Chindo Viburnum for Privacy Hedge

When cold weather arrives, I retreat into my shell (down vest) like a threatened turtle. There isn’t much to gladden the heart of this heat-loving gardener. Deciduous plants have dropped their leaves, perennials have passed into dormancy, and annual flowers are long gone. The refreshing appearance of evergreen trees and shrubs make the landscape tolerable. Needled evergreens can be damaged by ice. Limbs of broadleaf evergreens like Magnolia grandiflora break under snow loads. Harsh winds punish palms and conifers. Let me recommend an evergreen that seems to tolerate wind, ice, and snow without damage: Viburnum awabuki ‘Chindo.’

Before I met ‘Chindo,’ I thought of all Viburnums as smallish, deciduous shrubs. A few are known for fragrant flowers or colorful fruit. Others have especially nice fall color. The Chinese Snowball Bush is popular for its large, round white flowers in spring, resembling white mophead Hydrangea flowers.

Chindo Viburnum is an evergreen, low-maintenance shrub that will reach heights up to 20 feet and widths up to 15 feet. Plants can be kept smaller with annual pruning. Somewhat irregular in youth, Chindo matures to a pyramidal shape. It is cold hardy in zones 7b-9b. It will grow in a wide range of soil types and acidity. Chindo prefers part shade to full sun. It looks best when shaded from direct sun at the hottest part of the day. Established plants are moderately drought resistant. The thick, dark green leaves are so shiny they look polished. Plants grow fast – one to two feet per year, making it a good choice for blocking unsavory views.

All resources say that Chindo, introduced by J.C.Raulston, is known for its heavy set of red fruit clusters that follow white flowers which appear in early summer. I had a grouping of four plants, three of which were obtained as rooted cuttings from the fourth. I did not experience heavy berry set. In fact, I don’t recall any flowering. This probably means that my plants needed an outside pollinator instead of same-plant clones, and perhaps that I grew them in too shady an area. Even without flowers or berries, it is on my favorites list for its healthy appearance and low maintenance needs. Bonus: Chindo is rarely browsed by deer.

Select Chindo Viburnum for a privacy hedge, as an alternative to Magnolia, Tea Olive, Holly, or Arborvitae.

A bit gawky in youth, shown here, this Chindo Viburnum matured to a lovely pyramidal shape.

Spirea, One Tough Shrub

Spirea (pronounce spy-REE-ah) is a tough-as-nails, fast-growing deciduous shrub. The garden of my childhood home had two varieties, one with flat-topped clusters of rose-pink flowers in summer and the other with long, arching branches dotted with clusters of white blooms along their length in early spring. The latter was identified by my mother as Van Hootie. I now know that it was not Spirea vanhouttei, but was actually S. prunifolia, commonly called Bridal Wreath Spirea.

There are numerous (40+) species within the Spirea genus, but all are hardy in zones 5-8 (at least), prefer full sun, and are tolerant of all soil types. Newer cultivars have been introduced with brightly colored foliage. ‘Goldflame’ and ‘Limemound’ make good specimens or foundation shrubs, with eye-catching yellow or chartreuse foliage on a smaller stature plant (3 feet or less). I am especially partial to a recent Proven Winner gem, Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea. In early spring, new growth emerges red, then changes to yellow. After the change to yellow, new growth emerges orange. It is not uncommon to see all three leaf colors at the same time, and when the rosy-purple flowers appear – Oh My! It is like Mother Nature has given us a terrestrial rainbow.

Spireas bloom on new growth, so prune in winter to increase spring flowers. Those flowers attract butterflies by the score, and deer usually leave them alone.

Pretty Pittosporum Shrubs

We have had some trees removed to open up a mountain view. As a result, there is a new design opportunity in the Mary Snoddy garden. The steeply sloped area, approximately four acres, has scattered tall hardwoods, a few native Dogwoods, patches of Mountain Laurel, numerous Sourwood trees, and rocks for days. Big rocks. My vision for the future includes a meandering  path with decorative plantings on either side, all the way down to the creek. The path will need switchbacks due to the steep slope. Opportunities abound for plants in full sun, full shade, and everything between.

