5 Newer Flowering Shrubs that Alex Really Likes!
Here are 5 newer shrubs that have been introduced in the last couple of years that I have found to be: exciting, easy to care for, perform well in our area and will be in inventory this spring.
Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon-Purple Pillar is a columnar Rose of Sharon that only gets to 2 to 3 feet wide. Blooms purple with red centers from July to September. It enjoys full sun and heat for best bloom performance. Purple Pillar works well on corner of houses, narrow beds that need height between windows, or for hedge plant to add color to an evergreen hedge.
Diamond Rouge Hydrangea-Diamond Rouge is a sun loving Hydrangea that blooms white and turns to raspberry pink earlier and doesn’t depend on temp to trigger the color change. It also has a nice upright habit and is less prone to flopping over while in bloom like previous varieties which means less pruning needed. They grow to about 4 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. Another bonus is the red fall color it turns in October.
Fireside Ninebark-Fireside Ninebark is a dwarf ninebark that features the rich red purple foliage but keeps a more compact form of 5 to 7’ tall and wide. The foliage has the appealing larger leaf of Diabolo that grows to twice the size of Fireside. It enjoys part sun to full sun spots, and doesn’t mind our winds. Works well as a hedge for privacy or where you need a color contrast against a fence or flower bed. Ninebarks are also thorn-less.
Fire Island Hydrangea- Fire Island Hydrangea is great for afternoon shade areas of the yard. It is a dwarf Hydrangea that only grows to about 3.5 feet tall and wide. It starts blooming in early summer and goes into fall for it blooms on both new and old wood. So you get blooms no matter how hard a winter is on the plant. The pink/white colors of the bloom shows nicely in shade.
Lil’ Flirt Spirea -Lil’ Flirt Spirea is a tiny Spirea that is just as durable as it’s bigger cousins. It grows in pretty much any soil condition to 2 1/2 feet tall and wide. It enjoys partial to all sun as well. Lil’ Flirt stays compact and starts blooming in May with repeat blooms throughout the summer. More so if you shear off the old blooms periodically. The compact habit lends this Spirea to work well in perennial beds or as a border plant.