Any shrub lovers here?

[william.b]

Thanks Ann,
Since I ask for this forum I'II start it off.Lets hear some of your favorites.Its hard for me to pick a favorite,up near the top would have to be Hydrangeas.I hope to become an expert on these some day,I still have a ways to go.One of my favorite hydrangeas is 'Annabelle' shes a beauty.As for big leaf I'd have to go with "Penny Mac' shes a rebloomer like 'Endless Summer ' just not as advertised and promoted.As for Oak Leaf theres a new one called 'Vaughn's Lillie' that gets 6' tall with massive white blooms in late spring.
Some of my other favorites are:Buddleia,Fothergilla'Mt Airy' a goodun,Itea 'Henry's Garnet',Crepe Myrtle 'dynamite' and 'Pink velour',Spiraea'Anthony Waterer' and 'Magic Carpet',Weigela 'Wine n Roses' and 'Pink Poppet' and Wisteria 'Amethyst Falls'.
Anybody else got any favorites?
Thanks
William B.Z-6

[vicki]

William,
So HAPPY to see this forum. Yes, I'm definitely a shrub lover too. :) I love hydrangeas also, I have a few but they are real small yet. As for my favorite shrub in my gardens so far, it has to be weigela, don't know if it has a 'name', but it is pink and so covered with flowers you cannot see the branches. The hummer's flock to them when these are in bloom.
I have some huge spireas, that literally look like mounds of snow in the spring. They are planted along the front yard and make a nice hedge.
I have quite a few other shrubs, but they are small and have not been planted long enough for me to say "favorite' yet.
I do have one huge shrub that was purchased as a redtwig dogwood, but pretty sure that is not what it is. It is about 8' tall now and in early summer is has flat white flowers and then it has blue berries on it. I'm thinking maybe some type of viburnumn (sp?). It is really pretty and a fast grower with lovely red/orangy fall color.
Last season I planted a purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria), rose of sharon, butterfly bushes, pee gee hydrangea, Andromeda pieris japoconia 'mountain fire', nikko blue hydrangeas (3), and a few others can't think of right now.
I do have a list about a mile long of shrubs I'd love to get SOON.

[Ann B.]

I adore my Purple Smoke Bush. It is not supposed to do well here, and I have not pruned it like I should. It is now leaning about 45 degrees to the south and needs to be slowly pulled back upright and new soil added.

It had two problems this past year. There are stll old, enormous roots from the ancient pecan tree that was hit by lightening. That is stll leaving some voids in the soil.

Apparently, one of those voids caused my Purple Smoke bush to lean over with the heavy winds of Ivan.

This is not an easy fix as I have to slowly get it to start growing upright while I fill the void with top soil.

Still, it is doing fine, and it still needs to be pruned.

When is the best time to prune this beautiful bush?

[Glen in BCz7]

Congrats, Ann, on getting this bush to grow way down where it's not supposed to...these things do happen, thankfully!

Your plant could be pruned anytime before it gets really growing next spring, that way the new growth, which is the prettiest, will be more vigorous and branching.

I had to get rid of a big one here when we moved in, too close to the entranceway of the house. It took years of cutting the thing to the ground before it finally gave up and died. In other words, you can prune real heavy once it gets well established.

I prefer them kept short and heavily pruned to keep lots of vigorous new growth each spring, too many are just left to get rather gangly small trees...not as attractive to my eyes.

Another interesting thing about these, before intermittent mist they were easily propagated using "french layering". This still works real well if you want to play around with a plant or two, or even just one branch to get some more younguns.

The idea is to peg down a branch in the spring into a long horizontal trench just a few inches deep, then gradually fill the trench in as vertical sprouts come up from each of the leaf nodes. By fall, these sprouts will all be rooted and able to get separated from the original branch...real low tech and guaranteed viable plants.

Softwood cuttings are the norm nowadays, but cotinus is not the easiest to root. Have to get them stuck in a very narrow window in June, in my experience.

