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small native shrubs

13 years ago

We inherited a foundation planting on our southwest facing side a row of redtwig dogwoods, which were an annual battle to keep from burying our small one-story ranch trying to (naturally!) reach their normal size of 10-15'. I finally pulled a few of them (for a number of reasons!) and would like to replace them with a native that would co-habit with some perennials and not try to exceed 3-4 feet tall. New Jersey Tea? Leadplant? Any suggestions for something short, beautiful, and preferably a friendly neighbor or host?

Comments (5)

Iris GW
13 years ago
New Jersey Tea is very nice. Other ideas include dwarf forms (cultivars) of other plants ('Little Henry' Itea virginica; 'Pee Wee' Hydrangea quercifolia; 'Nana' Ilex vomitoria).
lycopus
13 years ago
Fothergillas have nice flowers and great fall color. There are two species that are commonly planted, one that stays quite small and a slightly larger one. Fothergilla major is the larger one I believe.
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It's one of the shrub dogwoods such as Cornus amomum or something similar.
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Entling, after reading about Pagoda dogwood I was smitten. Beautiful form and nice flowers and berries. I ordered 40 native seedlings from a nursery in NH, including 10 Cornus alternifolia. But these are going to be little baby 1-2 year old seedlings! I'm impatient and want to buy something that's already 6 feet tall at least. Gcreek, height is not so much an issue, but width is (this location is about 8 feet from the driveway). Something that grew about 15-20 ft high would be great but not as wide. Red chokeberry is probably too short and shrubby (but great for the other side of the yard!) Cornus florida would be beautiful but would probably eventually get too wide. Amelanchier seems to grow more vertically than laterally. Kind of a rangy multi-stemmed habit, but maybe with good pruning it could be shaped nicely. I also read that it casts fairly light shade and has well behaved roots and perennials can be planted underneath (which is good because I already have peonies circling this burning bush).
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Terry and others, In another thread Terry mentioned mapleleaf viburnum wouldn't be good for full sun. Have people had trouble with mapleleaf viburnum in the sun? I know I come across contradictory information about plants, but both the UConn Plant Database and William Cullina's book on native trees and shrubs have light conditions including sun. Maybe it's a matter of how dry it is. As I said in the other thread I haven't grown it myself. It may also be a bit too tall for what's needed. lovefornature, My workaround for small wildlife friendly shrubs was to plant for butterflies. There are cultivars of Clethra such as 'Hummingbird' which are supposed to stay small and it's an attractive plant. It won't work if you have people who are paranoid about bees etc like my mother is. Another thought, although it'll probably be less fun, is an evergreen shrub which will provide shelter in the winter. If you don't need the structure, you might also look into perennials that produce berries. Good luck.
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topie
13 years ago
Because you're thinking about New Jersey tea, or Leadplant, I figure the area you want to plant in tends to be somewhat dry? If so, I think the New Jersey tea or the Leadplant are good choices. If the area is sunny, you may also want to try Bush/Shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa or sometimes called Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda). It gets yellow flowers in the summer, and would probably do okay in dry-ish conditions. I believe it's native to NE Illinois, and that butterflies like it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bush Cinquefoil
timvid
13 years ago
It sounds like Blue False Indigo would be perfect for you. It's beautiful, well-behaved, and ours have been maintenance-free.

Tim
www.WildlifeTheater.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue False Indigo
Carrie B
13 years ago
If you're at all inclined to keep the red-twig dogwood...

I tend two red-twig hedges for clients, one is in front-of-the-house foundation planting, the other is along a (different) client's driveway. With twice a year pruning, these hedges are kept to about 3-4' in height and look wonderful year-round.

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