10 Shrubs for Summer Color

These vibrant bloomers give even the showiest annuals and perennials a run for their money

It ’s time to allow it : The middle of summertime is everyone ’s least favorite fourth dimension to be in the garden — well , maybe not to actually be in the garden , but unquestionably to work in the garden . By this time of twelvemonth , the squirrels have begin to eat your tomatoes , the ground is hard , the mosquito are out , and , quite aboveboard , if you do n’t have your garden take care good by now , all the sweat - burned eyes in the world are n’t going to improve the situation much until things cool off and the rain returns .

Despite all of this , summer is the arrant fourth dimension to love the garden — when all the planning from last yr ; all the dark winter evenings spend drooling over plant catalogue ; and all the leaping hauling , ripping , and dig really devote off . This is when we daydream of sweeping gracefully around the garden , martini in hand and envious friends in tow , soaking up the accolade for a show that most honest gardeners ( if there is such a group ) would accept is only part their knowing doing . sprightliness is truly good in the summer garden .

But to accomplish summer - garden nirvana select on-key inspiration and a elaborate architectural plan . And this is where the workhorses of the dog Clarence Shepard Day Jr. truly garner their keep . Of course , I am talking about those on the face of it indestructible , shellproof shrubs . The following shrubs give it their all during the warmer months , providing howling flowers and , in some cases , interesting leafage or fruit as well .

Chaste tree

Name : Vitex agnus - castusvar.latifoliaZones:6–9Size:10 to 20 feet marvellous and wideConditions : Full sun ; well - drain soil

Chaste Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is a southerly favorite beginning to gain favor across the country . Whether leave to grow as a large , multistemmed shrub or cut back annually for a more compact look , this excerpt is a winner . Fine , lacy leaves are glossy and fleeceable . Bright blue prime panicles get to organize in early summer and proceed through the oestrus of the season and into nightfall . This is a sanely cold - hardy , deer - resistant woody flora , and whileV. agnus - castusis typically considered a Zone 7 industrial plant , the varietylatifoliacan be grown in Zone 6 and even in southerly orbit of Zone 5 .

But the $ 64,000 question is the origin of this plant ’s name . Apparently , the ancient Greeks used an excerption to “ calm the manlike privileged fire . ” I have no suggestion on how to put that to apply in the garden , so just use your imagery .

Blue-mist shrub

Name : Caryopteris×clandonensiscvs . Zones:6–9Size:3 foot improbable and 5 feet wideConditions : Full Sunday to partial shade ; well - drain soil

As the executive theatre director ofYew Dell Gardensin Kentucky , I run around the yard with our staff late every summer to pick out plants that have adopt the worst of the southerly summer and still manage to shine . That small choice group of industrial plant always includes blue - mist shrubs . These plants just rust up the heat , the lack of pee , and the humidness . They can be dead - dwell , but they perform so well while in the garden that I steadfastly conceive that no one should be without at least a duet of these gems . Generally , they hang in there nicely for four to five year , sometimes longer . Then one day , after a wet wintertime , you realize that your plant is missing .

Blue - mist shrubs are low - growing , very well - textured mounds that form fab masses that pop the question dependable foliage as well as characteristic blue bloom through the mid- and later - summertime months . Deer usually guide clear of these beauties . An annual late - winter haircut not only is therapeutic for the gardener but also makes for a stronger and denser shrub the following time of year . There is a nice selection of cultivar out there that vary in leaf , flower , and growth habit . ‘ Longwood Blue ’ has been the measure for many twelvemonth and for good reason . Its medium blue flowers and soft fluffy branching make an excellent addition to any garden .

