dwolf
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6 to 8 foot foundation planting?

I live in the Northeast.... I have been trying to find a plant/shrub that would be around 6 to 8 feet tall to plant on both sides of my front porch. I presently have a couple of Andromedas but they are not going to get to the height I want. I don't want your typical evergreens. A couple of things I looked at and like I found will take too many years to grow... Mountain Laurel for example. Width is an issue but If it's a type of planting that can be pruned I can do that. Big leaf Rhododendron was advised but I am not a big fan. I already have Rose of Sharon in the front. So ANY ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

If you don't care if it is evergreen, viburnum is one of my favorite shrubs to grow. It flowers in the spring and is beautifully fragrant, so lovely to grow by the door where you will walk past it all the time. There are a number of different varieties of viburnum which mature to different heights and it is pretty fast growing.

Bayberry is listed as semi-evergreen. It is where we get bay leaves from, so the foliage is aromatic. It gets a little bigger than you are asking for, but tolerates pruning well. It is easy to grow and usually not bothered by any pests or diseases.

these are both cold hardy down to zone 3.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Most shrubs that grow to 6-8 feet tall would grow 4-6 feet or as wide. You would have to turn them into topiaries to keep them within the space you have and they would encroach the porch I think?

One option might be to grow a suitable edible or decorative shrub/dwarf tree in espalier style. You should opt for disease resistant cultivar due to limited air flow.

Another might be to secure a decorative ironwork trellis or fan trellis on (by this I mean with a spacer, to keep away from) the wall, then grow annual or suitably well-behaved perennial vine.


...which way does your front door face? How much sun?

dwolf
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East.. morning sun Zone 5-6

dwolf
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East.. morning sun Zone 5-6 Much better picture..
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dwolf
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Love the Viburnums... as you can see I got a beauty in the front... I have not found one that would be smaller.

dwolf
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Let's talk 5 foot plants.

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rainbowgardener
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viburnums come in a whole range of sizes:

dwarf walter's viburnum gets to be about 5x5 https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/ ... -viburnum/

LIL Ditty Viburnum gets to be 1-2 feet high and wide: https://www.gardencrossings.com/shrubs/ ... gITZPD_BwE

Korean spice viburnum gets to be 4-5 feet high and wide: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Proven-Winn ... /205655171

etc. They can be very large or very small or almost anything in between.



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