(HOST) It’s easy to forget – and effectively plan for – how big some plants will be when they’re fully grown, but commentator Charlie Nardozzi says that some new varieties of old stand-bys may solve that problem.
(NARDOZZI) The other day I was looking at my fifteen – foot tall lilac, thinking “I love shrubs, but sometimes they get so darn tall they become a menace.” Not only are they unruly, the flowers are up so high I can’t enjoy them. Well, plant breeders have heard our pleas for smaller plants. One of the biggest trends in horticulture is creating dwarf versions of popular shrubs and flowers. Here are some of my favorites.
Eupatorium or Joe Pye weed is a great native plant to grow in partly shaded, wet areas. The lavender colored, dome-shaped flowers billow above the dark green foliage in mid summer offering nectar for butterflies and beauty for us. But, Joe Pye weed gets big – up to seven feet tall. Enter “Little Joe” Joe Pye Weed. It has the same great characteristics as the native species but grows only four feet tall – perfect for fitting in a perennial border.
Weigela is a green shrub that bursts forth with color in early summer, producing pink or red trumpet shaped flowers. The flowers are favorites of hummingbirds, and the shrub is tough as nails. However, it grows five to six feet tall and wide and after flowering is pretty non-descript. Enter “My Monet” weigela. This new shrub grows only eighteen inches tall, producing pink flowers. Other than the size, the big selling point is the variegated leaves. The new growth has a pink tinge, and the mature leaves are green and white. It’s just right for a container or planted in front of a flower border.
Wisteria vines are gorgeous. One spring I was in the Philadelphia area and saw a wisteria vine topping a forty – foot tall telephone pole and in full bloom. The sight and smell was intoxicating. Growing wisteria in the North has always been problematic because of our cold winters. While the huge vines may survive the weather, they don’t consistently flower. Enter “Blue Moon” wisteria. This new variety was developed in Minnesota. It produces fragrant blue flowers in spring, but on a vine that only rambles twenty-five feet long. And the plant is hardy to minus forty degrees. Now this is a vine I can see keeping under control on my pergola or trellis.
Finally, red twigged dogwoods are great low maintenance shrubs that grow in full to part sun on a variety of soil types. The white flowers in spring give way to black berries that birds enjoy. The red colored branches stand out beautifully against the winter snow. These shrubs can get enormous: six to eight feet tall and ten feet wide. Enter the “Dwarf Redtip Dogwood.” The new leaves and stems emerge crimson red with the color persisting throughout the summer. The shrub grows only two to three feet tall and three to four feet wide.
The best thing for me about growing these diminutive shrubs and flowers is it gives me the opportunity to grow more plants in less space. And that’s just what an obsessive gardener wants.
Charlie Nardozzi is an all-around gardening expert with a special fondness for tomatoes and roses.