Witch Hazels are excellent shrubs for part shade,and they do extremely well in your zone.There are many varieties to choose from-check on special ordering some from your local garden center.
Another neat option to consider is Aralias,again very well suited for your climate,and some are natives.
They have a neat growth habit,and are pretty drought tolerant.
Get them in quick before it gets too chilly out!

Dee...

Have you visited the UConn site? They have a searchable database, that you can plug in which sun exposure, soil conditions and attributes you are looking for and it will throw out a list to consider. Also I just discovered Weston Nurseries has just constructed a great search function on their site too. Although theirs is for their own data base of what they offer, I found it very helpful.

I am finding though, that shrubs are surprising me, according to what they are reported to do and what they actually do. For instance, Physocarpus are supposed to be tolerant of dry conditions once established, but even this summer despite all the rain we have had, the edges of the leaves have crisped. I bought a 'Samantha' Hydrangea from NEWFS and I just saw Bill Cullina on Cultivating Life say that this particular Hydrangea was more drought tolerant than some of the hybrids, and I had to laugh, because I am going on year three with that one and it is a crispy mess, despite being sited in plenty of shade and plenty of water this year. Every other hydrangea in the yard is looking lovely, but that one.

I also had a professional do a consult for me and recommend Arborvitae in an area that I really questioned. They are supposed to want moisture and sun and this location was exactly the opposite and every nursery I have asked has recommended against using it in that location. So I think it is important to choose carefully and ask what people's experience is before investing the time and money to install an area with shrubs.

I am usually looking for shade and dry conditions, so I don't have a lot of experience with full sun/dry. I do suggest something that would incorporate fragrance would be nice and I have a Lilac pallibin that has not reached 5ft yet and looks very good all year and even colors in the fall. I wish I had more sun for it and I rarely water it. I did see a row of these planted at a nursery I visit, which made a very attractive unpruned hedge.

You might think of putting a mix of shrubs there, with some being evergreen...hollies and boxwood come to mind. Boxwood being more drought tolerant according to the lists I've seen. 'Green Mountain' is about 5-6ft at maturity I believe. Butterfly Bush can get about 7ft and would attract visitors but a little casual for the front, but maybe one mixed in would work. They are very drought tolerant and the more sun the better. Deutzias and Philadelphus come to mind as being quite dependable and tolerant of many conditions and the Philadelphus would have the added benefit of fragrance, but not sure on the height.

The dry conditions are going to be your limiting factor. There are many shrubs that love the full sun, but those I keep thinking of, want moisture too. Well...hopefully someone with more experience with sunny and dry will add something...good luck!

:-)

I've seen Viburnum lantana growing in quite dry conditions. V. lantana 'Mohican' is a good choice, and one of the parents of V. 'Allegheny' is 'Mohican', so the two would pollinate one another. They would easily get 8-10 feet tall, would tend to be evergreen in mild winters, and have both bloom and berries.

I don't there's any point in continuing to plant moisture loving plants in a dry spot. And witch hazel would not be much happier there than the Cornus you presently have.

BTW, mixing shrubs in a border is known as a mixed shrub border, and randomness is a desired feature, not a failing.

I second the holly and mixed shrub border suggestions! Inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) is an evergreen boxwood look-alike, only it grows taller faster, and winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) has red berries in winter if you plant a male pollinator with the females (read the tags for specific cultivars). You can face them with fountain grasses (Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln')and mix in a few short evergreens. I have mugo pine and 'Linesville' arborvitae (Pinus mugo and Thuja occidentalis.)The P. mugo cultivars 'Mops,' 'Sherwood Compact' and 'Slowmound' are alternatives to pumilio types that need candling to maintain their compactness. All of these would eventually tolerate sunny, dryish conditions and look great with your dogwoods IMO! :)

I third the holly and mixed shrub suggestions. I have a similar large spot between my yard and the road and the scraggly trees/brush where I created a mixed border in to create some sense of privacy, but not 100%. I created a large extended triangle at the far corner of the lawn to reduce the lawn size. My area has some tall pine trees around too. It gets sun only until 11:00-1:00 depending on which end, but I am pushing the "sun envelope". Most of these would do well in more sun:

For the "bones" closest to the road as a screen, I used 3 large Ilex Meserve 'Blue Princess'. No patience (too old!) to wait for them to grow up! I got them at 4-5'. Then I added (future bones) an arborvitae, Taxus capitata, Picea orientalis 'Skylands', Jap umbrella pine, Virburnum mariessi, hydrangea Limelight, Ilex Holly Maid, Leucothue (not good for full sun), Ilex glabra, Kousa dogwood satomi, Chamacyparis 'goldmop'.

THe area is very dry from the several nearby 75' pine trees, so I watered well the first year or two, but now only during periods of dryness.

