Yes, littlek, I can keep them all year long at the same spot, but once
they're finished blooming, I usually buy a new plant. If the old one looks
promising, they'll go to the "recovery room" - if not, I'll toss them.
The 'recovery room' leads to what?
Oh! Is the recovery room inside or out? Sunny or dark?
It's outside and in a rather dark corner of the yard.
Sorry, I had to go to bed last night. I'll take a look at all of your suggestions, K.
Oh! I have been trying to get people to plant this plant for years. It's called American Beautyberry, or Callicarpa americana. It's a wildish suckering shrub. It probably grows to about 12 feet. Native. Birds and mammals like the berries. The leaves can relieve mosquito bites. It's only hardy to zone 6 - are you zone 6 or 5?
Oooh, I like that one! Would be great for one of the corners of my backyard. (Shade-tolerant?)
You know, I find that the zone range is uncertain. I know it grows here, because I've seen it at the arboretum. This says it'll grow in zone 5.
Soz, it's an understory plant, it can take full sun, but probably likes a little shade. Like any plant, the less ideal the location, the fewer the flowers/berries.
Here's another link. Oh, and this says it grows to 5-6 feet tall, not 12. Once a plant gets over about 6 feet, I find it hard to gage the height, especially from memory.
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=J590
There's a very nice looking variegated variety with white berries.
Here's a link to the national arboretum on the Callicarpa 'Duet'
callicarpa duet
I'm in Zone 4b. I like the look and the berries, but the suckering characteristic has me a little scared. Will it take over my yard?
Checking in... I'm not so familiar with your zone, but I'm going to nose around and see if I find anything for you to look at. Back in a bit.
OK, I figured out you're in Sunset Garden Zone 43. Now to see if my Sunset book goes there (I think it doesn't, think it only goes to 24).
Sunset Gardens zones aren't based only on cold hardiness but also the plants temperament re heat. Here's a map -
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/1,20633,845218,00.html
Oh, well, it seems of no use since I don't see any real way to work out equivalence. Will go with the 4b USDA Hardiness and look stuff up in my Sunset book and online.
Suckering means it sends new branches up from the ground. For some plants, the suckering can be invasive. This one sounds like it won't sucker all over the yard.
Not to argue that, but plants that sucker - either you get rid of the suckers or you leave them, sucker city, but the form is sort of antithetical to, say, an azalea garden. Well, sometimes. Before I mouth off, I should look at the plant again, as japanese maples, which go fantastically with azaleas, also sucker.
Been through a bunch of lists, including that native list I linked somewhere early on in the thread. Have another whole site to look through..
Osso, we have two japanese maples that are at least 10 years olds. Suckering has never been a problem. The jap. maples are staying one in the bakyard and one in the front as well as the large red maple in the backyard. I agree with you that he's putting too many azaleas in. I like them, but we already have a bunch of them that are staying. I'd like something else that will complement thiose plants.
Some lists -
the ohio list looks really useful, but their zone is now 6A, so you'd have to double check if things would work in 4B...
http://www.outdoorns.com/countrygardener/issue5.html
http://www.rittenhouse.ca/hortmag/Bruce/birds.asp
http://ohioline.osu.edu/w-fact/0013.html
http://highcountrygardens.com/catalog/search/products/attract+hummingbirds
I've a bunch of plants that I listed as I was looking at the Iowa native plant link for things that might look ok in the same garden with azaleas and grasses, and some I listed when I went through Sunset's bird and butterfly lists - will post those tomorrow (getting late now).
(and that variegated calicarpa looks really nice - that was on one of my lists too).
