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Shrubs Wildlife Garden

Shrub suggestions

beesandblues88_z7a

10 days ago

I have an area on the side of house about 15 ft x 4 ft with azaleas in it that I'm not happy with. I would really love to plant something that has berries for the birds in winter. Was thinking of viburnums but not sure what kind. I would love to find something that only grows to 5tf high at most and produce lots of berries, any suggestions? I tried looking online but my head starts spinning going back and forth trying to figure out what would work.

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Comments (7)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
10 days ago
Where in z7 are you and any chance of a pic or two of the area?

tj
beesandblues88_z7a
Original Author
10 days ago
last modified: 10 days ago
In delaware, full sun and it's up agai the side of ranch house. That's one reason would like something about 5 ft. Used to have lilac there when we moved in .I'll try to get pics.
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David, thanks for your reference to this species, O. cacanapa-ellisiana! I did not know about this Opuntia at all until you mentioned it. I just purchased and received cuttings from an on line source. Absolutely gorgeous! Received several LARGE pads for $12.00! I have LOTS of O. humifusa which I also love..., despite the thorns and the prickles. The spineless one is hardy also to Zone 7a..., I hope it too is deer resistant! LOL. BTW, do you happen to know if either of these species is eaten, by humans (I know that there is at least one tropical species is eaten), O. indica (which I do grow but not to eat!) Oh, I am not even that much of a cacti nut..., except for epiphytic cacti, Opuntia and Cereus (so, I guess the more tropical/subtropical species, not so much the xerophytic ones).
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No direct sun. ===>>> i agree shade is near impossible to define in words ... but with no direct sun at any time of the day... there is no way around telling you its full shade ... and not much will 'thrive' in such ... especially if you want height out of it ... either you buy big .... or you wait for years.. lots of years ... key word: thrive.. grow to standard ... not many things outright die in too much shade ... but they might grow slower.. and sparser.. etc ... making it hard to accomplish a goal ... and even if you buy big.. they will be severely stressed.. having been grown in full sun ... and then moved into shade ... your best bet.. for ideas.. might be to post us a pic or two ... so we can see what is there.. and make suggestions ... also include location.. big city name.. as z6 is about half the US and very divergent ... and state your goal ... are you trying to hide something with the height??? btw.. is there anyway to increase the light ... thru some tree pruning ... might be the best investment you can make ... and you dont say how far behind the house.. but it wouldnt hurt to get the trees trimmed.. if they significantly overhang the house ... trying to think outside the box here ... ken ps: you dont state why you need the height.. but any understory tree might work.. such as redbud ...
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the lack of sun... is going to make whatever you plant there.. lack vigor.. meaning.. very slow growing.. not to mention your short growing season ... so unless you buy huge plants to start with ... its going to be a very long time before you accomplish your goal ... and by the time you pay for said huge plants .. you may as well think outside the box ... is there some reason you couldnt put in a couple 4 x 4s ... and a section of wood privacy fencing .. and start enjoying the privacy that evening?? ken https://duckduckgo.com/?q=patio+wood+privacy+fencing&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images ps: also ... instead of looking at your problem from where the camera was ... move that chair around your patio .. and sit in it.. and see if you can see that house from every angle.. it might not be as big a problem as you see from the camera ...if you did go with the fence section ... i would leave a standard gate width at the house ... to make it easy to go around that side of the house;.... you dont need a fortress wall there.. just a site block ... in other words.. make it a free standing thing.. not a part of the house ...and of course.. in the mean time.. you could plant some shrubs out into the lawn .. so in 10 years.. when the fence is rotting.. the shrubs will be there ....
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@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 - thank you so much for your quick response. I find in my neighborhood that people have a lot of hedges & arborvitaes and deciduous shrubs, which is exactly what I tore out. Or, they use a lot of azalea's, which I love but fear would last about a week with the deer in my yard. That said, I've attached some photos of homes that I saved on my gizmo that struck my fancy. I like round, symmetrical (some might save "typical" or "boring"), but I'm not afraid to try fun stuff. I just think in the front of the house, the less is more approach would be better for me. (I'm very "type-A" and I accidentally killed an indoor bamboo plant, if that's any indication to my style and skill set. :) PS - I agree with the Holly tree. I don't think it's very happy there. PPS - I think the house is considered a traditional colonial...pretty typical for the NE suburbs.
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kitasei2
10 days ago
I ha ve seen winterberry (ilex verticillata) used in a similar position very dramatically. The berries stsnd out best against a contrasting backdrop. What color is your house?
diggerdee zone 6 CT
10 days ago
I second the winterberry (you'll need a pollinator nearby for berries) - you can get red, orange or yellow berries - and also suggest callicarpa. Beautiful unusual purple berries. And the birds like other berries better so the purple ones last longer lol. There are some smaller viburnum varieties out there as well, and yes, every time I try to choose a viburnum for my garden my head spins! Sooo many choices!

I'm trying a shrub I just heard of last fall (bought one as soon as I read about it!). It's symphoricarpos and it has pink berries. It may be smaller than you'd like, at about 4 feet, but I thought it was so unusual I had to give it a try!

:)

Dee
beesandblues88_z7a
Original Author
9 days ago
last modified: 9 days ago
The house is brick red. I thought about winterberry but that's another head spinner. Was looking at berry poppins but read on here that the birds don't eat them. Iv been looking and going back and fourth between winterberry, viburnum, and serviceberry but can't figure out what to do. I'd like something to fill the space in so I won't have to weed much and something that won't look bla since the neighbors have to look at it.
kitasei2
9 days ago
i’d choose a yellow winterberry or the purple callicarpa. You will need a groundcover as well. Any suugestions out there for one thats low msintenance but pollinstor supporting? How sbout a wild geranium?
diggerdee zone 6 CT
9 days ago
kitasei2, perhaps an evergreen groundcover? It would be nice to have something green as an underlaying for the berries in winter. Maybe even common old vinca minor? It would take some minor work in the spring to keep it in the bed but nothing too maintenance heavy. And I think those purple blooms are lovely in spring kind of underrated as an early spring bloomer. And I think the vinca is loose (i.e. not dense) enough that it won't choke the shrubs.

:)

Dee

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