It is a main view from the house, so I really appreciate all the evergreens throughout all the seasons.

Hi guys!

I'm off to work so I don't have a lot of time to answer now, but I just wanted to say a quick "thanks!" to everyone for your responses.

I'm happy to see a few things listed here that I had thought of, so that is reassuring, lol. There are also some shrubs I'm not too familiar with, so I will have to do a bit of research.

I'll read through more thoroughly tonight. Thanks again for your help!

:)
Dee

I have to say that my Witch Hazels LOVE water. Without extra water in our dry August, they don't bloom. Leaves get dry edges. So I would not suggest them for a dry location.

I would second the mixed shrubs, you will get a lot more visual interest ALL season with the variety of plants in bloom. My hydrangeas all like some moisture, even the tough ones. None do well as dry area plants.

Some grasses might add some moving interest with flow in the wind. Lighter than bushes. Perhaps spacing them between or in front of bushes, for variety. Many clumper kinds, well behaved yet attractive colors, nice stalks.

Hi again,

Well, I've had a chance to do some (quick) searches on some of the recommendations. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond and help.

I'm not totally against a mixed shrub border, but my concern is that it will be too wide/deep. I don't want the soldiers-in-a-row look, but I don't want to build this border too deep, as this is my only sunny area, and I want to save space for perennials. As it stands now, the sassafrass trees are about maybe 15 feet deep, and I was hoping to at least cut that in half to use that space for perennials. Oh, and I forgot - there's a big rock in there too. Maybe two to three feet high and three to four feet long.

Also, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I am planning a shrub border along the boundary with the neighbor on this side, so I will have mixed shrubs here. I don't want TOO many different things going on. One option would be to continue the mixed shrub border around the corner onto the street side, but I'm not sure things would survive. Believe it or not, those few feet make a big difference in soil, moisture, depth, etc. By the way, some of the shrubs I have for that border are the ones PM2 mentioned - deutzia, philadelphus, buddleia, etc.

To touch on a few suggestions - I'm not convinced yet that hollies will work here, as much as I love them. Same with witch hazels. I think the area is too hot and dry

Can someone point me in the direction of an aralia, lol? I can only seem to locate "houseplant" references to this plant. Thanks!

Some of the above suggestions may get too tall. Something above (can't remember what at this point!) reached 35 feet tall, according to the website I was on.

I do like the mugo pine ideas, although something tells me they are slow-growing and expensive. I'm actually thinking of mixing these in with my existing dogwoods - great idea, prairiegirl! I do think they would look good together.

I also love the chameocyperis - I don't know why I didn't think of that since they always catch my eye around town. And it seems they tolerate dry soil.

I also love the idea of the virginia rose and the lilac palibin.

So, question - how do I get a mix without it being a huge wide border on one hand, but without it looking like one of A, one of B, one of A, one of B, and so on, even if I were to stagger them front-to-back?

Thanks guys!
:)
Dee

Okay, I thought I would add some visuals. :) Be prepared - it is a mess!

Of course, it seems I the only time I have to take photos is high noon, lol, so the photos aren't too good, but hopefully they will help give an idea of the area I'm trying to clean up.

This is the area from my yard (almost in silhouette - sorry!):

{{gwi:270931}}

The brown area to the left of the photo is where the double oak was taken down. I just had the stump ground, and that is the wood shavings all spread out. I will be making a new bed in this area, with shrubs along the back of it (the left of the photo). There is about two feet between this future bed and my boundary. Along this boundary is where the mixed shrub border will go (not the one I'm asking for help with, but the one I already had planned). I don't know if you can tell, but the ground is lower (and not as dry) as the "sassafrass area".

To the right of the photo is a nice slab of rock, and my raised cinderblock beds, if you can see them amongst the grass and weeds.

Directly ahead is the row of sassafrass, and that mounded looking tree to the left is the pine(?)/evergreen that is covered in grape vine.

The same area from the street:

{{gwi:270932}}

The street-light pole is approximately my boundary. I don't know if you can tell, but that whole front slope is absolutely covered in sassafrass seedlings - the city just came by Monday and mowed it all down, thank goodness. (You can see my poor little dogwoods in their raised bed to the far left)

I need to keep whatever I plant at least as far back as the existing stuff, perhaps a foot more back, because I can't see a darn thing out of my driveway (which is to the left of the photo - to the right, the road curves away and I have a very blind driveway).

This is a closer shot underneath the sassafrass trees:

{{gwi:270934}}

That rock is pretty much plumb in the middle of the photo. It's not as big as I thought it was. Again, this area is about maybe 15 feet front to back. I'd like to shorten that to take advantage of the sun there to plant flowers.

