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Drip zone? What to plant?
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Posted by linnea56 z5 IL (My Page) on Fri, Oct 30, 09 at 18:57
| I have a small bed in front of my dining room. It is about 8 feet long and only 4 ft deep, where it ends at the sidewalk that goes up to the porch.
It had 4 weigelias there for years. None of them ever grew over 1 foot tall. I got tired of looking at these underperformers and pulled them out a few weeks ago. Now almost the only thing left is a birds nest spruce, at least 15-18 years old, which is doing well, but that is at the front edge, by the sidewalk.
I’m now thinking about what to put there next spring. Because it is only 4 feet deep I am leaning against evergreens. But the right shrub or perennial? Two windows are there so it can’t be anything over 2 feet tall.
Isn’t there some issue with a "drip zone"? Something about many plants not wanting to grow close to a house? In a different bed in the back, I have a row of astilbe that have never grown either. They are also about a foot out from the house.
There must be some reason why the weigelias never grew. I have others elsewhere in the yard that are 3-4 feet tall. But, a clump of iris also in the zone has grown really well. That was only stuck there when I had to move it quickly, and now is the healthiest iris I have!
I have been thinking about some kind of shrub rose. Would they tolerate such a location? It gets full morning sun, and is shaded by the house after noon. The adjacent sidewalk can make it hot and dry in the summer. Any other ideas? Thanks!
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Drip zone? What to plant?
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| From what you are saying, it sounds as though your area is dry. The spruce is likely contributing to the situation, and of course, iris, at the very least, don't like wet feet. I cannot possibly recommend for your climate, but I would be looking at lists of plants that will tolerate, and even thrive, with low moisture. |
RE: Drip zone? What to plant?
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| Big Root Geranium (G. maccrorhizum) would do well in the situation you describe. |
RE: Drip zone? What to plant?
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| I would agree, the first few feet from the house are usually very dry. I overcame this by simply laying out a soaker hose every spring (and putting it away for the winter). It was a shadier location, but I grew a row of relatively fast-growing Hosta, e.g. 'Guacamole', which was very effective in covering up that area, including the sometimes unsightly "drip-line". |
RE: Drip zone? What to plant?
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well up against the house ,i personally would always choose evergreen material over perennial- for the all season beauty. chamaecyparis or.nana lutea is a handsome smaller golden chamy. Berberis crimson beauty , though not evergreen, would be a good complement to the chamy. There are also some neat low junipers in many colors. You could plant some 2-3' perennials to pop up between the shrubs, for some height and shape and floral interest.
best,
mindy |
RE: Drip zone? What to plant?
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This pic is 4 years old, and the hostas that are here are full-grown now, and they do great. To solve the problem of the drip-zone, I filled it with stones- you know, the ones that 'grow' in your yard all the time. I had a good stash of them from when we built the house already, so they came in handy to fill this gap, and they don't look so bad to me.
There's no drip-line on that left side, so that year I put in some drought-tolerant annuals, which I liked at the time (gerbera daisy, looks like celosia of some sort, and coleus- although I wouldn't put coleus there again...they aren't entirely drought tolerant, nor is the space entirely dry, so they DID work). Before that, I recall using nasturtiums, and them doing really well, too. I now have a patch of daylilies there, which thrives wonderfully.
And that little bush is a $6 Rhody from Walmart. Seems to like it there, and is now about 2' tall. Once it gets really big, I'll take out the hostas from the back since it'll be covering them. Like you, I don't want it to ever cover the windows, either, which are barely visible at the top of the pic, so I'll likely keep it trimmed back (or perhaps I bought a smaller version; not sure which variety it is.) At any rate, thought it would give you some ideas. 
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