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| My beautiful viburnum carlesii keeled over. I mean it, just fell over, and when I pulled it out of the ground it looked rotted just below soil line. The trunk had no roots attached. Yet it was growing long enough this season that I can see the small underdeveloped flowers. It was at least 10 years old and by all appearances, happy. I
I wondered if this is a case of late death by girdling. I'll check out the root system. Now to the opportunity: I need something else along this part sunny path, whose shape might echo a handsome spirea 'shirobana' nearby. This spirea has a good rounded shape, about 3 tall by 4 wide; I stay on top of the pruning and shaping, but not meatballed by any means. Deutzia was suggested. If there is more than one kind of the larger varieties, which one?
OPen to all suggestions, cautions and raves. Thanks,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' is a beautiful shrub and would approach your size requirements. |
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| Marie, I'm really sorry to hear about your Viburnum. I found a Deutzia last year that I thought was just beautiful. It is Deutzia kalmiiflora. What about replacing it with another Viburnum? Need a change in that spot? Kalmia, Enkianthus, Symphoricarpos or Chaenomeles Speciosa? |
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| Thanks for the suggestions Kalmia- killed one already. They get too rangey for this part of the garden Enkianthus- love it, esp the red belled. It also will get too big and rangey for the spot. This is not a woodland garden Have to look up symphoricarpos and the Quince you are referring to I thought about replacing with another fragrant viburnum. But I'm ready for a change. The spot doesn't get full full sun. By midsummer the sun is dipping behind the trees. I'd guess 4-5 hours of pretty bright sun, then bright shade. I'm up for anything different, but fragrance is a bonus, as are winter interest and minimal PRUNING. I am so tired of keeping up with spireas and their dirty stemy flower corpses. mt |
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| Neither Spirea 'Golden elf' or S. 'Ogon' need pruning like others. No flowers to prune off either. Golden elf is very low and you simply prune the top 3 inches or so with shears in late winter. Ogon needs pruning only for shape. It's in bloom now. |
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| Right, I've got the tiny little chartreuse one, whose name I forget. But the Shirobana is an entirely different animal whose scale and density don't have any relationship to the small ones. I;m commenting about the amount of upkeep it takes to keep any of the big spireas from looking like a huge pile of twigs early in the season. I keep doing it because I like the plant, but it is one of the higher maintenance shrubs in my garden. Marie |
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| Have you considered Calycanthus, (carolina allspice), or a fothergilla? Some of the allspice cultivars are very fragrant, but not sure of its fall color. The fothergilla has excellent fall foliage, but not fragrant, I don't recall. Both are carefree shrubs. |
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| Spot on, anitamo. I remember another thread where a few people were raving about this. So I ordered Hartlage Wine from Bluestone, which means it will be a baby for years. I see they also have the white form. My friend had a temporary solution: I had a big clematis at the base of the viburnum, and it is still there and sprouting. "Just move that trellis over here" she said, pointing to empty space once occupied by the viburnum. Maybe for this season I'll go to nurseries and look at plants (see if I can possibly find Calycanthus in bloom, or in any form for that matter) Sometimes it serves me well to move just a little slowly and make a more informed choice. I'm still open to ideas. I really do research the plants that are suggested to me. Thanks everyone, |
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| Same thing happened to my viburnum. My first thought was that voles had a field day with all the snow cover as it was rotted or gnawed away at the base... It's possible that it was root girdling, but 1/2 the shrub is still alive (I cut out the dead trunk), so I'm not about to dig it up to find out. |
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