Two New Shrubs for Short Hedges

Recently, several gardening friends and I climbed into our cars (and truck) for a trip to Head-Lee Nursery in Seneca, SC. I was fortunate enough to run into Bill Head (who introduced Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’, a well-behaved sterile vine with beautiful purple blooms but none of the nasty invasive qualities of Wisteria chinensis). I asked which were his favorite new plants for 2021, and he named two. One of these was Ilex opaca ‘RLH-I0-1’. Before you yawn and dismiss this as “just another holly, let me say that there is nothing “average” about Ramblin’ Man™ Weeping Holly. You read that correctly: It is a weeping form of our native American Holly.

Ramblin’ Man™ will spread to ten feet wide but no more than two feet tall. Use it as a groundcover or an accent. I snapped the accompanying photograph of the plant in a nursery container. The weeping stem habit is evident. This is such a new intro that cultural information is scant on the internet, but it is safe to assume that this holly will enjoy the same cultural conditions as other Ilex opaca: full sun to mostly sun; moist, acidic soil; zones 5-8. American Holly has leathery, evergreen leaves. It tolerates neglect and is not normally browsed by deer.

The second recommended shrub was Clinopodium georgianum ‘Sweet Savannah™ Calamint.’ I expected a plant with the gray-green leaves of a Nepeta, but Sweet Savannah™ has deep green, aromatic foliage. This beauty is only 12 inches tall but will spread to 30 inches wide, in sun to part shade. A member of the mint family, it is cold hardy down to twenty degrees. It is a great plant for short hedges or foundation plantings. In autumn, it is covered with attractive lavender flowers. Mr. Head shared a photo of the plant in bloom, shown below. This improved native checks all the boxes: easy to grow, deer resistant, pollinator friendly, heat and drought tolerant.

Calamint is the Perennial Plant Association’s 2021 Perennial of the Year.

Ilex opaca ‘Ramblin Man’

Sweet Savannah Calamint

Two Shrubs with Great Fall Color

Fall is my favorite season – colorful leaves, cooler temperatures, tasty apples, and football (in a normal year, that is).  If your desire for autumn color goes beyond the potted Chrysanthemums for sale in every garden center and grocery store, consider these two deciduous shrubs: Callicarpa and Fothergilla.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa) has tiny white or pink blooms in late spring, and so-so foliage. It is a forgetable plant until September, when clusters of purple berries adorn its branches. The berries hold fast to the stems, even after the yellow leaves shed. There are cultivars with white, pink or lilac berries, but why select one of those when you can have grape jam, Barney-like, intense purple? Berry set is heaviest when several plants are grown together.  Callicarpa prefers full sun and well-drained soil. It won’t tolerate constantly wet feet. Beautyberry has arching stems, similar to Forsythia. Callicarpa americana is a big shrub, reaching 5 to 6 feet, while its cousin Callicarpa dichotoma is more compact, reaching 2 to 4 feet. The smaller stature plants are easier to incorporate into the home garden. ‘Issai’ is a compact cultivar known for heavy fruiting at an early age.

Beautyberry produces blooms and berries on new growth, so do not hesitate to prune hard during dormancy. These easily-grown shrubs will tolerate severe cut backs, even to a few inches above soil level. A bonus feature is that the leaves contain a compound that repels mosquitos, ticks, and biting flies.

Fothergilla is another easily-grown shrub, a native member of the witch hazel family, with multi-season beauty. In spring, it has white bottle-brush blooms that appear on bare stems. Summer leaves have blue undertones. These shrubs have outstanding fall color, showing yellow, orange, red and burgundy shades all at the same time. If you are considering Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), please reconsider and choose Fothergilla instead. Burning Bush has red fall color, but it is invasive and should not be planted. (Visit http://invasive.org for more info.)

Fothergilla likes full sun and moist soil. There is a size to fit your need. ‘Mount Airy’ is widely available. It reaches 5 to 6 feet, with similar spread. ‘Suzanne’ reaches to 2 ½ feet with a width to 3 feet. Diminutive ‘Harold Epstein’ reaches only 12 inches in height, with a spread to 18 inches. Bonus feature: This shrub is not normally browsed by deer.

The bright purple berries of Callicarpa show how it earned the common name, Beautyberry.

Even though it has only been in the ground for one year, this ‘Mount Airy‘ Fothergilla shows fantastic fall color.

This is the same shrub shown in the fall color photo. The white bottle brush flowers decorate the early spring garden.