong. I moved her immediately back to my front bed, where I’m sure she will disappoint again. I just can’t help myself. We’ll see … I’m hoping this will work out, even if she struggles a bit at first in her new home.
It’s been about two months now since the big move and the foliage still looks great. Here she is in late August:
And this week as the cold weather approaches:
At this point, LIR is about 4 x 4 and is located in a spot that gets afternoon shade – hopefully the perfect location. This time I’ll be more patient (you believe that?) and hopefully we will continue down the same positive path.
Have a great weekend.
John
One of my absolute favorite shrubs is Ninebark Summer Wine and I think it likes me too because in only three years, it has grown like mad:
While it is documented to be in the range of 4′ to 6′ tall and 4′ to 6′ wide, mine is easily 7′ by 7′. It has quickly become a monster sized shrub and that’s OK; I have the room for it and it makes quite a statement as a result. Some other Ninebark Summer Wine tidbits:
- Prefers full sun or partial shade – mine is situated in partial shade and the “wine” color is still phenomenal
- Blooms here in zone 6 New Jersey from about mid May to early June
- Works in almost all soil types including my compacted clay soil
- Can be pruned immediately after blooming to ensure next year’s blooms aren’t cut off
- The common name Ninebark refers to the exfoliated branches that peel in winter (more on that in a minute)
- I’ve rarely ever had to water this shrub beyond when it was first planted
- Works well as a specimen shrub but would look damn cool planted in mass as a hedge (but who has that kind of room?)
Some photos of my Ninebark Summer Wine through the seasons:
Leafing out in early to mid April:
The foliage soon gets that delicious wine color with the blooms not too far behind:
A sea of blooms at the end of May:
An up close and personal shot of a stunningly hot, individual bloom:
The foliage color stays dark all the way into Autumn and contrasts beautifully with yellow, chartreuse or bright green foliage (Spirea ‘Goldmound’ below):
Even in Winter, SW is a dazzling silhouette against the snow:
And if you get close enough, you can see the peeling bark (hence the name) of the Ninebark Summer Wine which gets better with age:
I’ve also planted Ninebark ‘Diablo’ but the jury is still out there. I am anticipating it to get a lot bigger than Ninebark Summer Wine. With both cultivars, I should add, you can prune them hard in the Spring to control size. You may lose the blooms, but truthfully, this shrub is all about the foliage isn’t it?
Until next time …
John
“A shrub native to the swamps and low lying wet woods of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”
Yes please, I’ll take three. Some times it is that simple.
The brief description above is describing Itea virginica (Virginia Sweetspire) ‘Henry’s Garnet (and I’m sure it is a good description of other shrubs, but I digress):
This deciduous shrub fits my growing conditions perfectly and when that happens, I bow at the altar of said shrub. Some more details on my buddy:
- Survives zone 5-9
- Prefers full sun to partial shade – I can vouch that it works well in both
- Reaches a maximum height of about 4′ and a spread of about 6′
- Prefers wet soil but will work in soil with average moisture
- For me, it has bloomed from the end of May until the middle to end of June
- The blooms are white, 3-6 ” cylindrical racemes that allegedly are fragrant but I’ve yet to notice that
- The foliage is a dark green that is a bit slow to leaf out in spring so no need to panic
- The fall color is fantastical and the reason for the cultivar name
- This cultivar was discovered at Swarthmore College in the early 80’s most likely while the founder was listening to Duran Duran on his Walkman (OK, I made that last part up.)
Some personal photos I’ve taken over the past two years:
An explosion of bloom, taken about a week ago:
A closer shot of the bottle brush like blooms:
The foliage starting to change color in late Summer:
I like the combination of the Itea’s fall foliage color with yellow or chartreuse foliage. That is Acorus Gramineus ‘Oborozuki’ (Variegated Sweet Flag) in the photo below:
But most importantly, the amazing fall foliage color (taken in late November):
I have three of these shrubs and each has been provided with ample room to sucker and form colonies at their will. I won’t prune them a bit.
If you do not have the room for these, there is a dwarf version ‘Little Henry’ that is easily available. I’m thinking about test driving one of them myself.
John
Imagine with me, if you will, that you are looking through old photos of an old girlfriend or boyfriend. You have good memories of that “ex” and do not have a bad word to say about them. However, as you thumb through the photos, you notice that each one has the “ex” in it, but they are rarely the center or purpose of the photo. Instead, they were always photographed with other friends and family. The photos are great, but your “ex” never stands out. It makes you question how much you actually thought of that “ex” at the time – maybe you really weren’t into them all that much.
Cut to present day – unlike many of you, I have nothing blooming and we are expecting snow this evening and into tomorrow. I have the gardening itch yet nothing to do to satisfy it. The next best option is to plan and look at old photos as a frame of reference. Well, as I was doing just that early this morning, I realized that Weigela “Wine and Roses” may not be as much of a favorite as previously thought.
I found only one photo where it was the Weigela and only the Weigela. And if you take a closer look at the photo above, you’ll notice that she looks kind of sad, like she’s not really present when the photo was taken. But, when she was photographed with others, she seemed to come alive, like she was making everyone else around her happier just because they were in her presence.
This revelation immediately made me question if I treated any other past “flings” in the same manner. Well, seems like I felt the same way about the ubiquitous Rudbeckia (Blackeyed Susan)
In truth, I think she did get around quite a bit so I never did trust her.
I will say, I am pretty sure I found “the one” now and I do have the photographic proof:
Ain’t love grand?
