Firstime Homeowner - Gardening Help!

newhomeowner2011a

15 years ago

Hi, we just bought a home in Minneapolis and I'm doing what I can to learn about what plants we have in our yard.

I recently learned that we have 3 ivory halo dogwood bushes along the back fence line - they are spaced about 3' apart. Will the space eventually fill in between the bushes or could I plan something else (limelight hydrangeas?) between them? If the space will eventually fill in, could I put a ground plant (for coverage vs. just dirt) around it? We have ground cover that I think the current owner called binkerbell (?) on the side yard that she said is easy to transplant and she said it grows fairly quick. We also have one random ivory halo dogwood shrub in the front that looks out of place so I'd like to transplant to the backyard to join the 3 along the fence - I read online I could do this when it is "dormant" - does that mean first frost or in the spring? Please advise.

We have a cedar in the back corner of our yard and there are some hydrangeas that are fairly tall under it - the blooms are tiny green vs. the HUGE white ones I'm seeing in the neighborhood. From the few times we've been to the house, I can see that the back corner seems to be totally shaded b/c of the cedar tree. Do you think this is the problem? I was so excited to find we had hydrangeas in the backyard but then when they bloomed I was totally not impressed and almost wish that I could transplant them somewhere else in the yard where they might do better OR just get rid of them and put something else there.

And finally, I LOVE knockout roses and heard they are quite hardy and great for lining the fence - any suggestion on where to plant these in a yard - would you plant them between the dogwood shrubs (full sun) or underneath the cedar (not much - if any - sun)?

Sorry for all of the questions - this is one steep learning curve between learning about owning a home, our first yard/garden and a second baby on the way! :-) Any advice/insight is greatly appreciated for this new homeowner (and wanna-be gardener) :-)

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Comments (6)

newhomeowner2011a
Original Author
15 years ago
http://photobucket.com/2storyaddition

Pictures of the dogwood shrubs and hydrangeas
ginkgonut
15 years ago
The dogwoods will grow together, there isn't space for something in between. Hard to tell from the photos, but I would question whether they should have been planted there in the first place. You might be cutting them back alot. You could add a groundcover if you want. Or just a nice wood mulch would make it look better. The dormant time for plants here would be approx. Nov1-Apr1. I would lean towards moving it in the spring. It would probably be fine to move in September also.

I don't know why the hydrangea has small flowers. It could be the shade and the competition from the cedar.

I cannot comment on the hardiness of knockout roses, but they need full sun (at least 6 hours).
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newhomeowner2011a
Original Author
15 years ago
If the knockout roses need full sun, perhaps I could replace the dogwood bushes with those - thoughts?

Curious why you question whether they should have been planted there to begin with - is it because of the lack of space (width-wise) for them to spread out?

Also, please note that we are replacing that fence after we get some other remodeling projects done (don't want to piecemeal the fence and want to do it all at once...) :-)

What would you do if this was your yard?
hostaholic2 z 4, MN
15 years ago
In your photos the dogwoods are in the shade. The roses would need a minimum of 6 hrs. of sun to do well. More would be better. Dogwoods can be pruned to keep them at the size you want. As to the hydrangea it's hard to say about the bloom size, it may be competition from the tree or it may simply be the variety of hydrangea. The ones you see with the huge white blooms are very likely Annabelle hydrangeas or possibly the newer version of arborescens hydrangea, Incrediball. There are some varieties that have smaller blooms.
newhomeowner2011a
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your help - I'll either add to this post or do a different one when we are in the house and I can monitor the sun throughout the day. I appreciate the help thus far - things to think about! :-)
janroze
15 years ago
I have tried the red, pink, white Knockouts. The only Knockout Rose I have had success with is the red. I have heard other say the same in the Mankato area.

Here's my rose history - not terrific, but I can't resist a few.
Carefree Wonder Rose Ã¯Â¿Â½ pink, terrific so far. HARDY & DISEASE RESISTANT
Red Knockout Ã¯Â¿Â½ struggled about 4 years, but doing well now.
Bonica - soft pink about 2000 to present - healthy, but blooms are becoming smaller, fertilized once, need to again.
"Polar Joy" rose tree, pink 6/10/2008 starting to look a bit ratty - maybe it is the season.
Almost or Nearly Wild 1999 - shows off the occassional bloom through the yew which has essentially buried it.
Morden Centennial Rose Ã¯Â¿Â½ pink-2009 dwindling. Black Spot the 1st yr.
Pink Fairy Ã¯Â¿Â½ deceased after about 6 years?
Knockout White deceased 2nd year?
Knockout Pink deceased 1st year?
I have to admit, I don't have the energy to work too hard any more, so the ones that are doing well are doing it pretty much on their own and surviving lots of cottage garden competition.
gramma jan