|
| Where I step off my deck in my backyard the previous owners planted a half-moon shaped hedge of some sort of spirea. It looks ok, nice guide to lead one into the backyard. However, it flowers a beautiful clear pink in May (when everything else blooms as well) and within a week turns to green and tan. Not great looking. I have been trimming it into a hedge form for a couple of years just to give it some shape and get rid of the spent flowers. I am looking to replace this hedge though with something that looks better for longer. The hedge should be about 2 to 3 feet tall, and about as wide. It can be informal, but should still look presentable without a lot of pruning and fussing. Here are some ideas I had so far: Compact varieties of pg hydrangeas such as Little Lime, Little Lamb or Bombshell, though they may still get bigger than what I envision. Other options are small varieties of clethra, such as Hummingbird or Vanilla Spice, though I have not seen any pictures of them used as a hedge. Than there are the new varieties of Buddleia that stay small and compact. can you guys help me with my selection process? Maybe point out pros and cons of those ideas? Maybe suggest something different I hadn't thought of? The area is highly visible from my deck, gets sun from around 9am until about 2pm, has decent soil, not a bad place overall for shrubs. Oh, and my soil is Indiana clay amended over the years with leave mulch, so most acidic soil loving plants are not going to work for me.
Thanks in advance.
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 12:53
| If you can't grow acid loving shrubs, you ain't growing clethra. End of story. Lavender is a distinct possibility, as of course is boxwood. Both will require a serious pruning once a year. I've like germander when I've seen it, but have no personal experience with it. Pennisetum or another smallish ornamental grass will work. In general, I think the size is going to be difficult to achieve with shrubs. |
|
- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 17:08
| How wide are you expecting the plants to be? Even shrubs that have been bred to be short can be wide, especially in bloom. |
|
| Not to sound stubborn, but clethra does grow here, it seems to tolerate our clay soil somewhat. I was referring to things like rhododendrons, azaleas, pieris, and such. I like the lavender idea, I have several around my yard and they only require a once a year shearing. I could go for one of the larger varieties even. Ideally the shrubs should not exceed 3 feet in width... |
|
| Just a question, but do you prune off the Spirea before it leafs out in spring? I shorten mine to about 10 inches, just as the leaf buds appear. The benefits are lush new growth, puts the bloom time back a few weeks, so everything looks nice at a different time. The short, Japanese Spirea, bloom on new growth, so your shearing them short, should help increase the bloom quantity too. My flowers last a couple weeks, as they gradually all get opened. I love the little Spirea, they are always colorful, RELIABLE, no work except that yearly cutting back. So an idea for you to consider. Change out the bushes if you only have plain green. Doing an every other variety, with two very different colored leaves, could be quite striking. |
|
| I usually tidy the hedge up a bit before fall so it looks decent in the winter, as decent as a bare spirea hedge can look... I like your idea of different colored spirea... I have always liked Goldflame spirea, right up to the point when it flowers... hate the pink flower color against the golden warm red leave colors...I'll consider it, thanks Goodhors. |
|
| some other suggestions that might work for you: Russian sage, caryopteris - there are several varieties with yellow or variegated foliage, leptodermis oblonga-very twiggy so has good winter presence, dwarf red twig dogwood, Lemon Queen -a yellow-leafed spirea that I think is superior to Gold Mound |
|
- Posted by GreenHavenGarden none (My Page) on Tue, Jul 24, 12 at 15:30
| Spirea Double Play Artist has deep purple/reddish new growth followed by deep fushia flowers. After the flowers fade I cut them off and shear the shrub slightly which triggers more new colorful growth. I am very impressed with this one and the size is right for you. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.