Ninebark, Sambucus, Sand Cherry, Smoke Bush...

Donna

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

According to Southern Living Garden Book you don't have a prayer with Ninebark. Sambucus and Cotinus are both said to grow in the lower south, however, other sources I have read have been highly discouraging. I tried Sambucus, Lanciniata a few years ago and it did fine in almost complete shade with constant moisture, however, it quickly became too large for the spot. So I moved it to morning sun where it slowly declined and died over about three years. It was a gawky looking thing, throwing big long whips of branches in all different directions but never thickening up into a shrub. It could have been my fault. I don't know, but I have not been willing to try again.

I love golden green shrubs too. HEre are the ones I have grown with my results here in Meridian, MS (East Central, almost on a straight line with Dallas/Fort Worth)

Chaemycyparis pisifera, "Filifera Aurea": The only tall golden green I have had success with, but it is a true winner. It gets afternoon shade in two areas of my yard. In one, it gets constant moisture, in the other, it competes with large deciduous trees. Both have been successful. It is a gorgeous tree.

Berberis thunbergii, Aurea: Not a big shrub. About 4X4 feet, and thorny. But it is a wonderful shrub for my area. I have it in morning sun, afternoon shade, and in all day full blazing sun. It succeeds in both areas. It looks good from very early spring, to very late fall. Many years it is the last shrub to shed its leaves, and its fall color is a bonus: orangey, pinkish, red. Other than the thorns, it's just about perfect. I do not shear it. I like the twiggy look, and, as I said, it's a very slow grower.

Spirea thunbergii, Ogon (Mellow Yellow): A beautiful shrub, but it is struggling. I have three of them. The two that get afternoon shade are hanging in there. The one that was getting full sun appears to have died. I have had them about three years now. They were just rooted cuttings when I mail-ordered them. They are now about 2.5x2.5. They have masses of small white flowers from the time the early spring bulbs begin blooming for about a month. When they leaf out, they just glow. The problem is in our hot summer sun, they tend to scorch. Still, with the right location, they are like no other shrub with their fine, fluffy texture.

I just received three Ilex crenata, Lemon Gem shrubs. I am hopeful that they will be successful in full sun.

I also grow Deutzia, Chardonnay Pearls. It is beautiful in the spring. It leafs out a perfect chartreuse, and its white blooms are breathtaking. The problem is the leaves turn green by mid summer. I have it in almost all day shade, so am contemplating getting another and trying it in more sun to see if the leaf color holds better. It is small: about 3'x3'.

Tanacetum vulgare, Isla gold is a ferny, chartreuse leaved perennial that gets about 2 feet tall and wide. I have had it for several years, and it is one of my very favorite perennials. There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about it: the foliage is ferny and beautiful, the color is gorgeous, it never burns, gets eaten, or diseased. I have it in full sun with way more water than I would have thought it would like, but nothing phases it.

I found at the garden center last week a brand new Rosemary called Gold Dust that is a beautiful gold/green variegated form. It is an upright form and I plan to make it a centerpiece in a pot in one of my gardens.

There is a golden leaved Redbud out there, but it is not widely available yet. I keep waiting for the price to come down a bit, but I have high hopes for it. There is also a golden Catalpa that should also do well for us in the Deep South, but I have never seen it offered anywhere.

teresa_g
Original Author

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

You're just the person I needed :) Thank you so much for the wealth of information!
I'm going to look into all of those you mentioned.
I was thinking that if I can't find any tall and interesting looking plants that would grow here, I'll just have to fall back to a large ornamental grass like a Miscanthus Variegatus. I'm needing something rather big and eye-catching to balance out the other side of my yard (which will also contain a shed).

