Hi Proud Grandma, I did look at your site and what a nice area you have there! I also have a Deutzia Nikko. It is an okay shrub and if you need a ground cover it is that. Mine does not grow tall either. It does root where the stems touch ground. The bloom time for me is short and the rest of the time it is just a mound of plain green foliage. I have to say that honestly, I had regrets after my purchase. Just didn't give me as much as I was looking for. On the other hand I haven't had it long so I am hoping it will grow into something more interesting. One suggestion I might make is Nepeta Walker's Low or Little Wonder. LONG bloom season, neat plant. Easy care, fragrant foliage. Seems to be a popular plant to combine with roses. On the rose question. I have had a few roses over the years. Not a lot. I have always been very reluctant to do roses because of their reputation for the need for a lot of attention. So I was always looking for an easy care rose. I heard many raves about one rose or another and even tried to do a search. I have not had a rose that I have been that happy with in that respect. The closest I came was Penelope which was easy, vigorous, nice foliage and a one time bloom for me for a few years, but last year, I had mildew on it which was a big disappointment. I still have it because we love the fragrance and I am keeping my fingers crossed it won't get mildew every year now. I also have bought rugosas and they were ok. No foliage problems, good fragrance, but I am not that big a fan of that style of rose in a main area, it is very casual and I do think they sucker. After the main flush of bloom not much rebloom. It died out one winter to my shock, since I thought they were bulletproof. I bought a Knock Out Rose two years ago and I can't stop raving about it. I am going to buy two more this year. It is a great plant. Blooms it's head off, is a vigorous grower, is the last thing blooming in the fall, the foliage is attractive and no disease or pests so far. There is a slight fragrance. The foliage turns a nice color in the fall. True, it is not exactly the 'rose' I've been looking for, but for non stop flowering, easy care shrub, can't see how you can beat it. No not easy care, care free. Also grew quickly to a nice size. There is a reason they are for sale everywhere. :-) I still missed a 'real' rose. And wanted more fragrance, so last year I researched and bought three roses that were supposed to be easy care and disease resistant etc. All three of them had problems right out of the gate. Insects, foliage diseases...etc. Hardly any bloom their first year. They did come back this year, but some of the stems died back to the ground which I had to prune out. None of these problems with the KO rose. So I am giving the 'real' roses another try this year, but in a new area where I am wanting non stop color, I am putting in the KO roses. If the real roses have problems again this year, they are coming out and I am going with Knock Outs there too. I just don't have the time to baby roses and I just hate looking at insect eaten and mildewed leaves on any plant in my yard. If the real roses do really well this year, then I will happily post that here. I gave them a nice layer of composted manure last year so I will be very happy if they surprise me. I would love to grow real roses and I am sure if you spend the time and keep trying, you can find something that is worth it, but I just don't have the time and don't want the frustration. You can imagine how I felt after doing the research, asking for recommendations etc, to have those problems right away. On top of which, if you have once bloomers you may want to have more than one that bloom at different times and I don't have the room. Not enough sun. Limited time, limited space. Oh...I think I turned this into a 'rose' rant. I didn't mean too, I am sorry!! I love roses, really, for a landscape shrub, Knock Out roses are hard to beat is all I was trying to say. :-) pm2

Another option would be to encircle the plant stems with a short green wire fence early enough that the leaves haven’t yet unfolded. Alternatively, put the fencing horizontally and fastened to legs of rebar or stakes. The fence gets covered by the leaves, becoming largely invisible, and provides some extra support to the stems. IME, pruning can help the lower stems be stiffer, but then you have the floppy new growth above the pruned stems, so I prefer to not do much pruning on cultivars of arborescens. Not everyone else has had the same experience.

Here's some farms/garden centers I know of, including links to their websites: Johnson's Roadside Farm in Swansea has a simple farmstand operation that I frequent. The prices here are unbeatable. The vast majority of produce they sell is grown on their farms, however some organic fruits, like California peaches, are imported (I'm guessing because they don't grow well in MA?). I choose not to buy fruits that they don't grow themselves, anyway... you can taste the difference. What else I like about Johnson's is that they sell products from a LARGE number of small, local businesses from the Providence/Fall River metro area (Landry's, Willow Tree and Star just to name a few). There is also a greenhouse that they share property with--I'm not sure if it's owned by the same people, but you can purchase annuals here (buyer beware). A 4-pack of tomatoes I bought from there all succumbed to bacterial spot on exactly the same day. Weird mojo from that greenhouse; I called them to ask if they were having bacterial spot issues with other customers or plants at their greenhouse, and the woman on the phone completely disregarded the issue and told me my plants were probably being under-fertilized. The tomatoes are dead as of tonight when I get home from work to pull them all up to throw them out. To sum up a long story: I'm not sure if the two shops are affiliated, but I'll keep patronizing the Johnson's Farmstand because aside from importing some of their fruits from California, they have some really economically focused business practices that I'd like to support. I will not shop again at the greenhouse next door though, for fear of the bacterial spot! http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php?farm=930 4-Town farm near the Seekonk/Rehoboth/Swansea border has healthy--yet slightly pricey--plants every year (annual and perennial). This year I purchased two blueberry bushes, two hydrangea, and various other herbs and annuals, of which NONE show any sign of disease. Customer service here is great. They also operate a farmstand out of the same building as the flower shop. I consistently visit 4-Town farm because their produce selection is always fresh. You can tell this farm has been in the family for 5 generations... http://4townfarm.com J&L Landscape and Garden on 44 in Seekonk is a great supplier for bulk soil, stones, mulches, etc. They also offer a variety of plants. The staff was friendly and knew a lot about various species. I took issue with their recommendation that I apply insecticide (read: poison) to my cherry trees to kill the bugs one year**. I guess it's just me, but shouldn't farmers be advocating for the END of chemical fertilizers and xxxxx-icides? Seemed odd to me/the organic gardener. After a terrible failure with the product**, I have since stopped using that product and stopped returning to J&L. http://www.jandllandscapingcoinc.com/index.html LittleTree Nursery(ies?) in North Seekonk specializes in an immense selection of young trees, 'bonzai' style garden trees, and loads of those ugly evergreen trees (that are shaved like poodles). They do sell other garden related items and tools, but specialize more in landscape design. http://www.littletreenurserygroup.com/landscaping.html **PS: The chemical J&L recommended was a product from Bayer, I'm not too sure of the exact name, but it is supposed to enter the entire plant from the roots and protect for an entire year after just one application. My trees could have done with a second application this year, but after one I think I've polluted my yard enough. What a terrible, $40 product recommendation. The product works as long as there aren't immense rainfall totals washing it all away to the ocean, and even when the weather was dry, the results were minimal. My cherry trees were able to send out about 6 uneaten leaves per branch before the bugs continued their feast.

@Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley, Rise up Lilac Days has blooms here and there after spring. When I had it in the front, it rebloomed very well even in the hottest days. But since moved to the pergola, I could not keep up with deadheading, watering, etc. It barely gets any care. This is from today. A few blooms not quite noticeable for such a big plant. The fragrance is still there But at least it is full of green leaves😼