ONG
This is a re-post of an older entry of mine (with a few tweaks) but felt it was appropriate for this time of year as we anxiously wait for the viburnum blooms to emerge. This one has been a consistent performer for me since day one. Enjoy:
All gardeners are in search of plants that offer multi-seasonal interest, especially those of us living in colder climates. We also love plants that are dynamic and change throughout the seasons; plants that reinvent themselves as the months go by. Well ladies and gents, I would like to share one of those with you today.
I have lived in my current home for about six years and when we moved in, we had a completely blank slate. Not a plant to be found other than one large tree at the back of the property. The first shrub I planted was a Viburnum Plicatum ‘Shoshoni’. I had never had owned one before (do we really own our plants? A debate for another day) since I didn’t have enough space. Viburnums are typically large specimens but when I found ‘Shoshoni’ at the local nursery (thank you Rutgers Nursery) I was pumped to see that is was more diminutive than most.
Some of it’s attributes:
- It is a doublefile viburnum and a seedling of the larger, more well known ‘Shasta’
- It reaches a height of 5 feet and a width of 8 feet
- Survives from zone 5 to zone 8
- Deciduous shrub
- It has been deer resistant so far for me (although now jinxed)
- Blooms in the late Spring, typically for 2-3 weeks in May
- The flowers are flat topped and are not fragrant (although I have no sense of smell and cannot confirm officially)
- Thrive in part shade to full sun
- Produces red berries in August that mature black (I must admit I do not know if the fact that I have other viburnums present lead to the production of berries since this was my first year with berries )
- Tolerant of most soil types (including NJ clay)
Here it is fully leafed out in early spring
In full bloom in May
The leaves curled after blooming giving it an interesting design appeal
The berries emerging in August (which were quickly eaten by the birds)
Phenomenal fall color prior to the leaves falling off
The branch structure even provides a level of interest in the dead of winter
Fourteen years ago, I purchased my very first shrub for our first home. It was a ‘Nikko Blue’ hydrangea and my wife fell in love with the blue blooms. I stuck her (the shrub, not my wife) right next to my front steps, up against the foundation thinking “I’ll have these blooms and wonderful foliage all year. This gardening thing is easy.”
Year one with my hydrangea was OK, but like a gardening novice, I pruned the hydrangea back heavily the following spring and cut off all that year’s blooms. I then moved the shrub to another location which was exposed to the elements and for the next two years, all I got was some weak foliage. I was hydr-angered and ready to give up on this high maintenance SOB.
Fast forward a few years and a few kids later and to a new home. I am now a hardcore gardener with new found patience (kids taught me that) and ready to bring hydrangeas back into the mix. Only problem was that I had very little shade, few “protected” areas and a lot of deer. That is where the ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea comes into play.
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ is a mophead type hydrangea that blooms on both old and new wood. “Old wood” meaning it forms it’s buds the previous season on the older gray looking branches. “New wood” meaning it also produces blooms on the current year’s growth, the green branches. This just about promises you blooms throughout the season even if the old wood/buds didn’t survive the winter or were victim of a late freeze in spring:
Some other little factoids on this shrub:
- Survives in zones 4-9 – so it is successful in both the north and south.
- Size averages in the 4 x 4 range so it is a nicely rounded shrub.
- Prefers partial shade with no afternoon sun, but I have managed to keep one in decent shape in almost full sun.
- Blooms from early summer to the middle of fall here in zone 6B.
- They will bloom pink in alkaline soil and blue in more acidic soil. Through the art of transplanting and indecisiveness, I have managed to bring out three colors in these. When they were against my foundation they bloomed lavender. When planted in two other locations, I was blessed with true pink blooms and also a whitish/pink bloom.
- I have given these very limited winter protection and they have made it through each year without issue.
Here are some additional photos and hopefully, now that I’ve left them in the same location for a full season and do not plan on moving them again, I will get even better photos this summer (assuming the deer still can’t find them).
As much as I like the blooms, the foliage looks tremendous all spring, summer and fall:
My whitish/pink blooms from last year:
Now I must confess, I feel like I am cheating a bit by using these instead of some of the more classic options (like Nikko Blue) where it takes a little more effort to get it right. I also don’t like the fact that they can be found in every Lowe’s and Home Depot across the country. But, some times something just “works” and you need to accept that and move on. This is one of those times.
ONG
All gardeners are in search of plants that offer multi-seasonal interest, especially those of us living in colder climates. We also love plants that are dynamic and change throughout the seasons; plants that reinvent themselves as the months go by. Well ladies and gents, I would like to share one of those with you today.
I have lived in my current home for about six years and when we moved in, we had a completely blank slate. Not a plant to be found other than one large tree at the back of the property. The first shrub I planted was a Viburnum Plicatum ‘Shoshoni’. I had never had owned one before (do we really own our plants? A debate for another day) since I didn’t have enough space. Viburnums are typically large specimens but when I found ‘Shoshoni’ at the local nursery (thank you Rutgers Nursery) I was pumped to see that is was more diminutive than most.
Some of it’s attributes:
- It is a doublefile viburnum and a seedling of the larger, more well known ‘Shasta’
- It reaches a height of 5 feet and a width of 8 feet
- Survives from zone 5 to zone 8
- Deciduous shrub
- It has been deer resistant so far for me (although now jinxed)
- Blooms in the late Spring, typically for 2-3 weeks in May
- The flowers are flat topped and are not fragrant (although I have no sense of smell and cannot confirm officially)
- Thrive in part shade to full sun
- Produces red berries in August that mature black (I must admit I do not know if the fact that I have other viburnums present lead to the production of berries since this was my first year with berries )
- Tolerant of most soil types (including NJ clay)
Here it is fully leafed out in early spring
In full bloom in May
The leaves curled after blooming giving it an interesting design appeal
The berries emerging in August (which were quickly eaten by the birds)
Phenomenal fall color prior to the leaves falling off