My tree and shrub choices need to be hardy in zone 7 with a tolerance for rocky, acidic soil.  They also need to be tolerant of heat and humidity while being deer resistant (a relative term, for sure). I started my plant selection Wish List by scanning photos of other gardens I have visited and admired. From this, I gleaned a small set of shrubs and trees to research. One of these is Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata.’ I can still remember the wonderful fragrance of this evergreen shrub, a variegated cultivar clad in gray-green leaves with white margins. The clusters of flowers open white but turn yellow when pollinated. The homeowner had allowed the shrub to grown unpruned. It was four feet tall and about the same width.

I learned several things about Pittosporum. First, I have been pronouncing the name incorrectly for decades. It’s not pit-oh-SPORE-um. The correct pronunciation is pih-TOSS-pur-um. It is cold hardy in zones 8-10, although cultivar ‘Mojo’ is more compact and a bit more cold-tolerant. ‘Wheeler’s Dwarf’ is even more compact but less cold-tolerant than others. Mature height for most cultivars is 8-10 feet.

Pittosporum is tough, fast-growing, demands well-drained soil, and makes a good evergreen hedge. It is not particularly choosy about light (full sun to partial shade) or soil acidity. It is resistant to salt, making it a good choice for coastal gardens.

Unfortunately, deer are attracted to Pittosporum and frequently browse it year-round. This trait and its borderline hardiness in my area moved it from my ‘Wish’ list to the ‘Not For Me’ list.

Pittosporum has an interesting characteristic known as ‘sympodial growth.’ This means that the terminal bud will stop growing and lateral buds will keep on growing, giving stems a zig-zag look. This constant forking is also seen in some orchids and Beech (Fagus) trees. For Pittosporum, the terminal bud usually ceases growth because a flower has formed at the tip.

To prevent leaf spots and fungus problems, provide good air circulation, avoid overhead watering, and remove fallen leaves. Note that Daconil®, a common fungicide, is not labeled for use on Pittosporum and will damage or kill the plant. Counter aphid attacks with spray-on horticultural oil.

Pittosporums are easy to propagate from cuttings taken in late summer. Use a talc-based rooting compound to increase success rate.

Clemson University has an excellent fact sheet: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/pittosporum/

Pittosporum in flower.

Photo by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4561211

Plant Pomegranates for Fruit and Flowers

One of the prettiest flowering shrubs in the Mary Snoddy garden right now is grown for fruit, not flowers. While pomegranate (Punica granatum) is called a fruit, botanically it is a berry. By definition, a berry is produced from a single flower with one ovary, and may have many or few seeds. (Trivia: pomegranates and cucumbers are berries; strawberries and raspberries are not.)

Grow pomegranate in full sun, moderately fertile soil. They will survive in part sun, but flowering will be less profuse. My plant is over fifty years old. It did not fruit well for several years, but an ice storm brought down some limbs on the surrounding trees and it rebounded when given more sunshine. Once established, pomegranates require little maintenance. They tolerate a wide range of soil types (sand to clay, loam preferred) and acidity (pH 5.5 to 7.2), and are drought tolerant. Irrigation to maintain uniformly moist soil will prevent split fruit when rains follow long periods of dry weather.

Shrubs may reach 15-20 feet. A couple of dwarf cultivars are available. ‘Nana’ is only 2-3 feet tall and makes a showy container specimen, looking especially handsome in a blue container. Pomegranate flowers are usually red-orange with an unusual shape (see the photos). Just before opening, the bulbous buds look like miniature versions of the fruits. The plants flower over a long period. Double-flowered forms exist (‘Pleniflora’ is widely available), but they rarely produce fruit. ‘Utah Sweet’ has orange flowers; ‘Flavescens’ has yellow flowers. Regardless of color and whether single or double, flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds. Leaves turn an attractive yellow in the fall, and hold onto the stems for a long time before they fall. Leaves are small and don’t dictate raking unless the gardener is especially fastidious. Most cultivars are hardy in zones 7b to 10. In especially cold winters, they may die to the ground but resprout from the roots and grow quickly.

Pomegranates bloom on new growth, so a little winter pruning will increase flowers and help keep shrubs neat. Plants tend to spread by suckering, and they can become congested if not thinned occasionally.

