i am not sure a mock orange [Philadelphus] is a shade plant ... mine arent for sure ...

otherwise ... i buy all my stuff small .... as i like to say.. i have more time than money .... and as a collector i do have to keep getting stuff ... cheaper the better ...

i would NOT play around with potting up... pot culture is not really that easy .... w/o some practice .... so if you have no background.. just plant the darn things.. IF they are appropriate to the location ...

i will leave the other 2 to others ...

ken

Yes, the Mock Orange will be in partial shade, the other two in full, dry shade I've read it is sort of 50/50 on whether or not it will flower well in partial shade but I'm willing to give it a shot.

In a year those little quart plants will be as big as gallon sized purchases, in two years they'll probably double again. Better to save some money and spend it on more plants!

I'm amazed by how big some of those little rooted cutting grew over the years, now the problem is deciding what stays and what goes..... luckily it's not my garden anymore and I can clutter up a new plot!

The mock orange should be ok in partial shade, just won't bloom as heavily. Don't know about the loropetalum.

The aruncus is a large (unless it's a dwarf variety) perennial, not a shrub. It would also be happier in moist shade, not dry.

how about i put it this way ..

mock orange is one of the most gangly ..... unsightly ... flowering shrubs in the world ... just plain ugly ....

and the ONLY REASON to have one.. is for its gloriously scented flowers...

to plant one.. in a position where its flower output would decline.. would.. IN MY GARDEN .. make the ugly bush not worthwhile ... in fact.. i have a couple of no name monsters that i usually decide to kill every year.. though i never seem to get to that project ....

again ... defining shade is impossible.. and you are left with just trying it... to define its vigor in that spot ...

though i would not do so .. you go knock yourself out with it.. if it makes you happy.. DO IT ...

you do understand that though various things are drought tolerant.. successful establishment will require a year or two of proper watering???? ask if you need further info in that regard ...

ken

Aruncus is a moisture-loving herbaceous perennial. Loropetalum is a tender (min. ~10F) broad-leaved evergreen shrub growing pretty big where not destroyed by hard winters. Be wary of hardiness zones on plant labels/signs, if they give a min. temp instead (as I saw on a block of Viburnum tinus at a local outlet recently) that is what to zero in on. Something like Loropetalum, that may begin to fail at around 10F might be labeled or signed Zone 7 because the average annual minimum temperature for USDA Hardiness Zone 7 is 0-10F. How this works out in practice is that in order to persist long term in Zone 7 a plant needs to be hardy below 0F, which of course a kind hardy to about 10F is not.

Hmm, thanks for all the advice. I think I may just give the aruncus a shot and not bother with the other two. I'm OK with full winter die back, I think!

one other thought ...

stuff in really small pots... most of the time.. enjoys the rootmass being somewhat barerooted ... so that the end tips are actually in native soil .... they have usually been in the pots longer than a 60 day annual from seed .... and they tend to have circling roots .... and to do that.. timing in early spring is very important ...

i think it really helps them get going faster ...

its a bit different that sticking annuals and perennials into the ground ...

if you need more info in that regard.. post away ...

since you sound a bit bummed about your list.. try another post asking for suggestions ... rather than titled to size ...

as far as i am concerned.. you are spot on.. on going smaller ... cheaper.. easier to plant.. faster to get established.. etc ....

good luck
ken

My loropetalums languished in dry shade and I had to try something else. I had an area where I wanted something purple. That was not the shrub for the space. You can plant whatever you want, but any reason to put sunny flowering shrubs in your shady spot when there are shade flowering shrubs out there?