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Hi Hergrammy - I'm in SW Missouri also. Our utility company gave away purple leaf sandcherries several years ago so I have five in my yard. Only one looks like a tree. The others formed more of a shrub and don't really have a good shape - sort of lop-sided. They do tolerate our heat and drought in the summer and I haven't had any trouble with disease(yet) but they get almost completely defoliated in the summer, then leaf out again and sometimes get defoliated a second time. My little crabapple looses it's leaves also. I don't have any experience with Jane magnolia but tried to grow Black Beauty sambucus and couldn't keep it alive. Do you like redbuds? There are different varieties of those including one with purple leaves. The green leafed ones seem a little tougher though. You could also plant a crape myrtle there if you pick one of the more cold hardy varieties. They're overused in the south so you will find some negative comments about them but it's easy to grow, heat/drought tolerant, and is long blooming. Please feel welcome to also ask about trees or any other gardening questions in the Ozarks Gardening forum here at Gardenweb. The people in that forum will have similar gardening conditions as you so it will be helpful to get their opinions as well. Here is a link that might be useful: Ozarks Region Gardening

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Hi Connie, I am not in Edmonton but in Winnipeg. I had smoke bush, some generic variety of it, growing at my previous house. It was on the south side of the house near the foundation. My neighbors have it in a flower bed in the middle of their lawn. Anyway, for me it behaved like a die-back perennial. The branches were killed almost to the ground over winter, but it comes back/starts growing near the base and would grow to about a 2 or 3 foot high shrub that same year. The older it got the more growth it seemed to get in the summer. I would say just plant it in the flower bed or where ever you want it and pile a mound of snow over it in winter for insulation. You can also try piling leaves/wood chips/peat moss or what have you over the centre of the plant for winter to insulate the part near the ground.

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Hi everyone, I completely forgot to post photos. Im in graduate school full time and working, and about to graduate all while looking for a job, so my brain has been extremely scattered. Here are photos (excuse the messy mulch I had to do some digging I’m thinking of redoing both areas with natural wood chips next spring), this area is about 22-25 feet long (I did measure I just forget which) and 8 feet wide. The lighter green plant in the middle is a hardy hibiscus. The two dark green plants on either side are JFK roses (because of the angle they look close but they’re further away than they look). I also have a lily turf and sedum tucked into opposite corners. With some small variety Snow Fountain shrubs. Another angle of this garden (bare spot potentially for barberry substitute) On this right side it’s also about 8 feet wide and 15-17 feet long (not including the portion wrapping around the corner). It also has the same pattern of JFK roses, hardy hibiscus, sedum and lily turf and Snow Fountain shrubs. Around the corner my peppermint pop hangs out all alone but there’s not room for friends and it’s doing extremely well.

Donna

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

There is one more plant I would mention.
Golden Duranta: there's one called Cuba Gold and one called Gold Edge. I have grown them both and they are wonderful. They are tropicals. You can get them in 4" pots around here in the spring for about $2-$3 and by the fourth of July, they'll be 3 or 4 feet tall and wide. The hotter the sun gets the better they seem to like it. They have fairly vicious thorns, but once I plant them, I don't usually have to do anything else to them except remove a wayward branch here and there. It is said that they make blue flowers, but I have yet to see them. No matter. They are great.

If you are firmly into zone 8 (I am barely into zone 8), it's possible they would be winter hardy for you. If not, you can VERY easily root cuttings from them in late summer and overwinter them. I waited too late last year and lost the ones I took. It was evidently already too cool.

You are welcome for the info. If you find something great, please do share. I am always on the lookout for more plants in this, my favorite color, that will do well in our steambath climate.

teresa_g
Original Author

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

donnabaskets, since you like gold plants, I do have a great golden perennial that I love. It's the Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious'. It's a fast grower. It got about 2'x 2' for me last year, started earlier in the year from a 4" pot. Here it is:

Donna

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Oh, what a beauty! I have read about this one, but never seen it available. I grow the straight green Pineapple sage and just love it. Thanks for the tip. I will redouble my efforts to find this one!

Ninebark, Sambucus, Sand Cherry, Smoke Bush...

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Ninebark, Sambucus, Sand Cherry, Smoke Bush...

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