Goodness! I suspect you have scads of choices!

So, I assume you want something evergreen?

I'd say a western exposure would be hard on almost all ericacious plants. But a dwarf kalmia might make it--they can handle much more sun than can rhodies, azaleas and pieris. Try K. 'Elf','Little Linda', 'tinkerbelle' or one of the other dwarf Kalmias.

Your Rhodies died mostly because of being planted with vinca, or entirely as a result of. I used to see this happen in the Pacific Northwest often where Rhodies in landscapes would get choked out from vinca. I do not believe watering a lot would have helped as the comparison to the PNW (Portland, OR to be exact) was and still is a very wet climate. If leaf burn wasn't ever an issue and that's what you'd prefer, I'd simply re-plant.

Dax

Hmm. Thanks for your responses.
Yes, evergreen would be best, but if I can't get an evergreen to do well there, something at least with a tidy habit.

I just ordered some K.'Elf' yesterday. I meant them for another spot, but may try them in this bed. They'll be small, so they may go into the nursery bed for a while.

About the vinca, do you mean competition for root space? I know the Rhodies are shallow rooted, but the vinca was planted at the same time, and is not that well established yet. In fact, oddly, most of the vinca died back to the crowns this winter, too, but is recovering. It was very warm until late winter and then got very cold, and we had no snow to speak of.

I knew I was to a varying degree putting my foot where my mouth is. It's just common that competition for rhododendrons is not advisable whatsoever. Their roots unlike most plants should not ever be disturbed in any way.

There's no question that I could have been very easily wrong in my answer but there were just to many assumptions that I didn't know about.

Since the vinca wasn't an issue the way I see it, I'd choose something different.

Remember that Rhododendrons, Kalmia's, etc- are picky about their conditions in general. Just like Daphne are.

I still and in your zone, however, might choose a single larger Daphne with brilliant flowering all summer and great foliage year-round such as: Daphne 'Summer Ice'.

Another suggestion would be a trough planting of miniature and dwarf conifers such as this:
Scroll Three Photos Down - GW Conifer Forum Thread

Dax

Around here, what seems to get rhododendrons, (besides the pH) is when the ground freezes solid and they can't get water from the roots. In a raised bed, which is basically a variation on a big pot, this may very well be an ongoing problem.

What I know about mountain laurel is that it grows wild in limestone cliffs near West Point, and that I bought a small Elf last spring, which spent the entire summer in a pot, was finally planted last October and is still alive.

Small blueberry bushes might be worth a look. They have red wood during the winter, but not nearly as garish as red-twig dogwoods, and make neat mounds of foliage for the rest of the year.

Blueberry leaves also turn a nice shade of crimson in the autumn.

That your Vinca also died back to the crowns indicates to me that that location is a difficult one for most any above ground plant to live through when the winter conditions were as they were this time. I lost a six year old 6' X 10' rose that is hardy into zone 4 or 3, even though I'm on the coast in zone 6. That combination of extremely mild Dec. & Jan. followed by an unusually cold Feb. & March was just brutal.

That solid rock container in any event could also be lined with an insulative barrier (I can't remember what is used). The other thing is soil composition. Too much peat moss in the composition (main ingredient of most commercial potting mixes) will dry up in a solid brick like form and absorbs too much water when wet. A blend of a "nursery" potting mix for trees that has a grittier as well as chunkier composition of grounded pine bark would be ideal.

Then you can plant anything you want that is evergreen, practically speaking that is. Daphne needs a sweet soil, so this mix ammended with mushroom compost and lime would sweeten it well.

Sorry about lauching in different directions regarding Daphne. That kind of confused me.

Regards,

Dax

Dax, you didn't put your foot anywhere, I appreciate any information that might help me decide how to proceed.

The soil is topsoil amended with compost, no peat moss.

I'll take a look at the Daphne, as well as the blueberry and Kalmia. I think it was, in fact, winter desiccation that did them in. We had very strange weather this year.
Thanks!
Jo

Hi Jo,

Here's a little information I came across web-searching.

Just in case...

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: GW Thread

If winter desiccation was the problem, would it better to choose something deciduous?

