Suja wrote:

Made the mistake of checking the ForestFarm site, and decided to go
through their list of plants. Now I have a long list of shrubs and trees
I want, and am trying to figure out which ones I should order or attempt
to find locally. The FF online catalog is very stingy with details, and
I've tried to fill in the gaps as much as possible with info from the
web, but am still unclear about which plants will do well.

I have a lot of land, and the plants will go in conditions of either
light shade or full sun. If there is a particular shrub that is a must
have and needs more shade, I am sure I can find a spot for it. The sunny
spots drain really well (on a slope), the shadier spots less well. The
soil is amended clay and slightly acidic. I'm in Zone 7a, Northern VA
(about 30 minutes West of DC), where the winter lows get close to 0 F,
and the summers are insanely hot and humid. Oh, and we have tons of
deer, so deer resistant shrubs would be preferable, although I certainly
don't have any problems taking the trouble to protect the special plants.

Acer palmatum 'Villa Taranto'
Callistemon 'Woodlander Hardy Red'
Camellia 'Winter's Interlude'
Chaenomeles 'Cameo'
Cryptomeria Japonica 'Spiralis'
Fuschia 'Aurea'
Kerria Japonica Picta
Magnolia Sieboldii
Myrtus communis 'Variegata'
Phygelius rectus 'Sunshine'
Viburnum ichangense (recommended pollinator?)
Viburnum carlesii 'Compacta'

Does anyone have experience with these shrubs? If you think any of
these plants would be especially good (or not) for the conditions I've
described above, I would love to hear about it. If you have
recommendations for other shrubs I should consider (shorter shrubs are
easier to find homes for), I'm all ears.

In the "other shrubs" category, let me name some favorites:

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum -- doublefile viburnum --
gorgeous flowering in spring -- a really pretty shrub.

V. bracteatum 'Emerald lustrer' -- shiny green leaves, some
flowering, colorful berries.

V. bodnantense -- clusters of pink, fragrant flowers in early
spring, before the leaves appear.

(Most of the viburnums are tough as nails.)

Ternstroemia gymnanthera (Japanese cleyera) -- in the tea
family, like Camellia, and blends well with them.

Camellia oleifera (the tea-oil camellia) and C. sinensis (the
tea plant) are said to be hardy to zone 6. Less showy than
some other Camellias, but still attractive.

Camellia sasanqua -- you have to be careful, but some are
hardy in your zone. I prefer their open habit to that of C.
japonica.

The tricky thing is that Camellias need excellent drainage,
yet most like some shade, so you will need to be creative in
how and where you plant them.

Most crape myrtles are said to be hardy to your zone. They are
tough and take heat and humidity well. Look for the
mildew-resistant varieties. Some are small trees, others are
shrubby.

Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle) will fill a lot
of space and smells wonderful in late winter and early spring.
Not invasive like some other honeysuckles.

Have fun!


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
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