Planting Under Trees - Part 14
This week marks the last article in this series about planting under mature deciduous trees. We've talked about a lot of plants that will grow in competition with tree roots - at least in my USDA zone 7 garden. Some of them do well with virtually no care and others need a good deal of help to be happy - but they will grow in these conditions. If you've been scratching your head, wondering just what to do under your trees, I hope this series has given you some inspiration.
Last year, I wrote an article entitled "Phase I - Blocking the Gap"describing this new planting, put in to block the view of a neighbor's tennis court that had replaced the woods I'd been looking at for twenty years. While still an immature planting, everything seems to be doing well - even with this year's drought - so I believe these are plants you might consider for your garden.
Once again, this page may be slow to load for some of you because of the photos. Your patience is appreciated.
The New Planting
This photo shows the new group of plants. You can see the trunk of the dogwood on the left. Because of the native greenery in the background, it's a bit hard to pick out the three Ilex x 'Nellie R. Stevens' (hollies), but if you squint you can see them, planted in a triangle with the one on point at about the center of the photo. Despite only getting rays of afternoon sun, they seem to be doing well. They put on nearly a foot (30.48 cm) of new growth this year. It will, however, be a few years before they finally block that view!
Center front of the hollies is Nandina domestica 'Firepower', who also seems to be thriving. Nandinas are good shrubs for shady gardens if you're in USDA zones 6 - 9. They will defoliate for me in a really harsh winter, but are generally evergreen. I have not found any information on this particular cultivar, but I don't think it gets as tall as the species, which can reach six to eight feet (2 - 2.43m) in height. The common name for these plants is Heavenly Bamboo because of the graceful branch and leaf structure of the species. 'Firepower' is very compact and not as graceful, but it has most interesting new foliage with rusty-rose flushed leaves turning a straw yellow in the center before they mature to green.
Latest Articles