Other than the seasonal late freeze stress that overwhelmed your Rodies; there seem to be at least 3 more potential, negative factors in the area revealed by your photo.

First: there appears to be a high concentration of cement based materials both near and around the bed.

Rain, ground water, and city treated water will all at one time or another leach salts and other soil ph raising elements into the bed; whenever moisture makes contact and flows across any surface of the cement and also some types of stone and bricks. Over time such soil conditions could raise the ph of the soil too much. Rhodies and many other evergreens need lower ph soil levels.

Second: the bed appears to be not very well draining.
Rhodies need very well draining soils that are kept lightly moist but never waterloged in the first 6 inch depth of soil.

Third: cement, rocks, and bricks are a good passive heat source. They retain the warmth they received from air and direct sun exposure. Then even after the sun sets or the ambient air cools those passive heat sources radiate back the warmth. In addition, the lighter colored, stones, and bricks will not only act as passive heat sources, but they will also reflect the direct rays of the sun back onto anything in the reflective angles path.

Broad leaf evergreens like Rhodies and others loose too much moisture from their leaves at a very rapid rate, when exposed to such passive and reflective heat sources.

Most times the shrubs' roots cannot supply enough moisture to replenish their leaves that lost moisture at such a rapid rate.

Thanks for the 'extra' information I didn't know about katrina1.

I appreciate having learned a few things from you, and very much so.

Dax

Thanks for the info. The only cement is the mortar joints on the top layer of stone on the retaining wall, the rest is dry laid. I suppose that may be enough to raise the pH, I'll test it. The raised bed should be fairly well drained, my native soil is loamy sand, on the acid side, and the bed was filled with topsoil and compost, but I've never seen it get soggy.

The materials are bluestone, granite, and brick, the walls dry laid and the patio and walk installed over crushed stone with an additional layer of sand under the patio portion.
There is, as you say, a lot of heat retaining material. I water with well water, also a bit on the acid side. I really need to do a soil test.

Any other suggestions on plants for this bed?

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I hope you don't mind me sticking my oar in. I have no experience whatever of your climate but I notice a whopping great silver birch next to the bed in question. They are shallow rooted and massive consumers of moisture and nutrients and it is hard to grow anything beneath them. I would think that moisture lovers like rhododendrons would be under real stress alongside a birch unless you have irrigation there. Under my birch I have harts tongue ferns and other things which can cope with dry shade. Lovely house and garden by the way.

Lovely house and garden by the way.

I'LL SAY!!! I'M ENVIOUS (not really - too much house for me - but such a house)!

Despite flora's lack of familiarity with the climate I suspect she has a point. You might be better off with something that loses its leaves, but has an intriguing naked branch pattern to admire. Some people definitely put blueberries in that class, but blueberries are at least as demanding of acidic soil as rhodies are and probably more so. There are also some not very tall deciduous azaleas (eg. Gibraltar) that might work for you for the same reasons blueberries would. I definitely agree that you need to have that particular spot of soil tested so that at the very least you know its pH. Once you know that you will be in a much better situation with regards to the plants you select. If you choose something like Daphne that likes sweet soil and you already know the soil's running acidic, then you can easily amend the soil with some ground limestone. Likewise with plants that need acid soil.

There are also small roses that would probably work there. You might want to examine the "Scotch Briar" roses and see what you think. As a group they are usually only June bloomers, but they have a reputation for handling difficult climates. Unless I'm much mistaken, many or most of them are also not especially tall and so would fit into your landscape in that place.

I also, frankly, wouldn't be surprised if replanted Purple Gems (or Ramapos, etc.) would also work pretty well. I think they died because of the winter, but that was a very weird winter!

If you can keep the spot wet enough and you like the idea of a summer flowering shrub there, I can also again recommend Clethra alnifolia. It's an American native also known as Summersweet. The flowers bloom in July and SMELL WONDERFULLY SWEET!! It's late to break bud in the spring and likes a moist environment if it can get it, but if you decide you want to try that just add some of those water-holding crystals you can buy to add to potting soil to slow the rate at which you need to rewater the pots. The stuff will work just as well for you in that planting well. While the native Summersweet gets up to 10' tall, there are now dwarf cultivars, such as Hummingbird, Sweet 16, and Ruby Spice that stay much closer to 3' tall.

