Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants – Northwest

1. Paperbark Maple

Name:Acer griseum

USDA hardiness zones:4 to 8

Size:20 to 30 foot tall and all-embracing ( rounded crown )

Conditions : Full sun to partial shadiness ; well - drain soil

This Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree provide a focal point for all seasons . The year starts with small white-livered peak appearing in natural spring , come after by three - lob , dark greenish leave all summer . In surrender , the leaf twist a salient redness . The ice on the cake is the muscular , reddish brown - colored trunk with peeling bark , which provide unbeatable winter sake even on gloomy days .

2. ‘Profusion’ Beautyberry

Name:Callicarpa bodinierivar.giraldii‘Profusion’

Zones:5 to 8

Size:6 feet tall and 4 feet wide

‘ Profusion ’ beautyberry plays a screen background function nine months of the yr , but when its yield turn a metallic neon purple in early decline , this works moves to center degree . Its leaves , which often take on pinkish tone in autumn , finally drop , leaving behind clumps of Berry hugging onto long gray stems . This cultivar is known for its vast number of berries . Because the yield are not a favorite of birds , the berries persist well into winter .

3. Golden Hardy Fuchsia

Name:Fuchsia magellanica‘Aurea’

Zones:6 to 9

Size:2 feet tall and 4 understructure wide

Conditions : Partial wraith ; well - drained filth

Place this little workhorse where you ’ll see it often because it is in flower from late bounce until a hard frost . The prostrate habit of golden hardy fuchsia makes it perfect for spilling over the border of a pot or rock wall . And the bright yellow leaves allow a striking contrast to red purple stems and raging pinkish flower . Because the leaves can glow and slice in sun , fond shadiness is ideal .

4. Ivory Halo®Redtwig Dogwood

Name:Cornus alba‘Bailhalo’

Zones:3 to 8

Size:4 foot grandiloquent and wide

Conditions : Partial shadiness ; moist land

Ivory Halo ® is more compact than other redtwig cornel , making it an idealistic focal degree for small garden . Its leaves tend to burn down in full sun , but they wave in the shade , draw your eye to their crisp , greenish - and - white vary leaves . The small white spring flowers of Ivory Halo ® are a bonus , but the real dramatic event come in fall and winter when the leaf omit , give away brilliant blood-red stems . trim the root back to just above reason horizontal surface in early spring to keep future stems red and compact .

Pat Rehis a landscape painting designer and ecumenical manager of Northwest Botanicals in Seattle , Washington .

picture : # 1 , Jennifer Benner ; # 2 , Jerry Pavia ; # 3 , Danielle Sherry ; # 4 , Bill Johnson

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Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants - Northeast

Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants - Midwest

Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants - Southeast

Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants - Southwest

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