Fruits are about the size of a large orange. They ripen August through November. The edible part of the fruit is the soft tissue around the seeds, which are arranged in separate chambers within the leathery exterior skin. The seeds are hard, so eating the yummy part involves a lot of spitting out the inedible portion (not recommended for formal dining occasions), but some newer cultivars (‘Angel Red,’ ‘Eversweet’ and ‘Utah Sweet’) have soft seeds that are swallowed along with the flesh, but the soft-seeded varieties are a little less cold tolerant than the others. Plants labeled “Russian Series” are the most cold tolerant.

In ancient Greece, pomegranates symbolized fertility in some stories but represented death in other tales. Hades supposedly used six pomegranate seeds to trick Persephone into staying six months of the year with him in the underworld. It was called “fruit of the dead” by those who thought that the seeds sprang from the blood of Adonis. Its connotation with fertility arose from its association with Hera, the Greek goddess of marriage and childbirth, and its association with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Roman women drank pomegranate juice to cure infertility. Some people think that it was a pomegranate, not the apple, the Eve ate and shared with Adam, getting all mankind barred from the Garden of Eden.

While it is no longer considered a magical potion, we recognize the multiple health benefits of pomegranate fruit, usually consumed in the form of juice. The fruit is loaded with good stuff: antioxidants, polyphenols, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. A 2019 article in Medical News Today lists 15 benefits, ranging from cancer prevention to heart disease deterrence. Read their full article here, but note that the language stresses what benefit the fruit may have.

Grow pomegranates for the attractive flowers, tasty fruit, pleasant fall color, and ease of culture. The fruits are attractive in fall arrangements. Their coarse texture looks great in wooden bowls. Remove ripe fruit from the shrub with sharp pruners. Fruit will remain usable for several weeks after harvest. Beware - the juice stains.

This pomegranate fruit split with slight pressure, revealing the juicy seeds within.

Pomegranate flower

Pomegranate in bloom

Pomegranate fruit

Pomegranate flower bud

Feed Your Pollinators

If your landscape plans for next year include a pollinator garden, consider including Buddleia, known as Butterfly Bush. Some gardeners shy away from using this heat- and drought-tolerant plant because older cultivars may grow to be huge and can reseed to the point of nuisance. In some states they are considered invasive. Newer introductions, namely the Lo and Behold™ series and the Pugster™ series (both trademarked) are small in stature and well-behaved.

Buddleias bloom on new growth, so should be pruned in late winter  or very early spring (before new growth emerges) to increase the number of blooms and to retain their rounded form. The blooms produce copious nectar. In addition to butterflies, many other pollinators flock to the clusters of sweet-smelling bloom panicles that are shaped almost like ice cream cones. In my zone 7b garden, Buddleias start blooming in June and continue until a hard freeze occurs. Pruning away the dead flowers will make future blooms more plentiful.

Buddleias need full sun and well drained soil. They prefer a soil with pH of 6.0 to 7.0, so throw an extra handful of lime their way if your soil test indicates an acidic soil. These tough shrubs are cold hardy in zone 5 to 9, although they may be winter-killed to the ground in the colder zones. Their growth rate is so fast, this hardly matters.

Most Buddleia blooms are shades of purple or lavender, but are also available in shades of white, blue, pink and yellow.

Buddelias are typically trouble-free, but on occasion may be stricken with spider mites, mildew, or nematodes. Resist the urge to use insecticides for these problems, since those would have a negative impact on visiting pollinators. Try to counter any issues by insuring adequate moisture during droughts and siting plants in locations with good air circulation.

If your space allows for a large specimen, ‘Black Knight’ is widely available; its blooms are a rich purple. It may reach six feet or more in a single season. ‘Nanho Blue’ is smaller, reaching four or five feet. For smaller yards and smaller gardens, the Pugsters and Lo and Beholds make wonderful anchors for beds but can also stand alone. Lo and Behold is a small shrub with small flower clusters; Pugster is even smaller but has full-sized blooms. A well-grown Pugster is a thing of beauty.

A white Buddleia pairs with yellow Coreopsis and rosy Joe Pye Weed in the pollinator bed of Lake Lure Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, NC

A young planting of Buddleia Pugster Amethyst with yellow Coreopsis