Summer flowering shrubs

[Cbustergo]

Hi, This is my first post. Beginner at gardening. Live in Dayton, OH zone 5.

Looking for a summer flowering shrub with fragrance, good foilage, and fall
color.
Intend to plant one near my foundation in a 5' by 5' area (full sun). Clay
soil not very acidic. Looked at several garden centers and now I can't make up
my mind.

1. Clethra Aniflora - Looked great at the garden center; but looked like it
wasn't growing well at the local park.

2. Butterfly bush - Nursuries don't guarantee this plant so I wonder if
hardiness is an issue.

3. Virginia Sweetspice - Nice foilage, but I haven't seen it in bloom.

Any help or other suggestions would be appreciated. Live in a neighborhood of
spirea lovers. Just looking for something a little different.

Thanks,
Scott

[sroger2]

Welcome to the group! All three choices would work. I grow the itea
and the clethra here in central Ohio without problems. My personal
favorite is Oakleaf Hydrangea. The combination of the flower spikes
with the fall foliage and peeling bark is highly attractive. The
blossoms also have a wonderful fragrance. It will tolerate either sun or
shade and clay. Good luck!

Sue

[Allan&Teresa Widner]

IMO the Oakleaf Hydrangea is a very lovely shrub, but a bit rangy-looking.
Not formal. Great for the cottage look, or for transition zones between
woodland and lawn. If you are looking for something prim and proper, this
one might not work. But I saw butterfly bushes - those aren't very forma
either. BTW, many Butterfly bushes are hardy, but they do odd things. You
know, partial die-backs for no reason, sports, just goofy stuff. Lilacs and
forsythia can be as aggravating. I have seen butterfly bushes die back to
the ground and pop up as strong as ever the next year. For a nursery, it's
just not worth the aggravation to warranty something that is that
unpredictable.

Not sure what you meant by spice bush, but there are some very nice
viburnums that are aromatic, have dramatic blossoms, and wonderful berry
sets in the fall. Korean Spice seemed a favorite of the architects at the
landscape "sweatshop" that employed me for two years before I decided if I
wanted to be made to feel like a loser every day (the owner's favorite
motivational technique) I could more easily move back in with my folks. :)

Hawk
sroger2 wrote in message <37716076...@ix.netcom.com>...

[Michael Strickland]

On Wed, 23 Jun 1999 20:08:52 -0500, Allan&Teresa Widner wrote:

>Not sure what you meant by spice bush, but there are some very nice
>viburnums that are aromatic, have dramatic blossoms, and wonderful berry

<snip>

Might be referring to the native Spicebush (food for the larvae of the
Spicebush Swallowtail) Lindera benzoin. The bark, twigs and leaves are
aromatic. It has light yellow flowers in Mar - Apr, yellow to red
berries in fall, and grows to 15 ft. AKA Spiceweed or Benjamin Bush.

Later, Mike
USDA Zone 7, Sunset Zone 32 AHS HZ7 (Villa Rica, GA)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
m.stri...@att.net

[c. or b. ...]

I have a carolina spicebush. I just love it. THe blooms are so unique
and quite fragrant. It is planted next to the porch.

Have you also considered a barberry? We used to have one, it was quite
fragrant but got rid of it due to it's thorns not cooperating with my 2
yr old.
Carol

[Allan&Teresa Widner]

I love my barberry, but I would not recommend it to anybody unless they have
a certain tolerance for pain. Trimming them is an ordeal. Cutting out the
periodic dead wood from the inevitable branch die-backs is worse. But they
are soooo pretty.

Hawk

c. or b. ... wrote in message
<28154-37...@newsd-131.iap.bryant.webtv.net>...

[LArrow]

In rec.gardens Cbustergo <cbus...@aol.com> wrote:
: Hi, This is my first post. Beginner at gardening. Live in Dayton, OH zone 5.

: Looking for a summer flowering shrub with fragrance, good foilage, and fall
: color.
: Intend to plant one near my foundation in a 5' by 5' area (full sun). Clay
: soil not very acidic. Looked at several garden centers and now I can't make up
: my mind.

I'm in zone 7 (I think) with acid SOLID clay soil.

: 1. Clethra Aniflora - Looked great at the garden center; but looked like it

: wasn't growing well at the local park.

I bought one of the dwarf clethras last fall and plopped it in the ground
at the end of a long drought summer. I forgot to water it at all (heck, it
looked like rain.) It gets about half day sun. All the leaves fell off
(so I don't know about fall color) but it lived and came back stongly this
spring. I've thrown a couple buckets of water over it (drought spring)
but that's it. It looks like it's going to bloom this year. Tough plant,
especially given that all the references emphasize that it will tolerate
wet feet and will bloom in full shade.

-snip-

: 3. Virginia Sweetspice - Nice foilage, but I haven't seen it in bloom.

I planted one of those too but in pretty much full shade and I remembered
to throw a couple of buckets of water over it within a week or so of
putting it in. It lived and the fall leaves were stunning, gorgeous, take
a second lookatthat. Mine hasn't bloomed, I think partially because of the
spring drought and mostly because of the full shade. I saw a reference
that it needs at least some direct sun to do its best. Tough plant, again,
that is said to tolerate/like wet feet but it's sure not getting those
here.

: Any help or other suggestions would be appreciated. Live in a
: neighborhood of
: spirea lovers. -snip-

I see your spirea lovers and raise you hundreds of hot pink azaleas.

I'll probably stress-test a sweetshrub this fall.