Senior Citizen Friendly Shrubs

15 years ago

I had a tree service give me an estimate to take down an ailing dogwood that is in the middle of my postage stamp lawn. In addition to the tree I decided to have them take out the 28 year old dwarf hinoki cypress, dwarf Alberta spruce, Andromeda and yew which make up the foundation plants in the front of my home. The evergreens are too big to manage and it looks like shrubs are devouring the house. Years ago we were all advised to plant evergreens at the corner of our homes Ã¯Â¿Â½ now my neighborhood is dwarfed by these huge conifers.

I would like to get some suggestions for shrubs that are senior friendly. I have too many ailments to climb ladder to trim shrubs and I need your advice on selecting some shrubs and plants that will stay on the small side.

I live in zone 6 Ã¯Â¿Â½ my soil is clay. It is a south west exposure that will get full sun. There will be no shade once the dogwood is gone. The area is about 15 feet long by 10 feet wide.

I have a bay window flanked by 2 window wells in the front of my home to consider. My siding is blue gray, white trim and black shutters.

I think my seasonal interest would be summer, fall and winter as I have a zoysia grass lawn that does not green up until May.

Your advice is welcome. Many thanks.

PS. Would limelight hydrangea and some knock out roses be a possibility?

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
so this problem of yours took 28 years to develop ... eh ....

if i were you .. i would buy SMALL .. what pleased me.. and dont worry about what will happen in another 28 years ...

life's too short to buy stuff that doesnt make your toes curl.. because they 'fit' ...

we would need to know where you are.. to give any real useful info ...

ken

ps: i hope you get at least 3 prices on the work .. and INSURE that they are fully insured to do the work .... ask to see the policy.. and then call the ins co.
petuniaxyz
Original Author
15 years ago
Hmmm... it is more like the shrubs became more unattractive in the last 10 years not 28! (LOL) I am in NJ - Union County. I have no deer problems and I would like to stay away from invasives like barberry.

Thanks for the advice about the insurance. I did call the firm's insurance co. and they have liability and workman's comp and their premiums are up to date. Several neighbors have used them and they report that they were happy.The other estimates I got did not pass the workman's comp test.

I guess I am thinking that if I did sell in the next few years I would like everything to look tidy and attractive.
Thanks again.
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
15 years ago
Can you post a photo of the site? It's hard to make suggestions without knowing where the bay window and window wells are, the depth of the front bed, and how many stories the house has.

However, here's some info to get you started. The limelight hydrangea may struggle in full sun all day, since in general hydrangeas like a lot of moisture. Do you have some sort of a watering system, such as a soaker hose for the area? Also, you might want to think about something with spring interest to distract from the lawn in early to mid spring.

There are some weigelas that stay quite small ('Spilled Wine' and 'My Monet' off the top of my head.) Heaths and heathers stay small. Checkmate rhododendron stays small and I have found to need no particular care other than mulch annually. Birds' nest spruce gets wide, but not tall. You can ask on the conifer forum about other smaller sized conifers. There are a couple of kinds of deutzia that stay small ('Chardonnay Pearls' and 'Nikko'), both of which I have and give little care to beyond the regular additions of mulch and some water in really dry weather that the entire bed gets. Boxwoods can be kept small with regular pruning, I believe.

I'd probably go to local nurseries in the spring and read lots of tags and make notes as to height and width, bloom time, and bloom and foliage colors. Then I'd go home and figure out what might look good.

Until then, I've attached a link to the plant search at the Missouri Botanical Garden's website. You can put in requirements for plant characteristics and requirements and see what pops up. There may be other similar plant searches hosted by other botanical gardens or universities.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden plant search
Embothrium
15 years ago
In my area we could use more shrub friendly senior citizens.
beegood_gw
15 years ago
I am a senior (73) and I plant anything that will grow fast enuff for me to enjoy before I am down looking up.Mind you I do not live in town but still get what you enjoy looking at.
dfaustclancy
15 years ago
Hey! Maybe we need a Senior Gardener Forum! How do we get one?