Thanks for the compliments and additional suggestions. I grow Clethra in other areas, and like them very much. Will do some research and a soil test before deciding on a course of action.

Jo

P.S. The house is wonderful, but a bear to clean and maintain. Sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for. The gardens are going on their fourth year, and coming along nicely.

The house is wonderful, but a bear to clean and maintain.

:-)

Like I said, too much house for me.

Hi, Jo!
Let me chime in as well :-))
Regarding broadleaf evergreens, as you may remember I have tons of them all over the property and I have much better results with those that have Western exposure vs the ones that have the Eastern one. Winter sun and wind dissecation is not affecting them at all while most of E or S exposed ones had been burned, especially this winter.
Katrina and Dax brought few valid points to consider, but knowing you as a mature gardener, I'm sure you'll take them plus few more into consideration when you'll be making your decision.
Anyway, for the ericaceous I'd consider azalea Kaempo (late bloomer-June, pink, dark green glossy leaves, 2x3-4'), dwarf pieris Cavatine (2x2' with ocassional pruning for best form), rh. Ramapo (2x3' at most in our climate) or any combination of thereof. Obviously, there are much more choices in a dwarf broadleaf group, but just a few. BTW, I'd not use kalmia Elf there, as all kalmias it tends to become leggy over the time. Will be cutting mine back to 2' from 4' right after this season's bloom for the stated above reason.
If you decide to go with conifers, your choices will be pretty much unlimited, but I easily see how Picea abies 'Nidiformis' will fill that bed and will spill over the wall (BTW, I saw in someone's garden similarly sized bed where three young thus small and inexpensive Bird Nests were planted and by overlaping each other they created nice dense mat without visible depressed center. I like it pretty much. Just an idea.)
I like Dax's idea about Daphne 'Summer Ice', but seeing several mature specimans I think it will be too big for the place, but great plant by all measures nevertheless. Worth to have it irregardless, IMO.
And the last thing, on your last picture I see a lot of greens all around, maybe something blue or yellow for a change to consider? For example Juniperous squamata 'Blue star' will do job perfectly if you don't want any vertical points in that bed and want to go with one type of plants, not a mix and match.
Glad you decided to stay in your house, at least you'll see a fruits of your labor.
G.

Here are some conifers:

Picea abies 'Nidiformis' - "Bird's Nest Spruce - Green Variation":
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Probably my top pick. This conifer is green with beautiful overtones in summer, but when the weather starts getting cold in fall it begins to turn yellow. Then come December or so, it's a bright school bus yellow. This is one of the best around.
Pinus contorta var. latifolia 'Chief Joseph'
(midsummer)
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Pinus contorta var. latifolia 'Chief Joseph' - winter
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Another with yellow winter coloration. Simply striking!
Pinus mugo 'Zundert'
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Some blue-color:
Picea pungens 'Saint Mary'/'Saint Mary's'/'St. Mary's Broom' - a million spellings out there. This is a special blue dwarf picea pungens that grows very slow but has some of the most beautiful color not usually captured by the camera. A larger specimen would need to be purchased...
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Pick up at any nursery:
Picea pungens 'Globosa'
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And just something else for variety's sake.
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Silver Lode'
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All these are slow-growing. The 'Silver Lode' plant can simply be sheared. The other conifers to control growth, when they push their new spring growth and needles are extending from the growth (about 2 weeks in), simply pinch off the new growth where you wish and buds for next year will form at that point thus keeping the growth 'pruned for life'. Then of course this should be treated like a bonsai project if you really want to keep something say should you like it. You'll simply need to watch the root system(s) and prune them every so often replenishing while removing old garden soil from roots and root pruning at this time. Early spring would be a good time to to this anytime before the plants start growing.

Your current mix of topsoil and compost is not a good mix for any container plant, honestly. Sure annual flowers, etc will do fine in this type of a mix, but really topsoil is like mud and should be avoided. I realize you are a gardener so I didn't push this topic earlier. But quite honestly, you need to get a better mix.

Photos courtesy of some of my GW friends who really have beautiful stuff happening.

