Shrubs for 30’ fence line

6 years ago

Hello friends! Zone 5b, central MI here. The home we purchased last spring has a semi shared driveway -starts as one but splits toward the garages. Our driveway is bordered by a 30’ long, 3.5’ high white vinyl fence. Previous owners had a mass of Nantucket Blue hydrangeas planted on the inside that looked wonderful last year but have floundered this year. I’m guessing they were purchased and installed last year, hence the impressive initial display, but our winter killed off the buds and top growth, as they seem to be only “root hardy” in our zone. I’d like to replace them with another flowering shrub. Evergreen is preferred but not a necessity. I like the look of shrub that would grow through/overhang a bit to soften to stark white vinyl. Initially I planned on Annabelles, as the fence would prop up their large blooms, but as this is one of the few areas in my yard that is not affected by juglone, I would prefer to place the Annabelles along fences closer to the BW trees and use something different here. Additionally, light blue, purple, lavender or blush tones would work well with the rest of our plantings and provide contrast to the white of the fence. I’ve considered Gomer Waterer rhododendron as I’ve read they can handle full sun in our zone, but am open to other recommendations. Ideal size would be 4-5’ in height and width. Soil here is sloped, drains well and is around 5.5-6 pH.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
hydrangeas planted on the inside that looked wonderful last year but have floundered this year.

==>>> could be related to the hard frosts and freezes many of us in MI where hit with ...

imo ..its rather late in MI.. to be planting ... summer heat wise ...

so if it were me... i would spend july and august increasing that bed to about 5 to 6 feet ... removing everything you dont want.. getting rid of grass.. etc ...

and then plant in sept ... i would go for diversity.. not relying on all of one thing.. since.. well ... you see what happened to the previous monoculture ...

most shrubs are going to outgrow even the bigger bed.. and become an annual maintenance job ... you might want to duplicate the post in the perennial forum for ideas as to height and color scheme ... actually.. a post over there with a link to this post.. moght keep it all together .. some what ...

so even if you find and buy things.. hold them in pots.. which i see you already have a collection ... until the fall planting season ...

perhaps a pic of the whole front of the house.. might inspire us.. to give better answers ...

ken
Lauren Davis
Original Author
6 years ago
Ken, I’m working on weeding, edging and extending the bed. I’ll post better pics when I’m done.
I like what you said about having a monoculture. That makes a lot of sense, not just regarding disease/winter damage, but I like the idea of having something blooming throughout the growing season. I think I’m going to do some early bloomers like azaleas, deutzia and/or spirea, mid season dwarf lilac, dogwood, and/or rhododendron, and some hydrangea paniculata for late summer - frost.
Here, my deutzia bloom in late March - April, azalea in April, lilac and rhodos in May - June, little limes & limelights in late June - frost, white diamond July - frost. I’ll probably use an evergreen groundcover.

The NBs seem to suffer the same as ES hydrangeas in zone 5 - I plan to move them to a more sheltered area where I can better winter protect them.
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Lauren Davis
Original Author
6 years ago
Also, yes lol. My pot collection. I am working on overcoming my impulses to “rescue” clearance plants
PRO
Yardvaark
6 years ago
Consider incorporating Korean spice bush somewhere as scent is Heavenly.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
use deciduous azalea in MI ... most lilac.. including the alleged small ones.. get HUGE ... and might not work at this fence ...

include a pic of the whole front of the house ...

rhodies can also take a beating in MI winters ... hey.. isnt this full sun .. neither As or Rs will appreciate that ... MI summers are almost as bad as MI winters ...

ken