Add interest to garden with ornamental shrubs
Nature’s Garden for August 28, 2011
NG184-Topic: Ornamental shrubs
Column word count: 759
Photo by Susan Brimo-Cox:
Ornamental shrubs, like this ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius Summer Wine (‘Seward’), are a good way to add interest to the garden without all the work of herbaceous perennials and annuals.
Nature’s Garden
By Susan Brimo-Cox
Fall is an ideal time to plant shrubs, and now is a good time to visit garden centers to purchase them, as garden centers put much of their nursery stock on sale to clear things out before the growing season ends.
Ornamental shrubs seem to have traditionally taken a back seat to herbaceous perennial and bedding plants for some reason-well, no more! Plant breeders of shrubs have been very busy and nursery growers and plant retailers are moving ornamental shrubs to the forefront. Many of the shrubs being introduced are adding structure and beauty to a garden that trees and perennial or annual flowers just can’t offer. And improved varieties of traditional shrubs offer enhanced qualities, such as improved flower or berry production and foliage color, compact growth for less pruning, and better pest and disease resistance.
Some of my favorite new ornamental shrubs are related to North American native shrubs-specifically ninebark, elderberry and sumac-but they have a lot more pizzazz.
I think native ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius, with its plain, deeply cut green leaves is attractive in its own right, but plant breeders have waved a magic wand and produced a variety of versions with incredibly colorful leaves. Here’s a sampling:
P. opulifolia Summer Wine (‘Seward’) is very showy, with dark crimson leaves and pinkish-white flower clusters in mid-summer. Its compact growth habit means little pruning is necessary. Summer Wine grows to 5-6 feet tall, and likes full sun. When in bloom its branches make good cut flowers.
For changing foliage color, I like P. opulifolia Center Glow and P. opulifolia Coppertina (“Mindia”). Center Glow’s spring foliage emerges rosy red with a bright yellow-green center. By summer the leaves mature to a deep burgundy. Center Glow grows 8-10 feet tall. In spring Coppertina’s leaves are a vibrant copper color, turning into a richer red in summer. Coppertina reaches 6-8 feet tall.
Two golden-leaved ninebarks are “Dart’s Gold” and “Nugget.” The leaves of both of these ninebarks mature to lime green. Both have white flowers. ‘Nugget’ grows to 6-8 feet tall. “Dart’s Gold” is not as uniform in its growth, but only reaches 4-5 feet tall.
Several species of elderberry are native to the United States. You may be familiar with common elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, that is valued for its berry production-and this elderberry does make for excellent jam and wine. But plant breeding, particularly in England, of sambucus has resulted in several varieties that really shine for their ornamental qualities.
Until the introduction of S. nigra Black Lace (“Eva”), elderberry really wasn’t on the garden radar as an ornamental. But Black Lace caught the eye of many a gardener and it is a stand out in the garden. Black Lace grows 6-8 feet tall, has finely cut, purple-black leaves (resembling a Japanese maple), and large masses of pink flowers.
The popularity of Black Lace paved the way for S. nigra Black Beauty (“Gerda”), a dark black foliage variety with pink flowers that actually preceded Black Lace. And for golden foliage in the same finely-cut lace texture there’s S. racemosa “Sutherland Gold,” which grows 5-10 feet.
Sambucus likes full to partial sun. For a neat, more compact-growing plant, you can cut sambucus back after flowering or in late winter, but keep in mind next year’s blooms come on old wood.
I admire the staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, that grows along roadsides, in abandoned lots and in a variety of uninhabitable areas of our region. You might be noticing it now as many in our area have already turned to beautiful golden, orange and scarlet fall color. It is a hardy species that will grow where much else won’t. However, I wouldn’t want staghorn sumac in my garden if I had limited space. Attractive as it is with its palm-like leaves and velvety clusters of red berries, staghorn sumac is a large, tree-like shrub that colonizes.
An alternative, R. typhina Tiger Eyes, offers gardeners a tame version of the staghorn sumac-one that has many desirable qualities. Tiger Eyes’ foliage emerges chartreuse, turns golden yellow in summer, then boasts fall colors of yellow, orange and scarlet. The texture of the leaves, on reddish stems, is finely cut with a slight droop that gives it an oriental appearance. Also tamer in size, Tiger Eyes only grows to 6 feet. It likes full sun and, once established, is drought tolerant.
What you don’t get with Tiger Eyes are the velvety clusters of seeds, but there is so much else to look at with this plant I don’t miss them.
Susan Brimo-Cox gardens, observes nature and writes in Ohiopyle, Pa. Readers can send questions or comments to her at naturesgarden@brimo-cox.com.