{"id":8223,"date":"2016-03-17T12:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=8223"},"modified":"2015-10-22T19:19:31","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T23:19:31","slug":"fothergillas-are-topnotch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2016\/03\/17\/fothergillas-are-topnotch\/","title":{"rendered":"Fothergillas Are Topnotch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fothergilla<\/a>

Fothergilla x intermedia ‘Blue Shadow’ at Duke Gardens<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Fall<\/a>

Fall color of F. gardenia<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the Eastern U.S. two species, dwarf fothergilla (F. gardenii<\/em>) and large fothergilla (Fothergilla major<\/em>), are native. They are also labeled “witch alder”. Both species appear almost identical, except for flower and leaf size, and overall shrub size. Large fothergilla is indigenous to the mountain and Piedmont Regions of the Carolinas where soils are drier and slightly more acidic soil. It is also rated more winter hardy (zones 4-8) and prefers partial shade areas.<\/p>\n

Fothergillas are\u00a0four-season shrubs, members of the witchhazel family (Hamamelidaceae). Leaves are almost identical. Both species\u00a0bloom abundantly with\u00a0clean blemish-free\u00a0summer foliage and superb fall color. Flower buds form\u00a0atop terminal tips of branches.<\/p>\n

Creamy white bottle-brush flowers, 1\u00bd to 3-inch tall, appear in April\u00a0to early\u00a0May depending on the region of the country\u00a0where you garden in. Flowers typically last\u00a010 to 14 days and flowers emit a sweet honey scent. Summer foliage is usually blemish-free green to blue-green. Fall leaf color is variable from one year to the next from yellow, bright orange, or deep red. Weather and growing conditions play a role in fall colors each year.<\/p>\n

Fothergillas prefer moist, humus-rich, well-drained, acidic soil; it lingers or dies in\u00a0poorly drained soil.\u00a0Shrubs tolerate partial shade, but flower numbers and shrub density are best in full sun. Root suckers form into a tight plant colony which widens over time.<\/p>\n

Fothergillas are utilized as single specimen shrubs or plant several together as a\u00a0shrub border, foundation planting or\u00a0low hedge. Pruning is rarely needed\u00a0for this slow growing compact shrub. They are not troubled by insect, disease, or deer browsing.<\/p>\n

Leading Cultivars:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Mount Airy\u2019 is a natural hybrid discovered at Mount Airy Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio by Dr. Michael Dirr of the University of Georgia; it grows 4 – 6 feet tall with good fall color and larger flowers (than dwarf fothergilla), and is more drought and winter cold tolerant (zone 4).<\/p>\n

\u2018Blue Mist\u2019 (F. gardenii<\/em>) is a compact, 2-3 feet tall, slow-growing cultivar with a mounded habit; frosty blue-green summer foliage under moderate shade; subpar fall color in zone 7 and points south.<\/p>\n

\u2018Blue Shadow\u2019 (F. x intermedia<\/em>) is a compact, 4-6 feet with striking powder blue (glaucous)\u00a0foliage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              In the Eastern U.S. two species, dwarf fothergilla (F. gardenii) and large fothergilla (Fothergilla major), are native. They are also labeled “witch alder”. Both species appear almost identical, except for flower and leaf size, and overall shrub size. Large fothergilla is indigenous to the mountain and Piedmont Regions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,747,299,144,778,674,806,10,1270,1012,627,843,936,1060,812,601,630,705,646,7,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8223"}],"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=8223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8228,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8223\/revisions\/8228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}