Chinese buttonbush

Name : Adina rubellaZones:6–9Size:6 to 8 feet tall and wideConditions : Full sun to partial shade ; moist , well - drained stain

This little - get it on jewel is closely related to the North American buttonbush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis , Zones 5–10 ) and is grown primarily for its diminished , glossy leaves and dainty crop of former to midsummer Sputnik - comparable flower . It lean to have finer - textured foliage and stay small and more compact than its native cousin . The little , creamy lily-white balls last for several weeks before yielding to small brown fruit clusters . The unusual flowers are great for generating conversation and stump your garden - geek friends . Culturally , this plant is tolerant of wry shade , and as far as I can tell , there is not a single worm or disease that nark Taiwanese buttonbush .

Smoke bush

Name : Cotinus coggygriaand resume . Zones:5–9Size : Up to 15 feet tall and wideConditions : Full sunlight to partial shade ; moist , well - drained soil

Smoke bush is a favorite of many gardeners . While this plant is often grow for its rather strange smoky , plumelike panicles , its leaf is also spectacular . Smoke bush can be grown as a large shrub , but it is good when foreshorten back sternly each twelvemonth . depend on the cultivar , the parting can be burgundy , green , or pea green . The safe for thick Burgundy wine coloring and overall vigor is the popular ‘ Royal Purple ’ . Deer tend to debar this shrub .

Summer Wine™ ninebark

Name : Physocarpus opulifolius‘Seward’Zones:3–7Size:5 to 6 foot improbable and 4 to 5 feet wideConditions : Full sun ; moist , well - drained filth

Many nurseryman will know ninebark as a rather nondescript , dark-green - leaved bush with “ oh - by - the - agency ” white flowers and unexciting fall fruit . About the only thing going for it is its nuclear toughness . luckily , there is a long list of burgundy- or gold - foliaged selection that add a great focal point to the summertime border . Of these , the good overall performer is ‘ Seward ’ , sold under the trademark name Summer Wine ™ . This selection has undischarged Burgundy wine leaves all summer long and grow salient , soft pink flower in early summertime . The combining is quite stunning . ‘ Seward ’ also offers the gardener a gracious compact growth habit that is an improvement on the violet devilfish growth of other cultivars like ‘ Diabolo ’ .

Don’t sweat summer planting

Summer can be a tricky time of year to establish . With sailplane temperature and tyrannical humidness , gardeners are clearly fearful to make any sort of investment funds in the garden . Keep these nuggets of soundness in mind when planting in the hot time of year of the year .

engraft ’em if you ’ve got ’em .

Almost all plants are happier in the land than they are in a container . Believe me , your garden is a lot overnice environment for a plant than a hot glasshouse pot or your driveway , with the pitch-dark container frying the solution at temperatures over 100 ° F . In short , plant them if you could keep them watered .

Cough up some compost .

My dominion is that I never put a spade in the ground , especially in summer , without add together a healthy serving of compost . Whether you are planting , removing , or just try out the newfangled boundary on your sharpened jigaboo , take the time to feast the soil with organic matter . The amended grime will gnaw at less , hold water and air intimately , and in general grow more vigorous plant . Sure this hint is a no - brainer , but how often do we actually do what we prophesy ?

check that it ’s worth it .

How often do those sternly pot - restrain , summertime - cut-rate sale , garden - center plants last to maturity despite all the root slicing , teasing , and other horticultural manipulations ? Sometimes a bargain is nothing of the sort . If a container - grown plant is a picayune crowded in the pot , that ’s one matter . When it add up out of the container as a black hole of compacted root , it might be better to use it as future compost .

False spirea

Name : Sorbaria sorbifoliaZones:2–9Size:6 feet grandiloquent and 10 feet wideConditions : Full Dominicus to fond shade ; moist , well - debilitate ground

If you like plants that stay in sizable , little , attribute corners , this is not the plant for you . But if you have a magnanimous space to fill and love plants with mental attitude , this is your baby . False spirea form large masses of arch branches that are covered with green pinnate leaves . billowing white spray of flowers appear in mid to late summertime . ripe plants spread where you allow them . They are implausibly long-wearing and will take just about any filth thrown in their worldwide direction . An one-year or periodic decapitation to the earth is a good musical theme because it helps keep the plant under control . There is a blanket range of intimately related mintage and pick , but there ’s not much dispute between them .

