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Summer Shrub Hit Parade Part Two

© Barbara M. Martin

Last week I started to write about my favorite easy care summer blooming shrubs and quickly ran out of space This week we look at a few more high performance dependable favorites, including some of the more diminutive shrubs well suited to small spaces.

Each can be easily searched for at Gardening.Com Plant Encyclopedia which will show you a photograph and an extremely brief thumbnail description. For more complete information I would suggest you check in the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses by Michael A. Dirr. Your library or County Extension should have this excellent reference book. You might also, even better yet, consult with experienced gardeners in your local area and/or with nursery staff you trust to be knowledgeable to find out if these will do well for you.

That Southern cliche, Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), is a workhorse in the hot and sunny summer garden if your climate is warm enough. The National Arboretum introductions (with Native American names such as Cherokee, Comanche, Conestoga, Hopi, Natchez, etc.) were selected for great flowers, as well as additional important attributes such as attractive bark, resistance to mildew and hardiness ("Hopi" has withstood -24F!), so do consider these if you are in the market for one. Some are also more compact than the species, running in the eight foot range.

In my experience, from about zone 6b north, crepe myrtles often grow as "dieback" shrubs, meaning they may winterkill to the ground in bad winters. That's okay since they bloom on the new wood anyway. In spring, simply remove any truly dead wood (no green at all inside) and wait patiently for sprouts from any remaining wood and the roots when the weather and soil warm up. Just keep in mind that they will not reach the "tree-like" proportions you might be hoping for if you have enjoyed them further south.

I also grow the miniature crepe myrtlettes as a sort of perennial. They are only about three or four feet tall but bloom like mad, and have been root hardy for me here in zone 6 for years in a spot with excellent drainage. These are usually seed-grown, so they are a bit variable but I would definitely consider them for a small space in full sun.

We all know the big old-fashioned white spireas that bloom all over everywhere in the spring. But the smaller or dwarf types of June blooming spireas are another story altogether. These are high performance little shrubs, especially since they can be encouraged to rebloom with a decent show if given adequate moisture and nutrients. A very light shearing early in the spring and again right after the first flush will encourage them to come back for more. (Neatly accomplished with a hedge trimmer.)

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