Hope this helps visualize things a bit! Thanks!
:)
Dee

Dee,
Having a border of non cultivated plants like your strip of sassafras along the frontage of a property is the most common landscape style in my neck of the woods. I thought I would share with you the differences between my property and the abutting neighbors on either side of me when we each attacked this very same project.

Neighbor A Â On a rural road clear cut his entire property (much to my horror) and installed irrigation planted a mixed shrub border of some native and non native plants. This frontage matured rapidly and although it pains me to admit nicely with constant irrigation and full sun.

My property-Horrified by the idea of removing the tree line along the road I left my stand of Black Oak and Pitch Pine and removed the understory of scrub and poison ivy. I was advised that the groups or colonies of ilex glabra, beach plumb, bayberry, Ilex opaca, high bush blueberry, oak leaf hydrangea, ilex meserveae, Ilex verticillata ,that I planted would need consistent irrigation for the first two years and afterwards only during times of draught. So I pieced together a temporary soaker system attached to my outside faucet without benefit of timer. After ten years I canÂt tell you how many shrubs I have lost to a short term dry spell in summer when the last thing I am thinking about are plants that I canÂt see and those that have hung on look dwarfed and spindly. Keep in mind this frontage is the first and in most cases the only impression the passerby has of my property.

Neighbor C-Not interested in investing in landscape but last year after removing some trees hired a landscaper aka guy with a pick up to plant shrubs along the frontage without any irrigation. Needless to say nearly every shrub is lost.

The moral of my story spend your money on a consistent form of irrigation before you even think about putting in one shrub. If you donÂt have the $ do what I am going to doÂask Santa. kt

Katy, your point is very well taken. Unfortunately, not only do I not have money for any kind of irrigation system, neither does Santa at this point, lol!

Like you, in my neighborhood there are many houses whose frontage looks like mine. I would be more than happy to leave it as is, if it weren't for that darn sassafrass. I am constantly pulling it out of and from around my raised beds, and when those long roots won't pull out, I'm cutting it back. It's a constant battle - and it looks like I'm losing, lol.

I wonder how much a fence would cost, lol...

:)
Dee

Pines are the most difficult plants to prune. They do not usually break from old wood and the candles have to be cut back every year to keep them in size. I would discourage their use in your situation.

I have a mixed border of mostly native shrubs and am pleased with it.

Choose plants that do not have to be irrigated and can stand drought. That is not to say to not water them the first year adn perhaps into the second if you do get a dry spell and they show stress.

That big rock is an asset. Make use of it!

Are you sure the Sassafras are seedlings and not root sprouts? You may need to remove an herbicide to control them.

Hi waplummer. No, I don't really know that the sassafrass are seedlings and not root sprouts. Well, actually, I think some of them are seedlings since they are farther away and are coming up in my raised beds. The others, closer to the main trees, might be root sprouts. I'm sure it will be a major pain in the butt to eradicate them completely.

Can you tell me which natives shrubs you have in your mixed border, and what the conditions (light, moisture, etc.) are in that spot?

Thanks!
Dee

Well, I'm bumping this up one last time to see if I can get a few more suggestions.

Thanks to terrene over on the NE forum, from her answer to someone else's thread, lol, I am now looking into New Jersey Tea and bayberry, to see if they will work in this spot.

Thank you all for your help!
:)
Dee

Dee, hate to mention it - but you might not like bayberry - they are terribly thorny and very difficult to prune - unless you would never have to prune due to the location? If you are just letting them go wild, then it wouldn't be a problem.

Hi Diggerdee - your Sassafras may be pesty, but I like your little grove of these trees! I think it's a very interesting tree, with sort of windy trunks and those cool mitten shaped leaves (smell good too). Not to mention it's a host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail, and thanks to a grove of Sassafras in a nearby woodland, these gorgeous butterflies visit my garden regularly through the summer. From what I understand, they do colonize through root sprouts more so than seedlings. I have wanted to transplant a small one from the nearby grove, but have read that there is a dismal success rate with transplanting this species - because the root sprouts don't survive. Too bad you can't move your grove to my house! :)

Garden for life, I think you mean Barberry (Berberis genus), which are very prickly and difficult to prune, and also considered a noxious weed in Mass. Northern bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) is not prickly at all and has attractive green foliage that remains semi-evergreen through the winter. It is dioecious, so the berries only form on female plants. It suckers too, but won't spread hither and yon like the Sassafras. (see link)

As for Dogwood, you might want to consider Grey Dogwood (Cornus racemosa). I think it's the most drought-tolerant of the Dogwood species, which generally prefer moist soil. It does sucker, but that tendency would probably be tempered by the dry habitat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Myrica pennsylvanica - Bayberry

Garden for life, thanks for your thoughts. I was a bit confused because I had done a quick search on bayberry, and didn't see anything about thorns, so perhaps terrene has clarified things for us! :)

Terrene, the trees do have a pleasant scent. My son often tells me he likes mowing that section of the yard the most because of the smell (when he mows down the little ones). And it's not that I dislike the sassafrass itself, it's just that I can't stand the suckering anymore. I have to constantly pull up the suckers or cut them back. If the darn trees would behave themselves, they'd be more than welcome to stay, lol, because they are indeed interesting looking and provide a nice but not too dense screen. But, they've misbehaved long enough, so they gotta go, lol!

