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Alabama Gardening

Anthony Waterer Spireas..Help!

15 years ago

I had my yard landscaped last spring and the landscaper planted 7 in my front garden. They were gorgeous all spring and summer blooming profusely up until the first really cold weather. They now look dead, with black limbs and hardly any leaves. I scarped the limbs and they are still green, so they are still alive but look terrible. Is this how they look in winter? If so, I am very disappointed, as I asked for all shrubs in the front garden be evergreen. As beautiful as they were, that is how ugly they are now. Is this normal for Anthony Waterers? Are they always this ugly in winter, and will they rebound in spring? Any information about these shrubs will be appreciated??

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Comments (3)

tsmith2579
15 years ago
Yes, it is a deciduous shrub. Yes, they look like dried sticks in winter. Yes, they will be pretty again this Spring. If I paid a landscaper my hard earned money and if I told him I wanted evergreens, I would call him back to my place for a conference. Don't tell him why until he arrives and then tell him to prepare to replace the spireas with the evergreens which you requested. You didn't get what you requested and he should be prepared to correct his mistake. Be polite but firm.
shay2006
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your response! I must admit I am a novice with all of this and did not know they were deciduous, considering she told me all the shrubs she picked out would be evergreen. I used Pike's nursery off of Hwy 280, and they closed a couple of months after we had the work done, so I can't call them :(. I have learned a valuable lesson, and will do my homework IF, and when I ever hire a professional landscaper again. I guess the good news is, at least I can look forward to beautiful shrubs again this spring and summer.
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Thanks, Nurseryman, I really appreciate that you responded to my query. Right now, the Neon Flash is about 30" wide in one direction and about 24" wide in another direction. I can see it had been pruned. It's about 24" high as well. I would love for it to get 4' tall, the better to shade the sun-sensitive plants I mentioned, but I may have to prune it so that it doesn't actually touch and smush the nearby heuchera. It certainly is a beautiful shrub, and I really look forward to seeing the bright deep pink flowers in the spring. Right now, it has pink flower clusters all over that are about 1" in diameter. How big are the spring/summer clusters? I understand that they are bigger. Thanks!!!
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If you are in the PNW some of the modern lower maintenance, more or less continuous blooming roses still look generally good here in the Seattle area. Otherwise there is shrubby cinquefoil but as with roses you have to be mindful of foliage disease potential when selecting specific cultivars as many of these have rust or mites by this time of the year. If you have a humid situation or some shade Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars might appeal, with the lace-cap flower style ones not being as dumpy as the mop-head selections. If you go to a large independent garden center and walk around you will see what shrubs they have in flower at this time, how they seem to be holding up. The hydrangeas are probably the most likely of the familiar groups with many different cultivars on the market to have a fresh and clean appearance at this time.
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tsmith2579
15 years ago
Shay, look at paperwork to determine exactly when your work was done. Pikes was bought through the courts under bankruptcy some time in February. If the Hwy 280 store was bought before your work was done then you may have recourse by calling Pike's in Atlanta. They are still operating there.

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