Tough-as-Nails Shrubs for the South

Who does n’t love buy the meretricious new plant life that catch everyone ’s eye at the greenhouse ? Or the plant that ’s just outside your hardiness zone , but has always ride you with fantastic foliage and/or out - of - this - world flower ? gardener are n’t one to always play it safe , but as Richie Steffen cite in his article on tough perennial , “ contrive a garden with unproved plants is risky business and not for those unwilling to take another smash to their pocketbook . ”

And that ’s where tough - as - nails , prove performers come in . Taking a gamble on a new plant is a fiddling less risky when they ’re paired up with a stamp of characters that never disappoint . In Richie ’s article , Tough - as - Nails Perennials , he cover the perennial plant life that power through a variety of beastly condition , but there are also unnumbered bush that also play this crucial part . Below you will find out some tough - as - nails shrub for the South .

1. ‘Sike’s Dwarf’ Oakleaf Hydrangea

Name:Hydrangea quercifolia‘Sike’s Dwarf’

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 8

Size:2 to 3 foot tall and 4 foot wide

status : Full Lord’s Day to fond nuance ; moist , humus - rich soil

With bloom bombastic than ‘ Pee Wee ’ ( H.quercifolia‘Pee Wee ’ , Zones 5–8 ) and rich crimson fall foliage , ‘ Sike ’s Dwarf ’ wins my voter turnout for the ripe oakleaf hydrangea for terrace , townhouse , and container planting . Pruning , if needed , is better done after flowering . To keep the plant looking tidy , I wish to cut off the spent blooms . Oakleaf hydrangeas become yellow-bellied and chlorotic if grown in alkaline grunge ( with a pH higher than 7 ) ; to prevent this problem , get a soil test and tot up the recommended amount of organic issue or sulphur to lower the pH.

2. ‘Hartlage Wine’ Sweetshrub

Name:Calycanthusraulstonii‘Hartlage Wine’

Zones:6 to 9

Size:8 feet marvellous and full

weather : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - drain soil

This gorgeous shrub is a crossing between our aboriginal sweetshrub ( Calycanthus floridus , Zones 5–9 ) and its Asiatic relative , Formosan wax plant ( genus Calycanthus chinensis , Zones 6–8 ) . Its showy , dark burgundy flowers appear in early summer . They have a sweet , insidious fragrance and can be as large as 3 column inch in diameter . Some gardener report that ‘ Hartlage wine-colored ’ reblooms occasionally . This shrub value afternoon shade , peculiarly in the warmer zona of the South . In fond specter , it can live without supplemental irrigation ; with adequate H2O , it will thrive in full sunshine .

3. ‘Mrs. G. G. Gerbing’ Southern Indica Azalea

Name:Rhododendron indicum‘Mrs. G. G. Gerbing’

Zones:7 to 9

Size : Up to 10 feet tall and encompassing

Conditions : Full Dominicus to fond shade ; moist , well - drained , acidic soil

‘ Mrs. G. G. Gerbing ’ is a pop shrub in the South , and with good reason . It is easily grown in full sun or the shade of gamey - canopy trees , is wide available , and makes a very good option for beginning nurseryman . Although adaptable to many soils , it performs best in moist , slightly acidic grease with lots of constitutional issue worked into it . This shrub will form a 5 - ft - tall mound in a duo of years and can reach up to 10 feet marvellous in ideal conditions if never pruned . Like its Indica azalea cousin-german , it drop its flowers rather than holding on to the utter chocolate-brown flower that mar the appearance of many other azaleas .

4. ‘Wintergreen’ Korean Boxwood

Name:Buxus sinicavar.insularis‘Wintergreen’

Zones:4 to 9

Size:3 substructure tall and 4 to 5 foot all-embracing

weather : Full sun to fond shade ; sandy , gravelly , and well - drain loam

‘ mountain tea ’ Korean boxwood is a reliable workhorse in southern gardens . It goes with every house color and style , and is happy in Sunday or mottled shade . I like using it as a grim hedge . It need little attending except for a half cup of plant food or manure at the beginning of the growing time of year , normal lachrymation , and a little pruning on the solar day of the Kentucky Derby to keep it in shape . Korean Turkish boxwood does n’t seem to have the leaf miner or fungus problem that plague European boxwood ( Buxus sempervirens , geographical zone 5–8 ) . The leave can call on yellow - viridity in cold winters , but the flora will survive . This bush grows slowly and is deer - repellent .

June Mays is owner of June Mays Garden Design LLC in Birmingham , Alabama . She holds diploma in Garden Design and Plantsmanship from the English Gardening School in London , England .

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