Have fun,
Glen

[shepp]

Glad to see this section.
cotinus goggygria purpurea.
my favorite. great seller.
P.G.Hydrangea. another great one.
acer palmatum purpurea. red japanese maple. is the third plant on the list.
ornamental grass. especially the miscanthus sinensis type.
Hakuro nishiki willow. for the foliage
corkscrew willow for that twisted look.
Grey Owl juniper , i like the evergreen foliage.
Variegated weigela florida. for the foliage and bloom.
Norway Spruce for the majestic boughs when they are mature.
just lost 3 of them at my moms ,40 feet tall , a redoak that my younger brothers and i built our first tree house in as kids uprooted from all of the rain and crashed right down on them. i planted those trees 36 years ago.at least there is 3 left.
i like Red Oaks too. for the wildlife . its an acorn thang you know!
Hmmm what else.
shepp

[vicki]

Here is a few of the ones on my to GET list:

Abelia- 'Edward Goucher'
(A. x grandiflora) Trumpet-like, lavender-purple flowers, May until frost. Glossy dark green foliage adds to its beauty and popularity as a hedging plant. Hybridized by Edward Goucher in 1911.
Zone 6, 3-5 feet, Fragrant, gr 1, Full sun Partial shade

Amelanchier
Service Berry
Family: Rosaceae
(Amel-an-chier: name origin unknown)
'Regent ' NATIVE RANGE
(A. alnifolia) All of the great attributes of Amelanchier; large white flowers, brilliant yellow and orange fall color, and a dwarf upright, mounded shrub form.
Zone 2, 4-6 feet, gr 1, Full sun Partial shade

Andromeda polifolia
Bog Rosemary
Family: Ericaceae
(Androm-eda: Greek mythological name)
Andromeda polifolia 'Blue Ice'
Bog Rosemary is low mounding shrub with excellent blue, rosemary-like foliage. Pinkish-white, urn-like flowers from May to July. It grows best in moist but well drained acid soil. Use in perennial borders, rock garden or in the front of the shrub border as a low edger. Available June
Zone 2, 12 inches, gr 2, Full Sun Partial Shade

Does anyone grow any of these?

[Glen in BCz7]

Vicki--I see the Edward Goucher around here a lot, more popular in commercial landscapes than private, but it is a good choice for either. The fairly evergreen foliage looks good all season long, and the flowers keep coming until frost, too.

Tried summer cuttings but they didn't take for me, for some reason . I think they should be fairly straightforward to propagate, sometimes things just don't work the first time, I guess.

The andromeda is a beautiful blue foliage evergreen groundcover. Needs a very acid spot, grows wild here in pure peat boggy areas. I sold a lot of these in bloom, they get covered with their pink flowers, an easy sell.

They can be divided quite easily as they spread out, since they root wherever their stems touch the ground. They can be done from cuttings, too, but I think their selflayering habit almost makes it unnecessary.

[sue salley]

Hi all. Love my flowering shrubs. Old fashioned lilac has always been my favorite. Mine are all started from my great grandmothers. I also have Japanese lilac tree, which blooms white but is more tree like than regular lilacs. Miss Kim (pink) blooms very young and is a big seller for me. I want Sensation next.
Purple smoke trees sell very well for us here. As do mock orange. Mine blooms twice each year, it is Snow Velvet.
Two of my very favorites are nine bark Diabolo, and seven-son-flower. Can't remember latin,too early in the morning for me.
Would love to have fother gila, know any good sources?

[sue salley]

Seven son flower is heptacodium, now that I've opened my eyes a little more. Blooms white in fall then red bracts that look like second bloom. What more could you ask for?

[vicki]

Sue,
The heptacodium (seven son flower) and mock orange are also on my 'to get' list.

Here's another one I'd love to try.
Leptodermis
Family: Rubiaceae
(Lepto-dermis: slender skin)
Leptodermis oblonga
A real blooming machine! A wonderful, little known shrub with a low mounding habit and small violet-purple, lilac-like blooms that appear in late spring and don’t stop until frost. Very fragrant! This little shrub a great commercial potential! Available June. Zone 5, 12-18 inches, gr 1.5, Full Sun

Unfortunately wasn't able to find an image to attach of this shrub.