Shrubs for Small Spaces in the South

Mark Weathington , director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University in Raleigh , North Carolina , discusses several small shrub variety show that provide swelled pastime in a petite package as well as the benefit of take the right - size plant for a sealed space :

“ Rest assured , even if space is restrict there are many compact bush that will provide people of color , interest , and excitement . Selecting the right - size of it plant life will ensure that you do n’t have extra employment trying to keep them from drench their neighbour . Consider each plant life a critical piece of the whole , and do n’t pause to move something around or remove it entirely if it is n’t live up to its function . ”

Aside from picking a bush you know will ride out small and considering how it will fit among its neighbors , it is also significant to experience whether a certain shrub grows well in your realm . get four small but mighty shrubs for the South below , and discover more compact shrubs in Mark ’s articleCompact Shrubs That allow Color , Interest , and Excitement .

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1. Cinnamon Girl™ distylium

Name:Distylium‘PIIDIST-V’

Zones:7–9 , mayhap 6b

Size:2 to 3 substructure tall and 3 to 4 fundament wide

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; patient of of a wide variety of soil type

Native kitchen range : Southeast and East Asia

I have been growing species ofDistyliumfor ten , and these plants never flinch at the mien of heat , drouth , or cold . The new hybrids are workhorses in the landscape , and there is a shape and form for any garden situation . I am particularly fond of Cinnamon Girl ™ , with its compact habit and purplish fresh growth . This shrub works well in containers or as a low foundation garment plant below porch or depleted window . The scarlet flowers are not too glossy but are a welcome sight in former wintertime .

2. October Magic®Carpet™ camellia

Name:Camellia sasanqua‘Green 01-006’

Zones:7–9

Size:3 foot marvelous and 5 foot wide-cut

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; deep , well - drained soil

Native scope : Japan

I ’m in dear with all camellia , so when I rule one that I am especially doting of , I have to tell apart everyone about it . The flower of October Magic ® Carpet ™ are dazzling in bloom with their brilliant yellow heart and soul and ripple pink flower petal . This plant ’s growth drug abuse is down in the mouth and spreading , making it a candidate for a variety of employment in small landscapes or container . It is perfect planted as a low hedge , and it has show - stopping drop blush . No Southern garden should be without the cool - time of year color and handsome evergreen foliation of camellias .

3. ‘Pee Wee’ oakleaf hydrangea

Name:Hydrangea quercifolia‘Pee Wee’

Zones:5–9

Size:3 to 5 feet marvellous and 3 feet wide

aboriginal image : Southeastern United States

We are so fortunate to have beautiful oakleaf hydrangea gracing our native woodlands in central Alabama ; it is almost weedy in my woodland garden . The tardy spring to early summertime blooms clear any corner of the landscape . Move in a lilliputian closer to catch the wonderful scent of those white , pillowy bloom . The stock specie size of it can be 10 feet magniloquent or more , but ‘ Pee Wee ’ is half that . It nevertheless has all the same attributes , including rich fall color , bark with wintertime interest , and clean blossom that senesce to a ruddy pink . It is truly a plant life for all time of year .

4. Diamond Spire®gardenia

Name:Gardenia‘Leefive’

Size:3 to 4 feet improbable and 2 feet all-encompassing

experimental condition : Full sunlight to fond shade ; acidulent to neutral , well - drained dirt

Native range : Hybrid

Nothing beats the bouquet of gardenias hanging in the warm summertime air travel . I must have 25 gardenia varieties in my personal garden , but this selection really stand out with its unusual upright descriptor and roundish leaves . Many of the gnome gardenias lean to sprawl , but Diamond Spire ® has a columnar drug abuse that mould well in narrow spaces and containers . Also , the unmarried flower tend to appear through twilight .

Hayes Jackson is an esurient plantsman , an urban regional extension broker with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System , and director of the new Longleaf Botanical Gardens in Anniston , Alabama .

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