Would you use a Nova Zembla rhodo, buddleja, or Wine & Roses weigela?

Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC

11 months ago

last modified: 11 months ago

I've extended the garden area in front of my house, and now I have a few plant options to consider.

This is what it looks like now; the bags of mulch separate the original from the new:

I hope you can see where the mulch ends! LOL That's dead weeds in front of it all. In person it's obvious, but here I'm afraid that it's brown on brown :-/

Anyway. I'm specifically looking at the mulched area that's about halfway between the tulip magnolia and the front door. This would be full sun, but it would be within range of an impact sprinkler so water shouldn't be an issue.

I'm considering a Nova Zembla rhododendron:

https://www.singtree.com/plants/details/r-nova-zembla

This would be expected to be 5-8' tall, it's evergreen, and the shape would match that of the magnolia. As an added bonus, I already have one! It's planted in the wrong area, though, so it needs to be moved anyway. But! When it's not blooming, it would just be another patch of green.

If I don't move it here, I have a dogwood in another part of the yard and I'll move it to be near that.

The next option I'm considering is a Wine and Roses Weigela:

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/wine-roses-weigela-shrub?variant=31387933179966

This would be 4-5' tall, and the foliage would add a patch of color other than green. Then I'd surround it with flowers and other shorter plants.

My third choice would be a Lavender Cascade butterfly bush (Buddleja):

https://www.gardencrossings.com/product/buddleia-lavender-cascade/

This would be about 6' tall. I had one planted in a part sun area that never looked great, and it died over the winter. But from the roots I have a baby that survived, and I'd like to move it to a full sun area anyway.

If I put the butterfly bush here, I'd have to surround it with other plants that are friendly to caterpillars and butterflies. So that choice would dictate the whole garden.

Also notable that the NC Extension recommends buddleja as an alternative to berberis:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/berberis-thunbergii/

but then says that it's invasive!! LOL So, I guess it's not recommended but also not a huge problem? I wouldn't buy a new one because of that, but since it's already here I'm not going to destroy it or anything.

Which option would you choose? Or would you do something entirely different altogether?

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Comments (13)

Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
Addendum:

The more I think about the buddleja, the less I like it. When it dies down for the winter it's not exactly pretty, and I don't think it's great for a front centerpiece.

Another option I have is a Black Diamond "Mystic Magenta" crepe myrtle:

https://www.taylorsnursery.com/plant/Lagerstroemia-Black-Diamond-Mystic-Magenta

I have one of these in my back yard and it looks sorta like the pictures on that site, just taller. I have a smaller one in a container right now that I'd like to plant somewhere, so that's a color option that wouldn't be green.

It's deciduous, too, though, so still no evergreen option.
khan47
11 months ago
I think that weigela foliage and bloom could add some pretty contrast to your house and yard. That’s my favorite of your three options. I agree with you on the butterfly bush - it’s not a great option for front of the house. That rhododendrons is beautiful! But I’m thinking this spot may get too much sun for it?? I always thought they need more shade.
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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
@khan47, I thought the same thing! The current location for that rhododendron is part shade and it's doing OK, but my recent research on it kept saying "full sun".

When I first bought it the pictures looked more rounded, but now pictures show it more upright! I planted it as a companion to an April Rose camellia, and now I'm seeing better pics of both and they don't look like good companions at all :-/ So I have to relocate it either way.

It was my only evergreen idea for this spot, but I think that I agree; it might be better in a different part sun area instead.

Unless someone can make another suggestion, I keep coming back to the weigela, too.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
11 months ago
I would not put any of those shrubs in the new area. They are all much taller and wider than the material behind them which would be crowded out and hidden. If you draw in a blob where you propose one of these shrubs, I think you'll see that it just looks weird, unintegrated and egregious. You need something that is lower than the stuff next to the house. Once again, I'm recommending that you look at the overall picture you are creating, seeing form, shape and harmony, rather than fixating on individual named speciemens. Once you've decided what shape and colour the picture needs, only then do you start plant selection.

nb the Weigela would be bare twigs for much of the year.
laceyvail 6A, WV
11 months ago
And too hot and sunny in 7A for a rhodie.
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
They are all much taller and wider than the material behind them which would be crowded out and hidden. If you draw in a blob where you propose one of these shrubs, I think you'll see that it just looks weird, unintegrated and egregious. You need something that is lower than the stuff next to the house.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK, my logic went the other direction! LOL I see the tall tulip tree that drops down to the 2-3' tall plants, so I was envisioning that a 4-6' tall shrub would smooth out that transition.

I was also thinking about the view from both looking at the house and looking AWAY from the house. A shrub like that in the middle gives me the ability to place shorter plants on both sides and create a nice look from both directions.

And, of course, since the whole left side (tulip tree and beneath) is deciduous and green with a few hints of flower, I was hoping to place something here that's not green and is... well, evergreen.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

The rhodo, buddleja, and crepe myrtle were immediate thoughts since I already have them, and as you know, money is tight these days. I CAN buy a new plant, but if it's expensive then it might have to wait for Autumn.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
11 months ago
Usually, you put short plants under tall trees with exposed trunks, like that magnolia.It looks unplanned and messy. So I agree that I wouldn't put anything there that is taller than the current perennials.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 months ago
Actually Nova Zembla is extremely tolerant of full sun even in warmer zones, although the red flowers will fade to a more pink tone in lots of sunlight.

My thoughts follow much the same as does floral's - develop a well considered design plan before you arbitrarily pick out plants that may or may not work well in combination or with the plan. It feels very hit or miss or a bit of a hodge-podge at the moment.
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
Usually, you put short plants under tall trees with exposed trunks, like that magnolia.It looks unplanned and messy.

@mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY), this is what's under the tulip magnolia right now:

The area I'm working with now is about 20' from the outer perimeter of the tulip magnolia, and about 30' from the front of the house.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
11 months ago
Um, somehow that didn't come out right. What I meant is that if you have tall shrubs that start growing into the tree canopy it looks unplanned and messy. You want space between the two.
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
Haha, @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY), I gotcha now! I thought you were saying that it currently looks unplanned and messy.

Pics are sometimes misleading, that's why I wanted to point out that the area I'm working on now is about 20' from the perimeter of the tulip tree. A bigger tree would probably grow into it, but I'm only thinking about something 4-6' tall.

Last year, @Dig Doug's Designs made this mock-up for me:

In that mock-up he moved my Tamukeyama Japanese maple from the right side of the house to the area I'm working on. I love the general concept but don't really want to move my tree, so my thought was to put in something similar in color but a tad smaller. And hopefully evergreen.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
Note that DigDoug did not put anything near to the tree trunk. He's used a restricted palette of low growers there.
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
11 months ago
@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK, the area I'm working with now is about 20' from the outer perimeter of the tulip magnolia, and about 30' from the front of the house.

I'm assuming that the roots of the tulip magnolia are close to the same area as the canopy?

If not, I have a few large containers that I can use. That DOES open up my options to plants that I'd need to greenhouse over the winter, but it would also mean that I have a big empty space for 4 months out of the year :-/

Would you use a Nova Zembla rhodo, buddleja, or Wine & Roses weigela?

Comments (13)

Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author

khan47

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Would you use a Nova Zembla rhodo, buddleja, or Wine & Roses weigela?

Comments (13)

Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NCOriginal Author

khan47

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