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Cottage Gardens

Shrub suggestion for front of porch

16 years ago

My house is built on a slab with a small front porch about 20' wide. Being on a slab their is not much height to work with. I currently have 5 Soft Touch Hollies but they have suffered during this drought so I am thinking of removing them, amending the soil and replanting. What would you recommend? I don't want anything that gets too big or requires a lot of trimming. Blooms would be a bonus. Zone 8 hot, hot and humid.

Below is a side picture of the porch so you can see what I have to work with.

faye

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Comments (7)

natal
16 years ago
Faye, what's the sun exposure? Full sun? Part shade? How many hours a day?
girlgroupgirl
16 years ago
How about putting soaker hoses in there?

Dwarf gardenias do OK, and I LOVE wheeler's dwarf pittosporum for it's care free planting!

http://www.fowlersnursery.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=610
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Let's make this clear (to me). I'm confused, I guess, because azaleas should do just fine with morning (only) sun. Are you saying that the white FLOWERS turn brown so fast or that the entire plants are croaking for some reason? If it's just the flowers, then I'd suggest that you replace the azaleas with more azaleas, but of a different color. The fungus disease that attacks azalea flowers seems more common on white ones, for some reason. This disease, called Petal Blight, can be prevented by a combination of horticultural housekeeping and timely applications of fungicide. If the whole plant is dieing, then I still say that you need to figure out why before planting anything else. I'll respectfully suggest that Nandina dometica is probably not the best of choices for you. As pretty as it is, it is happy to achieve heights of 8 feet (or more). Considered an aggressive grower, you'll be cutting this plant back more than once per year. But the more serious issue is that of it's status as an invasive plant. A highly invasive plant. It is often on the top ten list of the worst offenders, especially in southern states. Research has been on-going to produce more sterile cultivars than exist now, and it will be worth watching to see what happens. Right now, "Fire Power" is one of the cultivars that will not flower nor fruit. Some people don't like the coloring of that particular Nandina, though. Some of the other dwarf Nandinas were reported to be sterile when they first came out, but revert pretty quickly. Also, even the non-fruiting varieties are still able to form thickets by suckering and underground rhizomes. http://santarosa.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/lg_nandina.pdf Above is a fact sheet from UFL that discusses the problems with Nandina and what we can do prevent this invasive species from causing problems in our own communities. Here is a link that might be useful: More information
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fnboyd
Original Author
16 years ago
Oops! sorry I forgot to give you the growing conditions. It faces west and gets afternoon sun for about 5 - 6 hours.
fammsimm
16 years ago
I'm not sure if this will work for you, but have you considered azaleas?

Caroline's are absolutely beautiful. I still remember those pictures she posted this past spring and since you are both in AL chances are they could work for you, too.

Perhaps you could move the statue forward a bit and plant azaleas around her. The azaleas would be a good foundation plant for you, plus they would create a nice backdrop for the statue.

Marilyn
natal
16 years ago
For blooming shrubs with those conditions I would suggest dwarf gardenia ... won't get tall, but will spread a bit. Plumbago, a quick trim in late winter should keep it the same height as the gardenia. If you plant dwarf azaleas just make sure it's a variety that can take full sun. One of the low-growing Loropetulums might be nice. The purple-leafed one is popular around here.
natal
16 years ago
Just came back and spied your hummer feeder. I know you were asking for shrubs, but I'm going to suggest a few pentas. I don't know how cold your winter gets, but here in south Louisiana my pentas often survive brief hard freezes. And if not, they're cheap enough to be replaced every year, provide color spring through fall, and the hummers and butterflies love them!

Here is a link that might be useful: pentas
fnboyd
Original Author
16 years ago
Natal

Thanks for your suggestions. I have been researching the loropetulums and really like the darp purple one. It doesn't get very big either.

Yes I have hummers. I have about 7 but would love to attract more. I am planting Bee Balm this fall because I read that they love the stuff. I have planted pentas before but did not have much luck but I may try again. I have learned a lot about gardening since then.

Thanks,

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