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diggerdee

Deutzia Pink Minor

I'm going through my pot ghetto trying to get stuff in the ground, and I have a deutzia Pink Minor to plant. From what I've read, this plant likes full sun, but I'm curious as to whether anyone has grown it in less than full sun, and if so, how much and how does/did it do? Anyone actually grow it in mostly shade?

Mine has been in a pot for YEARS, mostly on or near my back patio, which is about half sun / half shade, although the sun that it does get is very hot (very large asphalt square at the end of the asphalt driveway.) It has survived in these conditions for several years, but it's time to get it off the driveway and let it dig into some real soil.

Of course, this patch of asphalt is the sunniest spot in my yard, so wherever I plant this deutzia it won't be in full sun, but I do have spots with varying degrees of sun where I can place it.

I'd love to know if any of you have experience with this. Thanks!

Dee

Comments (11)

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    9 years ago

    I don't have that particular one, but I do grow 'Nikko' and 'Chardonnay Pearls'. Both get morning sun and afternoon shade and seem to do just fine that way.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    9 years ago

    Dee, I don't have that one either. I did just plant a new variety last year, finally got it out of the pot ghetto after two years. [g] I cannot remember the name of the variety or find it in my records. I am surprised that there is barely a flower on it this year. I don't know what happened, if it was the winter or because it is in about 4 hrs of sun facing West. Sorry, I'm sure that's no help.

  • calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
    9 years ago

    I have a dwarf white for 20 years in mostly shade and it blooms every year. Al

  • Campanula UK Z8
    9 years ago

    I have been on a little crusade to encourage my customers to grow more deutzias. They dropped off the radar in the UK a little, along with philadelphus, but I find all of them to be easy, tough and utterly charming. Although I know nothing about Pink Minor, I have grown both D.longifolia and D.discolour....which are in the lineage of P.Minor. I cannot recommend these underused shrubs highly enough - currently craving D.setchuenensis. var.corymbifera - a gorgeous dwarf shrub.
    Lovely plant DD, hoping you enjoy it as much as I would.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    9 years ago

    Ooops! Now I know why I couldn't find the name. It was a Philadelphus that I was thinking of. I added 'Buckley's Quill' last fall and there's only a sprinkling of flowers this spring. I really wanted a fragrant Philadelphus and I was disappointed with BQ when it did flower in the pot last year. It's a double flower but I'd rather have the fragrance.

    Sorry, Dee, definitely no help here. [g]

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you all for your input! I really do love this little shrub, and always kind of forget about it till its in bloom in spring. I love it so much so that's why I'm hoping to put it in part shade, close to the house. Al's post gives me hope!

    Campanula, are all yours in sun?

    PM2, no problem! Actually, for the tenth time in ten years (at least) I am contemplating yanking a philadelphus. For the first 8 years it did absolutely nothing. I was waiting and waiting to see and smell these supposedly glorious blooms, but not a one. Then last year, when I finally decided to remove this big,suckering, do-nothing plant out of the garden, it bloomed! I smelled it before I saw it. So it got a reprieve. But I'm not seeing anything yet this year, so maybe.....

    Thanks guys! I don't think I'll put my little deutzia as close to the house as I'd like (too shady) but I'll try it in part shade and see how it does.

    Dee

  • Campanula UK Z8
    9 years ago

    No, they are in part shade (around 4 hours a day) and heavily oppressed by rampant lilacs. Really deserve better tbh. Deutzia gracilis grows well in a north facing, no direct sun aspect here in my sons housing co-op so I suspect a lot of these are more shade tolerant than might be supposed.
    PM.....have been down the non-fragrant phildelphus route more times than I care to think about.....I even suspected my nose was somehow defective since I have only one solitary shrub which has any fragrance at all....and that is the smaller microphylla little leaf philadelphus (I think my variety is Silver Fountain....or Silver Shower?)....smells like Bazooka Joe bubblegum to me.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    9 years ago

    Dee, you like the shrub so much I had to look it up. Very cute pink flowers, I can see why you like it.

    As for Philadelphus, we had one here when we moved in over 30 years ago and it was very fragrant, and perfumed the entire back yard about the 3rd week of June. But it was in a lot line border backed up by neighbor trees that as they grew larger, it was in more shade and we ended up removing the entire shrub border back in 2004. The Philadelphus was dug out and discarded because it had become so leggy and lanky. And I thought I could replace it easily. Oh well, not so easy I guess.

    Any way, hope you find the perfect spot for that Pink Minor!

    Campanula, I guess I'm going to have to keep looking and I'm finding with any plant I want to be fragrant, that if I don't purchase it when it is in bloom, I'm usually disappointed. I did the same thing a couple of years ago with a Honeysuckle. I took one out, replaced it and the new one smells like perfume, that I find unpleasant.

    I guess this is a good reminder to get to the nurseries soon, because it's almost time for Philadelphus to bloom and the Honeysuckle is just opening blooms.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well, by sheer coincidence, I opened an email last night from Bluestone, having a 50% off sale.... and I bought another Deutzia! A Yuki Snowflake. Definitely an impulse buy. It's not like I don't have dozens and dozens of unplanted plants in my pot ghetto, waiting for homes, or that I said I wouldn't buy any more plants till they were all in the ground.

    But after campanula's hearty endorsement, and the bolstered hopes that these shrubs will perform in half sun/half shade, I figured what the heck? For 8 bucks it was worth it!

    Thanks for the added info on your growing conditions, campanula. I'm really glad to hear that these beauties can take some shade!

    Dee

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    9 years ago

    LOL Dee, you bought another Deutzia!! :-) Good for you! Maybe you can plant the both of them side by side and get them both in the ground this season. Nice photo! It really is pretty! And I love that white trellis material in the background.

    I guess I'm going to have to go over and check out Bluestone again. :-)

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    9 years ago

    Hooray for deutzia!! I've never understood why these are so underused. Especially 'Nikko' which has been around for a long time and a smaller size. I have about 5 different deutzias and can't say enough about them. Even in quite a bit of shade they bloom.

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