Meet Marianne Binetti on Sept. 6 for a free talk “Fall is for Planting” and meet problem solving plants with fall color, starting at 10 a.m. at Windmill Gardens in Sumner. Visit www.binettigarden for more details.
Fall is for planting and the end of August is the start of the fall season as night temperatures cool and nurseries restock with a fresh supply of trees, shrubs and perennials.
The best time to add new plants to the landscape is when the autumn rains return to keep the soil moist, but this week is a good time to research hardy plant material to replace the sad-looking plants that have not done well in your landscape.
Q. What shrub can I plant in the shade for color that is not a hydrangea? I realize everyone seems to love hydrangeas, but this area is near a tree and the soil is too dry for hydrangeas. I would like an evergreen shrub if possible. W.T., Buckley
A. I can think of two attractive evergreen shrubs that do well in the shade and can adapt to dry soil. The first is Leucothoe or sometimes called Rainbow bush due to its colorful foliage. In moist, acidic soil this graceful weeping shrub can grow huge to 12 feet tall but in dry shade it grows slowly in a tidy mound. The other shade tolerant, evergreen shrub is Pieris japonica or Lily of the Valley bush. Pieris comes in many forms from a dwarf, compact version just 2 feet tall to the standard tall version that grows to six feet. Pieris japonica also comes with variegation in the leaf or as a solid green shrub, but all varieties have delightful, fragrant blooms in the spring. These shrubs will be drought tolerant once established which means you will need to water the first year after planting until the root system spreads out to find moisture on its own.
Q. I have two large half whiskey barrels near my front entry. I would like to stop filling them with annuals and instead grow a shrub that will look good year-round. I know boxwood will grow in pots for many years without needing a transplant, but I do not want boxwood as it seems too formal for these rustic containers. What other shrubs will survive for years in a large container? J., Olympia
A. Japanese maples, nandina, (Heavenly bamboo) camellias, Japanese holly and dwarf evergreens such as the chamycparis shrubs will all be happy for years in a large container – but only if you start out with good potting soil, add a shovelful of compost to the potting soil and water when the soil is dry. When the shrubs are young and small you can add color from alyssum or sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ around the edge of the container. Note the Japanese maple will lose it’s leaves in the winter, but the weeping form of a grafted Japanese maple makes it attractive all year especially if underplanted with winter blooming bulbs such as crocus, snow drop or dwarf daffodils. Black mondo grass is another low growing evergreen that can be added to large containers as you wait for the specimen shrub to mature.
Q. I would like to plant an area that gets partial shade with 100 daffodil bulbs to surprise my wife in the spring. (It is for a landmark birthday.) I will do this while she is gone for a week in the fall. The problem is she will notice that I have been digging in the dirt to plant the bulbs. Is there a groundcover I can plant on top of the bulbs to disguise the hidden treasure below ground? R.H., Tacoma
A. Your lucky wife can be fooled if you plant ajuga over the top of your daffodil crop. Ajuga is a shade-loving, weed blocking groundcover. Fall is a good time to add ajuga and other weed blocking groundcovers to any garden.
Tip: ajuga comes in several forms and colors. For a small space chose the ajuga with pink and white in the foliage called “Burgundy Glow” or the even more compact, dark leaved variety called ‘Chocolate Chip’ as these two will not overwhelm a small space but still block weeds and allow bulbs to push through in the spring. For large areas, the fast growing ‘Bronze Beauty’ ajuga can fill up a space quickly especially if the soil is rich in organic matter and kept moist. You can expect plumes of upright blue flowers in the spring on all the ajuga varieties.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
