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Suggest a specimen shrub - zone 4 Vermont

10 years ago

I'm new to gardening and looking for a fragrant, flowering, four-season-interest, low-maintenance specimen shrub that will get full sun in a semi-protected spot between the front door and the deck. I live in Vermont zone 4. No pink flowers, please. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and expertise!

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Comments (6)

listener
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh, I forgot to mention that I want to keep the height to about 6-8 feet. Thanks!
rogerzone6
10 years ago
Ninebark has exfoliating bark, maroon leaves and flowers in the spring. There are several different varieties.
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I have an old lilac, three rose-of-sharons, and a weigela which get morning sun only; they are located on the east side of the house, which is two stories. [The lilac is actually planted less than 2' from the northeast corner of the house.] They do fine, flower enthusiastically, and aren't leggy -- though admittedly I've never been responsible for any of those shrubs in other locations. I also have a couple of 4-5' tall camellias which were planted by the previous owner about six years ago. One is a japonica and the other is either a sasanqua or a hybrid of some sort. Until last August, they had only two or three hours of sun in the middle of the day, being shaded in the morning by the single-story part of the house and from early afternoon by two silver maples (the largest of which was cut down then). The camellias were happy with that amount of direct sun; it remains to be seen how they will react to nearly full afternoon sun in the height of summer. [You're only one zone colder than I am, and IIRC some camellias are okay in 6b, though it would probably be better if they had some shelter from winter winds. My japonica is spring-flowering, and a late freeze can damage its new leaves; the sasanqua is fall-flowering and has never had spring leaf damage.]
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Does the simply shaped green foliage of the lilac make a nice contast to the colored and cut foliage of your maple and smoke bush and so enhance their beauty? How about growing one of the smaller clematis that blooms later in the season over your lilac? (There is a gentleman, David5311 who sometimes visits the perennials forum who has successfully done this with multiple shrub/clematis pairings.) It will save you the trouble of starting over again with a new shrub. Get a big sized plant to start, not one of the little tiny starter plants so that it can compete with your already established shrubs, and match the ultimate size of the clematis with the ultimate size of your lilac. The folks in the clematis forum may have some specific suggestions for you. I know there are some clematis that are supposed to grow no longer that 5 or 6 feet (marketed as patio clematis, I believe), so they might work on your lilac. Many shrubs don't have a long season of interest. Of Duluth's suggestions that I have grown, mock orange and burning bush are both of interest for a relatively short time period. Some of the northern lights azaleas have nice fall color and of course the gorgeous spring blooms, but not much summer or winter interest. Blueberries have spring flowers, summer berries, and fall color, and a few have nicely colored winter twigs. There are geen and white variegated red-twigged dogwoods which have the foliage during the growing season, spring flowers, summer berries, and the red branches in the winter. In order to keep it small enough it would need some trimming, but it is suggested that you prune about 1/3 of the branches down to near ground level each year to keep the branch color (older branches lose the bright red), so it might work for you. There are also veriegated euonymus with green and white or gold and white foliage. In addition to Anthony Waterer there are many other spireas that have green to gold foliage, pink or white blossoms, and some have nice red/gold/orange fall foliage. Some of the smaller weigelas have colored foliage, though their blossoming period isn't too long.
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Juniperus communis.
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Sumac? Is this growing on the other side of the fence, in the adjacent yard? They form groves by root spread. Sobaria is possible. The leaves of both are similar. This is definitely not a first year seedling.
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maries1120
10 years ago
Whart about a Korean Spice Viburnum, Juddii, or other viburnum? Not all have fragrant flowers.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
10 years ago
4 season of interest, no pink, fragrance, and flowering is an awful lot to expect of a single plant. If there is room for more than one plant, you can combine several to get this, but I doubt that any one shrub will do all of this. Perhaps you can plant some annuals or perennials around the feet of your shrub to provide interest when your shrub isn't providing interest or you could plant a light weight vine to climb into your shrub to provide summer flowers.
-Weigela won't be of interest in winter, but will be the other 3 seasons. Some have variegated leaves, and they have either red or pink flowers, so check on specific varieties for flower color
-Variegated colored twig dogwood. They are available with yellow or red twigs for winter interest and either gold and green or white and green variegated leaves for interest spring, summer, and fall. Not flowering in an ornamental sense, but the leaves are as ornamental as flowers IMO. Not fragrant.
PJM rhodies have lovely deep mahogany foliage in winter, though it does curl in really cold weather. It's a deep reddish green in warm weather. Flowers are a screaming magenta (does that count as pink for you?) though 'Landmark' has a deeper color. No fragrance, but 4 season interest.
Viburnum carlesii or Burkwoodii have lovely scented spring flowers and fall color, but are fairly boring in summer and winter.
Fothergilla has spring flowers with a light honey scent, basic green summer leaves, and gorgeous red, orange, and gold fall color that hangs on later than most other autumn foliage. No particular winter interest.
Birdsnest spruce. No flowers, but 4 season interest.

I know all of these will grow for me, but I am not sure if they will grow in a full zone 4, so check their hardiness. Regardless of what you plant, it will need care the first year and will need watering in long dry spells. Putting mulch under it will cut down on weeding.

Alternatively, grow a type 3 clematis on a pretty trellis. The trellis will provide winter interest, there will be a long sason of flowers, but they don't have a scent.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 years ago
Burlington is practically infested with Carol Mackie daphne. Depending on just how cold you get, it may be a possibility.
mrsgalihad
10 years ago
What about Oakleaf Hydrangea? There is one called "Pee Wee" that is supposed to be in the 6-8 ft range.

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