Need shrub ideas for southern-facing border in 7b

8 years ago

My house has zero landscaping on the southern side - just yard all the way up to the wall. I'd like to extend a foundation bed out about 6 feet. I guess I'll bullet out the salient points:

40 foot length, 6 foot width. No, I don't mind if the shrubs stick out a bit, although a 10 foot shrub would be pushing it mightily. And I am thinking mostly of shrubs, only because I'm running out of ideas of small native trees that are decent near a foundation. But I have a limited imagination.
It's the south side of the house in 7b, so yes it gets sunny exposure almost all day long. The land slopes gradually away from the house so not wet, maybe even average to dryish? It's at this point I found so many shrubs don't like the afternoon sun, which is pretty much all this exposure has so that's a bummer.
I love natives. If not native, than it at least needs to attract birds, bees, and/or butterflies (I have butterfly bushes, my main exception). Fragrant flowers are a plus but not must-have.
I think an evergreen/deciduous mix would be nice rather than a line of buxus meatballs or conical conifers.
Plants rolling around in my head are aronia arbutifolia, ptelea trifoliata, viburnum spp., ilex glabra. Had prunus caroliniana in mind also but heard they spread like wildfire and smell like dirty underwear.
I love viburnums (dentatum, nudum) but I know most of the native ones don't like full sun? v. carlesii and v. juddii cultivars sound interesting because they're fragrant even though not native.

I think that's it. Any help is appreciated.

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Comments (4)

marshaaa (5b CO, Castle Rock)
8 years ago
Northraleighguy,

We just moved from Zebulon to Colorado. While I'm learning about completely different plant material, I would love to weigh in on something that is more comfortable!

First, if you have the space, I would recommend you widen your bed to 8 ft. You will have more room to layer, rather than have a single row of shrubs and small trees. By the time you plant 2-3 ft from your foundation, there isn't much room for things to grow. While Aronia arbutifolia is a wonderful shrub, it spreads by suckering, so consider whether that would be a problem for the space. Likewise, Ptelea trifoliata has a very wide spread and, while it will tolerate full sun, prefers more shade. I've listed some things that worked really well for me in full sun. Whatever you do, use multiples of the things you choose.

Chionanthus retusus 'Tokyo Tower' - wonderful, narrow, small tree. Will not get too wide for your bed, even if it's just 6 ft. - available at Taylor's, New Bern Ave.

Osmanthus fragrans - Mine grew much faster than the literature says. I hand pruned some of the taller growth a couple of times each year to keep them at 6ft. They were bushy shrubs about 4 ft wide.

Cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Sunny'- I found these at DeWayne's in Smithfield. They will stay around 2 ft tall and spread up to 10 ft at maturity. However, it's very easy to keep them narrower.

Pinus parviflora 'Blue Angel' - Very slender, quite slow growing to 7-8' tall x 3-4' wide - Atlantic Garden Center

Rosa 'Belinda's Dream' shrub rose - Witherspoon Roses in Durham

Perovski atriplicifolio 'Lisslitt' - Yes, I know Russian sage can be overdone, but bees and butterflies absolutely love it.

Spiraea japonica 'Gold Mound' - Taylor's - Beautiful, fresh spring color and gorgeous fall color

Ilex cornuta 'Soft Touch' - for small evergreen fillers and contrast, especially if you use any conifers.

Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls' - a weeping variety with purple leaves - outstanding!

Of course, it's also a perfect place to grow rosemary, if you're so inclined. My apologies for not suggesting more natives.

Have fun! Keep us posted on what you decide to do.
northraleighguy thanked marshaaa (5b CO, Castle Rock)
dbarron
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Viburnum rufidulum does sun just fine and is a lovely (but non-fragrant) native. It's slow growing but given free space, it has excellent form, lovely flower, and bright fruit color (which the birds love...so they won't stay long). I'm also growing V dentatum in full sun and I don't like it quite as much as rufidulum, but it does grow faster and the leaves are semi-persistent (with purple coloration in winter) here.

Might consider the native fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), but I hear there may be some disease problem going around (ones I see seem fine though?)

Look at the native hypericums for some spring and summer color...and they're not very large either, so would be 4 to 6 feet max.

Native hollys (I verticillatum and I decidua) lend nice winter color. One of them prefers more moist soil (and I can't remember which right off top of head).

There's a lot of native choices...but not a whole lot of native evergreens that are desireable. Osmanthus americanus is one of those...and fragrant too. Oh and you could grow wax myrtle, which is native and evergreen, and has berries and fragrant foliage.
northraleighguy thanked dbarron
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Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
8 years ago
A picture of the site would be helpful. I'd stick with something evergreen. Will you maintain (annual pruning)?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
i hope your not contemplating a monoculture .... cant tell from your words ... you have a very diverse list.. but you dont say.. or i missed it.. whether you would go with all of one ...

beyond that.. i would ID flowering periods.. and plant a diverse line of plants.. that bloom over more of the season .. rather than all at once.. or within a few weeks ...

ken

Need shrub ideas for southern-facing border in 7b

Comments (4)

marshaaa (5b CO, Castle Rock)

dbarron

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Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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