GOINGnative

Native Shrubs for Year-Round Interest

By Shari Wilson

I am reading a new book by legendary plant collector Dan Hinkley. Of course, discovering and collecting plants from other parts of the world to bring back home is the polar opposite of gardening with native plants. The story of how this person came to live in the Pacific Northwest and build two world-famous gardens is interesting, though. Early in the book, Hinkley says, in talking about the need for texture and foliage in a garden, “I am not forging new territory here. Yet, for the freshman gardener, there seems to be no coercion or simple pleading that will force retreat from floral flirtation. Nurseries, blossom dens, pushing floral addictions and thwarting the quantum leap to foliage, don’t make it easy.” A bit over the top, but I had to laugh out loud. This is so true. As a gardener starting out, I planted flowers and then more flowers. It was only over time that I came to realize building a garden, whether for aesthetics or ecological value, requires different heights and textures. Hinkley suggests taking a photo of your garden in black-and-white to help you see whether there is variation in height and texture. I tried it; it really works! This brings us to planting deciduous, native shrubs. They are an excellent way to add layers to your garden for more texture, better design, and amplifying ecological value—not to mention the possibility for more flowers. Here are a few native shrubs worth a try.

Summersweet ( Clethra alnifolia )

Small Shrubs

• Dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) This dwarf variety of fothergilla grows up to 3 feet high and 4 feet wide; perfect for tucking into a border. It is lowmaintenance and has a short period of spiky white blooms in late spring and gorgeous fall color. The foliage in summer has a slightly blue cast. These plants thrive in moist soils and can take part shade as well. In sunny locations, they must have moist soil. If you plant this shrub in average, rather than moist soil, it is essential to keep it moist until it is well-established.

• Summersweet ‘Hummingbird’ (Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’) This is a smaller version of summersweet shrub and grows to 4 feet tall. This shrub has abundant candle-like white flowers in summer with a noticeable fragrance. I think of it as a native substitute for lilac, although it blooms later and the flowers are smaller. The number of flowers though, make up for the smaller size. In fall, leaves turn yellow. Summersweet also grows in partshade.

• Winterberry ‘Red Sprite’ (Ilex verticillata nana ‘Red Sprite’) This smaller cultivar of winterberry grows 2 to 3 feet high and wide—perfect for smaller gardens. One thing to remember about winterberry is that you need a male and a female. The female shrub produces the berries and one male within 50 feet or so is usually adequate to pollinate up to 10 female shrubs. Nurseries typically sell both side by side. These shrubs grow in clay soils, wet areas, and drier areas, and produce the most fruit in sunnier spots, although I have had them produce abundant fruit in dappled shade once they are mature. Winterberry have small white flowers in spring, dark-green foliage in summer. Berries begin to form around late August and last through mid-winter or until birds eat them.

• Pee Wee Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’) This is a smaller cultivar of the large, native oak leaf hydrangea that works wonderfully in a tighter space. Interest-

Coralberry (Symphoricarpos)

ing branching in winter, glorious white panicle flowers in early summer, and blazing color in fall make this a versatile shrub. The larger leaves also add textural contrast.

• Coralberry (Symphoricarpos) I am reluctant to include this shrub because I have little experience with it, having only planted three very small shrubs last fall. They definitely grew in their part-shade location, but remained pretty small, so I can’t say much about their habit and shape. Coralberry shrubs do, though, have fascinating pink berries. Like many shrubs, the more sun they get, the more berries. I found these at Herring Run Nursery. They grow 3 to 6 feet high and wide, and are said to be low-maintenance. I plan to move one to a full-sun location to see if that makes a difference.

Medium Shrubs

• Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) Beautyberry shrubs need sun and space and given both, they are gorgeous come fall. The flowers are tiny and the summer foliage is a lighter green. You can read more about beautyberry in the June 2019 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine.

• Blueberry (Vaccinum corymbosum) Blueberries have white flowers in spring, berries in early summer, and bright-red foliage in fall. They feed birds and look good. A mature blueberry is a beautiful shrub. They grow best in more-acidic soil and at least medium moisture. shrub. It develops into a vase shape, blooms with small white flowers in clusters in spring, and in fall, has red berries and red and orange leaves. It grows 6 to 8 feet high and 6 feet wide.

• Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) This shrub grows to 8 feet or so. It grows naturally in moister areas, but tolerates regular and clay soils easily. Once established, you can let it alone and be delighted when you see it has come into bloom. Regular summersweet blooms mid-summer, so a bit later than lilac, but the scent is equally as amazing. The pink or white candlelike flowers are also great for cutting. Summersweet grows naturally in moister areas, but tolerates regular and clay soils easily. Bees are highly attracted it. The fall foliage color is yellow.

Large Shrubs

• Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) This is the naturally occurring size of the smaller shrub described earlier. It has all of the same attributes and needs, but grows up to 12 feet high and wide. Only the most-mature of shrubs would reach the maximum height, and these are easily pruned to reduce height and width. These also grow well in part-shade.

• Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) This 5- to 8-foot-high and wide hydrangea is fascinating in spring as the leaves unfurl in a sort of a prehistoric fashion. The shrub then quickly fills out and blooms with long, white, panicled flowers in May and June. These blooms eventually fade to pink and brown. The leaves turn into an incredible array of maroons, reds, and greens in fall. In winter, the papery bark and architectural form of the oakleaf hydrangea provide great seasonal interest. Once established, very little care is needed other than pruning it, if it gets too large. To prune, remove the tallest branches at the base of the shrub to maintain its shape. This shrub takes shade, partial sun, and full sun, although partial sun seems better. yellow clusters of flowers on bare branches in early spring. If you have ever happened upon a mass of these in the dappled shade of woods, it can be magical. The blooms are followed by light-green leaves and yellow fall foliage color. In the wild, it grows to 12 feet high and wide, but stays smaller in a garden setting, typically growing 6 to 8 feet tall and wide. It will do well in shade and part-sun and likes moist soils, but can tolerate average soils. It reportedly gets more blooms the more sun it gets.

• Viburnum (Viburnum sp.) Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), American cranberry bush (Viburnum opulus), Nannyberry viburnum (Viburnum lentago), and Possumhaw viburnum (Viburnum nudum) are all large-size shrubs that grow in sun or part-shade and are care-free. If you are looking for viburnums on the smaller side, check out Possumhaw viburnum ‘Brandywine’, and ‘Wintherhur’, which top out at 6 feet. Green leaves emerge in spring; stay fresh all summer; and turn red, yellow, and green in fall. Viburnums are also vigorous, lowmaintenance, and deer-resistant. Nurseries carry tons of non-native viburnums, so please make sure to doublecheck the type you are buying or buy from a native plant nursery. o

Shari Wilson is self-taught gardener who loves native plants. Her garden is in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. She blogs at www.nutsfornatives.com.

Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)