hey willie ....

google REJUVENATION PRUNING OF FLOWERING SHRUBS ...

that is how you keep ANY shrub inside some bounds you wish to enforce upon it ...

otherwise... no plant ever stops growing ... most size estimates are in a given time period ... and in twice that period.. it WILL BE twice as big ... in every dimension ...

most plants.. have a predictable annual growth rate ... and a size estimate if usually 10 years of such .... so if it grows one foot per year ... then one might see a size estimate of 10 feet .... and one that grows half a foot per year.. 6 inches.. will be 5 feet tall ...

i have the dwarf lilac: Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' .. its growth rate is probably half of a regular lilac .... which means its estimate height is half of such ...

but after 10 years.. mine is about 6 feet tall ... and 8 wide ...

sooooo ... if i wanted to keep mine at about half of what it is.. every year.. i would prune out the oldest 1/3 .... and keep rejuvenating it.. into the size i want ....

w/o a pic of your spot.. i really cant give you any suggestions ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken.... you do make me giggle sometimes with the way you write..lol.... I hope most people in Adrian have that kind of humour...

...I love Syringa 'palibin'.... I keep mine as a small bush in a container, which I root prune every couple of years....and in the greenhouse as that's where I want the scent in Spring.... it doesn't look much after that for the rest of the year does it?... I don't think so... I make it sort of disappear quietly in the background after it has flowered...

wonka,
Hello... I know I'm a long way off and it's a bit of a cheek replying to you from here, but I do have a shrub that I wonder if you might be interested in.... it's an American native and is very hardy...grows in the Dakotas and Plains..... it's called Ribes odoratum... a flowering currant.... I absolutely adore this plant... it has yellow flowers in April/May, for some weeks, and they are strongly scented of cloves....real spicy... the foliage is good too, like small oak leaves, although it is deciduous, so it loses its leaves for winter, but you get glorious fall/autumn colour too...
...if like here it will grow to about 7 or 8 foot by 5 or 6 foot but great thing is it's so easy to prune off anything you don't want...or keep to shorter height...
just a suggestion....don't expect you to go out there and get it...but kind regards in any case and here are a couple pics. of this plant in my garden....

IF your site has enough sun there are countless options.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight', 'Quickfire', and 'Fire Light' would all give you good seasonal interest and even some winter appeal with the dried flowers.

For Physocarpus or ninebark I recommend 'Summer Wine' and 'Amber Jubilee'. Both have good resistance to powdery mildew. Summer Wine has dark leaves, while Amber Jubilee has leaves that change colors throughout the season. In the first six weeks of the growing season it can be a spectacular shrub.

Lilacs are great, and I like Syringa 'Miss Kim' the best here. It has great blooms, nice deep green foliage, and great fall color as well (burgundy on the outside and yellow on the inside). We've begun using the new Bloomerang Dark Purple Lilac which is reported to bloom quite heavily over two flowering periods. Whether or not this proves to be true only time will tell.

You could also opt for one of the newer Weigela cultivars that re-bloom like Sonic Bloom Pink, Red or White. Or go for Gold Rush or Rainbow Sensation, both really nice variegated selections that keep a dense habit when pruned correctly.

One of the Viburnums we've used that stays smaller is Viburnum 'Raspberry Tart'. It naturally grows into a rounded form and also has good fall color. The leaves are fairly thick with a nice sheen to them as well. Could also do a Judd Viburnum or Korean Spice, both of which can have great fall color.

If you're willing to keep them pruned you could go for Golden Spirit or Royal Purple Smokebush. The large texture and color of the foliage gives a great look.

I call it 'renewal pruning' but the idea is essentially the same-to keep a shrub in a state of perpetual juvenility by each year, or every few years, reaching down in at the base and removing the largest, oldest stems. This results in the plant always having fresh young stems, with their usual better color, flowering, etc. The primary tool for doing this is the loppers, or lopping shears. Small, fold-up handsaws are also useful.

One thing about renewal pruning-it's easy to describe and easy to explain why and how it works, but it's not easy to perform. You will find that skinning up and otherwise damaging the very stems you wish to retain is almost a given, the work is performed with you on your knees, on what is usually cold or snow-covered ground. But it really works well and is an industry standard.

+oM

Thank you to everyone who responded. I am including a picture of the front of my house (I hope I did that correctly). We pulled out the big bush on the right side of the garage and that is where the new shrub will go. Because the house color is so dark, I would like something with some color. The other bush on the left side will go this year and we are thinking of planting a Japanese Maple there as a pivot point.

I appreciate all of the tips on pruning. I am definitely going to have to learn how to properly prune whatever shrub we plant.

I always figured I would have to get the dwarf variety for the space by the garage. I never looked at pruning as being a way to get the standard variety or size of a shrub in a smaller space, so thank you for that.

Did you consider planting some sort of tree instead of a shrub? It would depend on where the property line runs, but I would consider a slower growing tree. If you stay with the shrub plan, I would look for something with pale foliage. Maybe a silver-leaved shrub, or something variegated to contrast with the darkness of the house.

Martha