{"id":10922,"date":"2018-09-06T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=10922"},"modified":"2018-09-06T12:47:41","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T16:47:41","slug":"not-new-but-a-top-landscape-performer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2018\/09\/06\/not-new-but-a-top-landscape-performer\/","title":{"rendered":"Not New –Still Top Landscape Performers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ in mid-fall at Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC<\/p><\/div>\n

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‘Arctic Fire’ dogwood at Univ. of TN Gardens Knoxville<\/p><\/div>\n

A senior gardener knows that many new plant cultivars (varieties) are often no better than what had come before. Many\u00a0“superstar” shrubs, some released a decade or more ago,\u00a0are still topnotch performers in many parts of the U.S. Here are six which\u00a0I continue to recommend highly.<\/p>\n

‘Low &Behold\u00ae Blue Chip Jr.’ Butterfly Bush<\/strong>\u00a0is a super compact\u00a018-30 inch tall shrub (or perennial) with deep indigo blue flowers above silvery blue foliage. For\u00a0peak performance, plant in a full sun\u00a0and in moist well-drained soil. Blue Chip Jr. is the smaller version of ‘Blue Chip’,\u00a0another outstanding\u00a0performer. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9).<\/p>\n

Arctic Fire\u00ae Red Twig Dogwood<\/strong> (Cornus sanguinea<\/em>) receives lots of notice for its brilliant red stems through the winter season.\u00a0 Bright green spring foliage turns gold-yellow in the fall. This compact 4-5 foot tall shrub grows well in either full to partial sun. (USDA hardiness zones 2-7).<\/p>\n

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‘Purple Pillar’ althea<\/p><\/div>\n

Purple Pillar\u00ae Rose of Sharon<\/strong> (Hibiscus syriacus<\/em>) flaunts a narrow columnar\u00a0habit that’s a perfect fit in\u00a0a small urban garden or large container. In mid-summer it produces showy 4- inch wide, semi-double,\u00a0purple blooms. A\u00a0mature shrub may be grow\u00a016 feet tall and only 3 feet\u00a0wide. Utilize as an accent specimen, narrow screen or hedge. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9)<\/p>\n

‘Rose Creek’ Flowering Abelia<\/strong> (Abelia x grandiflora<\/em>) is a compact\u00a0version of a large old-fashioned shrub.\u00a0Cultivar grows only 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide. New leaves emerge with a pinkish tone and matures bright green. White slightly fragrant flowers are produced\u00a0from late spring to fall. In fall the flowers take on a copper-rose hue. (USDA hardiness zones 6-9).<\/p>\n

Bobo\u00ae Panicle Hydrangea<\/strong> (Hydrangea paniculata<\/em>) is a much\u00a0smaller version of Limelight\u00a0\u00ae hydrangea. Compact growing Bobo grows 4 – 5 feet high and 3-4 feet wide. The white flowers are held upright on sturdy stems; Bobo has a long bloom period from late July into fall. (USDA hardiness zones 3-8).<\/p>\n

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Spirea thunbergii ‘Ogon’<\/p><\/div>\n

Goldthread\u00ae Spirea<\/strong> (Spiraea\u00a0thunbergii<\/em>\u00a0‘Ogon’)\u00a0is a compact growing (3-5 feet tall and wide) deciduous shrub with wiry arching branching. Clusters of tiny white flowers (each to 1\/3\u201d diameter) appear in\u00a0early spring before its awesome foliage emerges. Goldthread spirea is a showy accent plant with narrow willow-like chartreuse colored leaves (to 1.5\u201d long and to 1\/4\u201d wide). In most years, fall leaf color is average. (USDA hardiness zones 4-8)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A senior gardener knows that many new plant cultivars (varieties) are often no better than what had come before. Many\u00a0“superstar” shrubs, some released a decade or more ago,\u00a0are still topnotch performers in many parts of the U.S. Here are six which\u00a0I continue to recommend highly. ‘Low &Behold\u00ae Blue Chip Jr.’ Butterfly Bush\u00a0is a super compact\u00a018-30 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1034,444,1487,707,1319,696,749,605,1349,674,645,1186,806,1357,10,675,853,551,1385,843,1060,601,729,630,921,705,706,646,7,1401,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10922"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10936,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922\/revisions\/10936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}