Question about shrub placement

11 years ago

I have an aronia Brilliantissima in a shrub border, and because of the description of it, I planted it front and center. The border is curved, and the aronia is in the center spot, in a very visible spot, and quite frankly, I'm not overly thrilled with it. The foliage is somewhat sparse, with bare knees, and the fall color is nice, but not enough of it. And the berries are not at all prolific.

I'm trying hard not to have to move this (although it may come to it), and trying to give it a bit more time (in this spot for 3 or 4 seasons, from a Bluestone baby). In the meantime, I'm mulling over something at the moment. I have a fothergilla Mt. Airy, and an ilex Patti O. which I don't have spots for yet, and I'm thinking of putting one of them in front of the aronia

The fothergilla I have grown before and was extremely pleased with it's fall performance, and would love to see it in this visible spot. However, would it complement the aronia, or would it be too much and/or clash? Would it be better to have the evergreen dwarf holly in front of it? The holly would obviously look better in winter, but this border consists of mostly evergreens anyway, so it's not necessary to have yet another. There are several layers to this border, and there is a rhodie behind the aronia, so there isn't really an empty gap, even though the bare aronia is in front.

Thoughts? Opinions? Other options that might look good? Or suggestions on how to get more out of this chokeberry? Also, ilex Patti O. is new to me, so anyone out there with experience on this one?

Thanks everyone!

Dee

Featured Answer

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

11 years ago

In my garden, F. Mt. Airy is one of the last things with color, having color into early November when only the oaks, American beech, and Kousa dogwoods still have leaves. So if your Aronia drops leaves early, it shouldn't be an issue; the Fothergilla should steal the show. (in the background you can see the Kousa behind the chairs and the oaks along the field edge.)

I love my Mt. Airy for its spring flowers and fall color, but it is a bit homely in midsummer unless you want to trim off the spent flowers. Mine is by a patio with western sun, so I am not out there midsummer to see the seed heads which change from lumpy green to lumpy brown as the season progresses, visible in the background here.

So you might want to have something perennial and bright in midsummer nearby to distract from Mt. Airy's seed heads or else plan to trim them.

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Comments (10)

Marie Tulin Boston burbs z 6a
11 years ago
I have 3 nearly 15 year old aronias and they do not get fuller or fatter. Move it while you can. I have fothergilla in front of it and that works well. There's nothing to clash. The aronia works as a background plant. If its in good sun its autumn color is nice, but if I recall correctly it doesn't hold its leaves very long. The fothergilla foliage in fall has more impact: bigger leaves and the entire plant has more bulk. But do keep the aronia; it is a wonderful food source for birds and early pollinators. In fact,add more!

Marie
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the quick reply, Marie! I don't mind the form of the aronia at all - as a matter of fact, I love the tall, narrow shape, and that works well in this spot, which is why I hesitate to move it just yet. But you are right, the foliage is not only rather sparse, but it falls rather early.

So you actually have a fothergilla in front of yours? And the aronia does not take away from the fothergilla display? Good to know.

I will definitely keep the aronia, even if I take it out of this spot - I'll just move it elsewhere. I'm wondering if the lack of berries is because the birds get to it so fast. This is not my garden so I don't see it on a daily basis, but I have yet to see a really good crop of berries on this darn thing.

Thanks!

Dee
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Marie Tulin Boston burbs z 6a
11 years ago
I don't remember the berries ever being spectacular. Are they little and black? Viburnum plicatum and crabapples are go to plants for birds in my garden.

I really can't remember if a lot of aronua leaves are still left when fothergilla changes but no , no clashing. Fall is a kind of clamorous time anyway, so if the chokechrrty is bright red and fothergilla is yellow, red and orange nothing would be aesthetically amiss. Add the cooling shiny green of the ilex and it would be lively
Marie Tulin Boston burbs z 6a
11 years ago
And lOvely.

Marie
hunt4carl
11 years ago
Yeah, I fell for all the hype about Aronia, too, a few years back - of the original three, only one remains, strictly as a background/filler plant, but honestly, with everything else going on the garden, you'd never miss it - which is why the other two got shovel pruned. Learned the hard way, if you want red berries in Fall, switch to Ilex verticillata or one of the Viburnums !

Carl
diggerdee zone 6 CT
Original Author
11 years ago
lol, Marie, it would be lively and lovely! ;)

Thanks Carl and Babs for your input. I do have ilex verticillata and viburnums here; because I originally put the aronia in this particular spot, I don't think I can replace it with one of those because of the narrowness of the aronia versus the width of the others. Figures the one time I actually PLAN something, it doesn't really work out and now I have a narrow spot to fill!

Thanks for the reminder on the mid-season visuals, Babs. I guess I never really noticed my fothergilla mid-season, so this is good to know. This bed does have roses, iris, daylilies, mums, geraniums - a good mix of perennials with something blooming all season, so hopefully that will distract.

I do think, thanks to the input from everyone here, that I will put the fothergilla in this spot. I did so love my fothergilla in the fall, especially, so I think it will be appreciated in this spot.

Thanks for all your help!

Dee
p1ttm8n
11 years ago
Hi Carl, I had a question from an old forum regarding day lillies. You had stated you had purchased Princess Irene daylillies from Bloomingfield Farm. My question is how high and wide did they get and what actual color were they? Thanks, Scott
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
11 years ago
Scott, (p1ttm8n) I would start a new thread with Princess Irene daylilies in the heading. Carl will be more likely to see it, though we don't see him here with a great deal of frequency. Also, if you copy and paste his name from the heading of his post here into your post on the new thread, he should get a notification by email. (I did that with your name into this post, so you should have gotten an email notification.)
mayalena
11 years ago
Hi Dee.

It's not a shrub, but I like amsonia (hubrichtii?) in front of aronia to cover its bare knees. I like their fall colors together and the contrast between their textures. Just a thot....