Thanks for the suggestion of the dogwood. I'm going to go check it out!

:)
Dee

Dee...if you are tired of suckering, then the cornus racemosa will give you that too. I planted one and am getting ready to plant another. It has been a fast grower in a very difficult area, in the root zone of a neighbor's huge Silver Maple. It only gets a little sun and the ground around it is a matte of Maple roots, but it took off and this year I see around the back of it, that it has sprouted branches straight up about a foot from the original trunk. Have no idea how that is going to end up, but so far I do love this shrub. It is easy and carefree and attractive with a horizontal branching pattern. It turns yellow in the fall, although I have a second one that I think will turn red, as it is slightly different. Mine is too shaded to flower or fruit, but if you have more sun, it probably would. I was just happy that it went from a $30 potted plant to as tall as my stockade fence and as wide in just two years.

pm2

So sassafras really is a lot like sumac? If it was me, I wouldn't be in a big hurry to replace it, because whatever goes in there is going to have little sassafras trees to keep it company. I'd plan on grassing it over for a year or two, just as a control strategy. Once I'd mowed the little darlings to death, then I'd think about putting something else in there.

If you're a bird watcher, you might enjoy winterberries. They're rather plain in the summer, but in the winter they have lots of red berries, which birds enjoy.

Some of the taller ornamental grasses like miscanthus would be attractive, especially when planted in a row.

Some crabapple trees are dwarfs - 6-8 feet tall, flower in the spring, and many of them will develop berries for birds as well.

Deanna

MG, since I cut down that double oak, I already feel like I'm on display to the neighborhood, so I don't think I can live with nothing at all there for a year or two, even though it is a very sensible strategy. There is an intersection right across the street, and I live on a main road, so I would like at least a bit of privacy.

Deanna, I love, love, love winterberries, but I was under the impression they liked things much moister than my spot. But I will check it out just in case. I'll also look into the dwarf crabapples. That sounds interesting. I'm not much of a grass person, but I do have to admit that my neighbor has a huge, beautiful grass, which I enjoy all winter out of my window, so maybe they are growing on me!

Thanks!

:)
Dee

Hi Dee, I wonder if it would be possible to bury some sort of root barrier around the Sassafras? This would be a lot of work up front, but might stop the root suckers from spreading permanently. If you take out the trees, and plant something else, it will be a lot of work too and will take time to establish.

Ilex verticillata is a wetland plant and would likely need irrigation similar to your variegated Dogwood. I purchased 10 seedlings this past Spring from the New Hampshire nursery, and am going to try to grow them in a rich lasagne bed with additional water during drought, as I don't have any wet areas in my yard.

The NH Nursery is a great place to get inexpensive and healthy shrub & tree seedlings. They sell 1-2 year old seedlings and they ship in the spring. Over the last 2 springs, I've purchased 130 native seedlings (given about 30 away), including Bayberry and Grey dogwood.

Here's a pic I took yesterday of a Bayberry seedling bought this year and planted in late April. It's the biggest one, about 2 feet high.

{{gwi:270937}}

Here is a link that might be useful: New Hampshire state nursery

Wow terrene that is one happy seedling! Are you offering it irrigation?

dee,
I thought I would show you a (sorry blurry) photo of my Northern Bayberry down by the road. All of mine have bare legs which is probably the result of not pruning,no irrigation, and is growing in part shade. Note how like the sassafras it has many new plants from root suckers. Although I have not tried to contain these they are sticking close to the main plant unlike sassafras and are probably easily controlled by mowing.
{{gwi:270939}}

Hi KT, I planted several of the Northern Bayberry seedlings, including the one in the picture, out in a wild area in the back 1/2 acre of my lot. It is mostly overgrown with invasives, but includes a small meadow. I've been clearing out the invasive plants for 3 years; and just started planting out native shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses. It is quite dry out there, and a hose won't reach, so I have selected drought-tolerant plants. I am watering them for a little while in the beginning to get established, using watering cans. After that, they're on their own!

The torrents of rain that we received this summer certainly helped to get the new planting established.

Thank you both for the pictures - they are very helpful.

I've got lots of good suggestions here, and will probably take the winter to mull them over and then attack this area in the spring.

Thank you all for your help!
:)
Dee