Dax

Hey, George, thanks for your thoughts. Dax, too, some more plants to consider. That 'Chief Joseph' is very interesting. I have limited experience with conifers, which is probably why they don't pop up when I'm thinking of plant choices. I do understand and appreciate them in the garden however, and this may be a good opportunity to broaden my horizons. I've actually been thinking about re-designing the remains of the old perennial bed I inherited from a previous owner, using conifers and heathers. But that's another thread.

Funny, I never really thought of this bed as a "container", though I suppose it is. I'm saving this discussion to refer to when I check out my nursery catalogs for likely candidates.
Thanks again,
Jo

Talking about heathers, I think that to make this 'container' completely devoted to heathers would be a great idea.
There are many great cultivars to chose from, but I definitely want to endorse Calluna vulgaris 'Robert Chapman' for ever changing colors from lemony-green in a spring to yellow in a summer to orange in a fall and finaly to fire red in a winter. Lavender blooms in a late summer is just a bonus. In my books, 24/7/365 interest plant. 10-12" height.

I can't add to the expert knowledge on possible causes of problems in this spot, but looking at the lovely view in the photo, I think that, if it were me, I might want to consider something with winter interest like structure or winter color as an alternative to evergreens.

My first thought was that it would be lovely to look out into a snow-covered yard through the twigs of a redtwig dogwood, which seems to tolerate a lot of conditions, and looks great next to white birch, which I see in the second photo. But re-reading your post, I see you want to keep it to 2-3 feet in height, which would probably be hard to do. Taller might be fine in the winter, as you could look through it, but it would obscure the view in the summer.

I also hit upon the thought of some sort of heath or heather, though of course you'd have to do some research to find the right size and color(s). The Robert Chapman that ego45 recommends sounds lovely, but there are so many varieties to choose from!

(Ego45 -- do you have suggestions on a good nursery for a selection of heath and heather in CT? I'm in Middletown, but I think I've been to every nursery in the county and never seen more than 3 or 4 varieties at one vendor, even at places like Acer and Country Flower Farms, which generally have good selections of plants.)

(Nice house and yard too, saypoint. And if "saypoint" indicates Saybrook Point, such a lovely part of the state as well!)

Thanks, doctorsteve, yes, I'm on Saybrook Point. I'm a regular visitor to Acer Gardens, but am not familiar with Country Flower Farms. Where is it?

Salem Country Gardens in Salem is a nice nursery, too, but they seem to be selling more garden ornaments than before and their selection of shrubs seems to have suffered.

I haven't seen many heaths or heathers, either. I am looking online at a couple of nurseries that specialize.

I'm also thinking of putting a mass of Cornus alba or C. sericea off the the side of that area, where they will be seen from the house and when coming and going.

Country Flower Farms is in Middlefield. Probably a 40 minute drive from Saybrook, though, as the most direct route would involve through a lot of minor roads. I'll include a link to their site that has a database of their stock as well as directions and the like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Their website...

When I saw the first picture, I immediately thought "low and spreading". Then I thought "Taxus baccata repandens", a wonderful reliable evergreen with a great spreading habit, a bit like a low waterfall. Very good-looking plant.

Another thought is a very low thread-leaf Japanese maple, deciduous of course but nice branch structure in the winter.

"Another thought is a very low thread-leaf Japanese maple, deciduous of course but nice branch structure in the winter."

Nice idea. And Running Brook Farms on 80 in Killingworth has a pretty nice selection of Japanese maples and other ornamental trees and shrubs. (I mention since the OP and another previous poster are in CT.)

I like the heath/heather suggestion. Another option is rhododendron PJM checkmate, which is supposed to top out at 2-3 feet tall. Mine is 3 years old and is about 2 feet tall - not much taller than when I bought it. It has the typical PJM flowers, the color of which (screaming magenta) isn't for everyone. The foliage is a nice mahogany in the winter. I'm not sure if there are any other short Weston hybrids, which tend to be hardy enough for your use in this situation. Considering that your bed is pretty much a container, you want to go for plants that are about 2 zones hardier than you are to help them survive the more exposed location.

You could also try a set of perennials that have winter interest, like siberian iris and some of the larger sedums like 'Autumn Joy', and then dress up the dried seedheads in winter with some cut evergreen branches and berries.