Beautiful! I have three new little Fothergilla Mt Airy's I got from Bluestone last spring, but they haven't bloomed yet. I'm hoping for something close to your display.

Claire

Claire I have lots of little pieces of this catmint. It from my Mom's garden so I don't know the variety, but it blooms at exactly the right time for the Fothergilla if you would like some.

Lisa

Lisa: I'll keep that in mind, but right now the fothergillas are surrounded with too many plants already. I'm figuring I'll have to thin them out if they do well (around here I can't leave a space empty or a tree seedling will jump into it).

Claire

Really nice, Lisa!

Claire, I forgot to say, this is a Mt. Airy, purchased 3 years ago from Katsura, so I imagine yours shall get there, all in good time.

Lisa

Great! I'm looking forward to three beautiful fuzzy white blobs in the future.

Claire

Very pretty Fothergilla, Lisa! I have been on the fence about trying to add one. I hope you will post photos as the Mt Airy changes over the season. I love the spring look and wonder how it looks the rest of the year.

I was considering getting one at Bluestone, Claire, how small are they?

PM2 -

I don't have photos, but the ones I have (also Mt. Airys) look like Lisa's. They do sucker a bit, and are a plain green with witchhazel-like leaves in summer, so they need some perennials or something nearby if they are in a bed that gets much attention in the summer. My favorite time of year is the fall. They are the last plant in my garden with foliage, and the colors are bright and lovely, though on the same shrubs they vary from year to year, including a range from gold through orange to red. The ones that get full sun are denser and have more flowers and brighter fall foliage.

PM2: This is one of the fothergillas as received from Bluestone - photo taken 4/21/09. Tiny, but one of them had one flower. They were carefully packaged so when I opened the box the flower was nestled on the top.

I checked this morning and all three survived the winter, varying from one to three feet tall. Not too well branched yet, but healthy. They're in part shade in conditions where azaleas are reasonably happy. The smallest one is probably being challenged by some emerging bracken ferns, so I'll move it soon. The other two are hard to photograph against the backdrop of emerging green whatevers, but here they are (my eyeball measure is 30 to 36 inches, give or take a lot).

It's probably too late for flowering this year, but maybe next year which will be their third spring in the ground here. If you have patience and limited funds, Bluestone is a great way to go. Whenever I complain about having to wait a few years I remember what I did when I first read about ornamental grasses. The sources said that it took three years for the grasses to mature and look good, so I didn't plant any. Three years later I hit myself upside the head when I realized I could have had them fully mature at that point.

Claire

Here it is on Oct 4th. I love that it has blue tints to the foliage. They really shine after rains. You can see one tiny leaf in the middle that previews its red fall color. It really lights up, unfortunately I don't have pictures of it (boggle). It is in full sun, so I imagine that helps it bloom and with the color in the fall.

Lisa

I have a fothergilla about 2.5 feet tall. It has maybe 6-8 lovely blossoms near the bottom, then just foliage, and one lonely little blossom right at the top. Its overall shape and habit are quite nice, but I'm puzzled by this peculiar growth pattern. Any thoughts?

Thanks for news on the Mt Airy. Great help to see photos too. They look really nice.

Babs, spring and fall are good and have to have other interest during the summer. Ok, thanks.

That was a pretty small size last year, Claire! Not sure that small a size is for me. Good to know. :-)

Lisa, cute little shrub. Nice neat shape and foliage.

lschibley- impressive pix!!