Dissapointed in Midnight Wine Weigela, options?
Rose Beginner(MA - 6A)
7 years ago
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Embothrium
7 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Weigela, Ninebark or Elderberry for this spot?
Comments (9)I my area Alberta's seem to always get dead spots on them eventually and why I have steered clear of them. Big Maples can look nice, but I wont risk getting one with those awful helicopter seeds...lol..I dont want 1000's of maples. I have an Elderberry and in bad winters they will die to the ground. BUT THEY GROW LIKE A WEED! Just like a Butterfly Bush. Mine every year gets over 6 foot tall no matter what. I wouldnt suggest it for your front of your home with how well structured you have everything. I am sure you will be dissapointed in it. I enjoy mine located in the back yard and gets a ton of sun and has the room to do whatever it wants. Might also constantly reach for the sun out front, would be my guess. I have a smaller variety of dark leaved ninebark that gets about 5 foot tall. Sorry I am not sure what type it is, but I know it is not a diablo which I believe gets bigger than mine. I have never had a mildew issue with it, but could be due to it gets alot of evening sun also. I think it could be a good choice for that spot along with the smaller variety of dark leaved weigela you have mentioned. My final comment would be to consider a laceleaf weeping Japanese Maple for that spot if you are looking for that color scheme. But looks like it could be a little tight for that spot and you might have to make that spot a litte wider from the house. BTW everything looks great!!...See Morecrimson pygmy barberry in shade, or something similar?
Comments (10)Yes: These may be more open and greener than you would like in that position. However, it's possible there are few, if any other options for reddish leaves on a dwarf hardy shrub in USDA 4. There are additional introductions of dwarf red Japanese barberry cultivars that have more deeply colored leaves and other enhancements. Despite this species being regarded as a pest in parts of eastern North America large wholesale nurseries continue to select new cultivars and produce these in quantity. One or two of the dwarf red ones have been found to not fruit much....See MoreHow far/close should the shrubs to the house foundation?
Comments (42)I wrote out a whole long response and then lost it when my browser crashed . . . here's the main essence of my suggestions, although I still would vote for no foundation plantings. I would suggest that you map out any paths with flour, not just as a single line, but the actual width and location of the path and try walking it to see if it is comfortable, even if they are paths you won't use much. You don't want to leave so little width that anyone walking the path has to brush up against your plants. You will want your plantings to stay low as well as narrow. If you grow them up to the bottom of your window, they will be against the shingles and you will have discoloration and rot issues. I'm making some general suggestions of shrubs that stay low, but I don't know how much sun this area gets, which will influence what does well. For instance, the red color on the Midnight Wine weigela will be better in more sun, while the variegated leaves on My Monet weigela will do better with some shade. Also, there may be some lime leaching from the foundation, so you may want to do a soil test in that area to see how acidic or alkaline your soil is. I'll let you look up requirements of plants that appeal to you. Here are some low bushes to look into: -Small weigelas include 'My Monet' and 'Midnight Wine', both of which will stay under 2' height and width. -Rhododendron 'Checkmate' is a PJM type of rhodie, but unlike regular PJMs my Checkmate, which is probably 6 years old and went in as a 2' high plant is now only 3' tall. It might be a bit wider than you want, but should be easy to keep in check with light pruning. Some other rhodies with shorter stature can be found on the site linked below, which allows you to search by height, and then the database entries will include width. Not all of these will be easily found, however. -There are some small boxwood varieties, like 'Morris Midget' and 'Morris Dwarf'. -There are several varieties of short, golden leaved spireas, though I am not sure how wide they get. -Some of the new varieties of Hydrangea macrophylla are quite short, such as the Cityline series (Berlin, Venice, Rio, Paris, etc.) though they aren't hardy enough for me to have any experience with them. Another option would be to have plants that stay skinny enough so that they won't be against the foundation. A trellis with one of the smaller clematis might work for you. 'Piilu' is one that is fairly restrained (usually 4-5 feet) but still flowers well. 'Bijou' stays under 2 feet. You could ask on the clematis forum for other suggestions. If you put the trellis between the windows, it would have the decorative metal work for winter interest, and the flowers in the summer without blocking the window. Here is a link that might be useful: American Rhododendron Society database search...See MoreBalance in the Garden
Comments (49)Holey Moley...what a kick in the pants I just got by re-reading this thread, and boy did I need it. To tell you the evolution of this garden is a long story lost to a compulsive desire to bring home all too many plants and tell myself I will only plant my new treasure for a year or two then as it matures transplant it to a more appropriate spot. The spring following this thread I enlarged the entire length of this garden by five feet, added the suggested conifers, Helmods Pillar, balanced the other side of the garden by adding Becky Daisies, which was a remarkable improvement unfortunately I didnt stop there. All of this new found space gave me a license to shop and shop I did and the finished product was so cluttered that I avoided this garden like the plague this year. I was frozen in indecision about how to fix the mess that I created but my plan now is to remove every perennial in the garden and take a look at it in an uncluttered state. I will post photos as I go along and of course would welcome all of your valuable suggestions. It is easy to see how year round structure in a front entry garden is essential. Spring 2006 The addition of five feet was a lot more square footage than I had planned for. The evergreen plants are king for more than half of the year an my goal is to add more. The Pia Hydrangeas had to be moved back off the path as they were spilling over and crowding the walk way....See MoreNHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agochilloway
7 years agoEmbothrium
7 years agoNHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRose Beginner(MA - 6A)
7 years agoRose Beginner(MA - 6A)
7 years agoVivien23- Zone 6B
7 years agovioletsnapdragon
4 years agoWill M65(SE,PA 7A)
4 years ago
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