Indigofera

Name : Indigofera amblyanthaZones:6–9Size:6 foot tall and 8 feet wideConditions : Full Sunday ; moist , well - drained filth

attempt to see a common name for this plant is nearly insufferable . Despite the lack of Commonwealth of Puerto Rico appeal , this tall , arching , lacy - textured shrub is a winner . Indigoferaloves the heat , loves the sun , and shuns most garden gadfly . This rather hidden member of the pea kinfolk sport tumid pink spikes of flowers start out in May and retain to bloom sporadically through much of the summer . Although this works has a light , aery look , it is really tough than nail . Indigoferafits into a class that I call “ wonderful whackables , ” compose of bush that do good from being pruned to the terra firma each yr . I like to give all fresh plant whackables a serious year or so before I begin step them . This shrub can probably take an earlier drubbing , but it does n’t hurt to give it a little time to get its sea wooden leg . Another bonus is that deer tend to avoid browsing .

‘Rogers’ bottlebrush buckeye

Name : Aesculus parvifloravar.serotina‘Rogers’Zones:5–9Size : Up to 10 groundwork improbable and 15 metrical foot wideConditions : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - debilitate territory

This bush is the Richard Petty wash - car driver of the summer garden , leading the pack into the time of year . Bottlebrush buckeye is constitute for its early - summertime spikes of creamy white flowers atop graceful layers of unripened leaves that turn atomic number 79 in autumn . ‘ Rogers ’ flowers a couple of week afterwards than the coinage and is best noted for its spectacular flower spikes that can be 30 column inch or more in length — much large than the square mintage .

This bold , multistemmed suckering shrub is most at menage in some light tincture but does adapt well to sun if given adequate moisture . In universal , this bush is reasonably deer resistant . Not for the faint - of - middle gardener , ‘ Rogers ’ bottlebrush buckeye is an enthusiastic raiser and will spread by root all-day sucker . But while some may shy forth from its hearty habit , this same forte of lineament make it a spectacular summertime shrub .

Swamp azalea

Name : Rhododendron viscosumZones:3–9Size:8 feet tall and wideConditions : Full Sunday ; moist , acidic , well - drained soil

While there are M of great hybrid deciduous rhododendron float around the market , it is knotty to beat some of the tardily - flower North American natives . Swamp azalea is a brilliant industrial plant that grows from Texas to Maine and just about everywhere in between . It is grown for its sweetly scented , early - summer heyday . Flower colors can set out from white to pale chickenhearted to pink , and just a single plant in bloom will occupy an intact garden with fresh scent . Planted in mass , its ok texture , blossom display , and super ruby-red autumn leaf make this shrub unfeignedly amazing . swampland azalea is not a preferable salad - bar detail for cervid , but if athirst enough , they will crunch on it .

Oakleaf hydrangea

Name : Hydrangea quercifoliaand cvs . Zones:5–9Size : Up to 6 feet tall and 8 feet wideConditions : Full sun to partial shade ; moist , well - drained dirt

No shade garden would be thoroughgoing without oakleaf hydrangea . The bold leaves , stunning white-hot summertime blooms , and regal burgundy declivity leaf make this plant a must - have . It is well propagated by cuttings and is fun , although slow , to grow from source . Aside from an occasional annoying folio spot in the southern part of its range , it tends to be a durable , clean plant . Another reason to include this coinage on any summertime shrub list is the encompassing range of cultivars uncommitted on the market place . Among them is the double - flowered ‘ Plectrophenax nivalis ’ , sure to halt traffic with its incredible bloom displays .

Paul Cappiello is executive theater director of Yell Dell Gardens in Crestwood , Kentucky .

Shrubs for Summer Color

Photo: Bill Johnson

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Johnny ’s Selected Seeds Connecta ® Cultivation Kit

Chaste tree

Photo: Bill Johnson

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Blue-mist shrub

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