"pelirojaroja" wrote in message
.. .
Hello,

I am looking for a shrub that gets TALL (10 feet would be nice) and also
somewhat wide (6 feet) -- but taller than it is wide. I want to plant it
in
front of a bay window for screening, so it should have dense leaves.
Here's
the catch -- I want it to be deciduous so that we can have light in room
in
the winter. It should also have "soft" stems (not too woody) because
it'll
be close to the house and the window. It doesn't have to be neat in terms
of dropping things (berries, etc.) since it'll be in the garden area right
outside the bay window.

I live in zone 6 (lakefront Cleveland, OH) and the area gets full sun.

I've been looking at garden centers and am not having much luck. Any
ideas
would be appreciated!

--
-- pelirojaroja
Give some consideration to an althea (rose of sharon). I have a couple
double flowering ones that seem to fit what you want. Lucy, a reddish-purple
double, and Morning Star. a double white with a red throat are really nice
shrubs. They're deciduous, have attractive flowers, like hot sun, and bloom
on new wood.

The one problem with Lucy was that I was too nice to it initially with water
and fertilizer. It bent almost to the ground the second year under the
weight of blossoms and water after a rain. After some yearly pruning, which
shapes it, I have an ideal shrub. As a bonus, it doesn't produce seeds and
receives almost no insect damage.

John