What flowering bushes would you recommend?

[AnimalBabe]

I want to plant along the two sides of our backyard deck, and am stumped as to what to plant. I am going to do two rhododendrons on the one shorter side, but want to plant a few bushes on the longer part in the front. I was thinking of doing peonies until I read they should be pruned way down in the fall, and I really hoped to plant something that will remain bushy in the winter--ideally something growing at least 4 ft tall (that's about how far up our deck starts), and something that flowers and smells nice in the spring and/or summer. Any thoughts? I did a few tuilups and daffodils near the stairs, but also need something where the stairs meet the deck (that is a corner that probably gets part shade), and then along the front (I'd call that part sun), so maybe 4 plants in all depending on size.

[bullthistle]

Rhodys get pretty big so what about azaleas or gardenias for later on.

[AnimalBabe]

Yeah, I wanted to do the rhododendrons on the one size specifically so they'd grow at least 5 ft, but in the front I want something smaller, pref no more than 4-5 ft at maturity. I like azaleas, but have them in the front of the house so I wanted to get something new. I actually just planted a frost proof gardenia on one corner of the deck, forgot to mention that. I read they are hard to care for though, not sure if that's true.

[applestar]

I don't think you've mentioned what kind of sun exposure. Will the area be in shade of the deck until they shrubs grow to a certain point? What about after that? Rhodies don't like full sun. I think they also can easily get to be 8-10' or more. At a local arboretum, they have really old (over 100) rhodies that have huge trunks and arch branches over the path.

[lorax]

Camellia and Gardenia come to mind immediately, both of which are hardy in your area.

If you want some winter interest, however, may I suggest not shrubs but perennial vines trained to trellises? Grapes provide beautiful winter interest, as do passionflowers and hardy kiwis. Vines would also allow you to shape the display exactly without worrying about overpruning.

[WildcatNurseryman]

'Conoy' Viburnum- Semi to fully evergreen, tough, plentiful flower, clean glossy dak-green foliage. Right size. Fairly slow too, so they are easily controlled. Use this plant quite a bit and it is a keeper, along with 'Eskimo' Viburnum.

[AnimalBabe]

Thanks, everyone. The viburnum and camellia both look nice. I think I had looked at camellia initially and forgot about that one. Can I plant that now or is it better to wait until fall? Is that pretty easy to grow? And that will stay bushy and not require a lot of pruning?

I don't think grapes would grow great in this part of our yard. It isn't full shade but I'd say part sun or maybe even part shade. It seems to get the most sun from 10am-2pm.

I also wanted to ask if it was ok to plant iris right now? I was looking at planting that in one tiny corner of the deck. Yet that part might not get enough sun for an iris...

[WildcatNurseryman]

Now is the best time to plant. Perfect. I can't grow Camilia so can't give you a ton of info on those. I would imagine their are all different shapes and sizes. Most of the ones I have ever seen were fairly large shrubs. 5-7 feet. That is a big benefit of the conoy. It stays about the size your looking for naturally. Camilias are very pretty though.

[lorax]

Camellias are very easy to care for, take pruning admirably, and there are dwarf varieties available that will stay about the size you're looking for. Plant 'em now if you're going to, or wait until next spring - fall plantings in my experience tend to be less robust and may not survive the winter.

[AnimalBabe]

Hi again, I'm looking up camellias and was wondering if anyone could suggest a particular type that would be best suited for part shade and grow to about 4 feet. Also, I want to make sure I would be planting these correctly..I have amended our clay soil to have a good amount of organic matter, as well as adding in some top soil. However, I'm reading they really like peat moss..I don't know anything about that. Do I have to add that? Thanks!

[AnimalBabe]

Oh and I meant to add that I had hoped for a spring bloom time. I see some Camellias bloom in the winter!

[rainbowgardener]

I think the viburnum already mentioned would be nice. They come in a range of sizes, they have beautiful spring flowers that are heavenly fragrant, and then later berries that birds like.

Another choice for a shrub with fragrant spring flower is daphne.

The classic spring flowering shrub is forsythia, which gets absolutely covered in golden flowers in the early spring (about now, where I am). I don't think they are fragrant though.

I do think the camellias are gorgeous (and evergreen, which none of the above are) but a little fussy. The point of the peat moss is that like azaleas, they like acid soil. Peat moss is acidifying, but there are other ways to acidify the soil.

[lorax]

On the Camellias, you'd be looking for the cultivars of C. reticulata, C. japonica, and C. sasanqua, all of which are conisdered "Dwarf" varieties.

For shade: Ellie's Girl and Lasca Beauty (fall flowering), Coral Delight, Courtesan, Margaret Davis, Hakuhan Kujaku (summer flowering),

For sun and part sun: Ted Craig, Bert Jones, Dwarf Shishi, Hiryu, Setsugekka, Shishi Gashira, Yuletide, Happy Holidays (spring and summer flowering, all of them); Maroon and Gold (summer and fall flowering)

[AnimalBabe]

Thank you all for your help/suggestions! I decided to plant a few encore azaleas in a beautiful light pink color, as well as the two rhododendrons near that. The rhododendrons are so tiny right now, so it'll be some time before I have to consider pruning I'm sure. I did want to ask when I should start fertilizing...should I do that this soon or wait until they flower? Should I throw down some coffee grounds now? I also have a gardenia near them and read that requires a lot of fertilizing to promote blooms, so should I fertilize that now too and how often?

Fyi, I had taken a look at the Camellias and they didn't look that great at the nursery and seemed like they would require a lot of work.

Thanks so much!