Has anyone grown...

[Dee]

coralberry (symphoricarpos), witch hazel, or mountain laurel (kalmia)? I'm looking to maybe add one of each this year (getting tempted by catalog pics) and wondered if they were easy to grow and would do well in my zone 5 (indy area) garden??

[Chris_W]

Hi Dee,

I'm going to try growing Symphoricarpos this year, and everything I've seen says zone 3, so cold shouldn't be a problem. Haven't looked into the others but I know common witch hazel should be fine too, and a lot of the hybrids I would expect to be alright.

[Old earth dog]

Dee, I've never tried it, but I've always heard that mountain laurel can be kinda picky unless your in the PNW or SE USA.

[mooie]

We grew the symphoricarpos the last couple of years at the garden center where i work. I watched it grow from a liner into a more mature 3 gallon container. Berry production is very good, attractive. Seems to grow quickly. However, this is one plant that HAS to look better in the ground. It's look in the pot is not overly attractive in relation to attracting a customer to it. Which is probably why we still had so many left. Another one that falls into this same catagory (not to get off the topic ) is the 7 Son-Flower shrub. I have seen gorgeous pictures of this plant in peoples landscapes and then walked back and looked at it in the pot and said ! Fall is definitely the best season for that shrub. Anywho, not to digress, and not really knowing exactly what you are looking for in your shrubs, i.e. flowering? berry production? I really wouldn't suggest the Coralberry for either. Of course you realize that this is just my observation in a nursery setting and real life 'in ground' settings are always different. I've rambled on long enough now!

mooie

[viktoria]

Since Mountain Laurel is native in New England, I see no reason why it should do well only in PNW and SE. Somewhat acidic soil is best.

[Dee]

Thank you all very much!!

Chris: I'm looking at the Doorenbosii Amethyst (TM) variety. It has pink berries and I am ALL ABOUT pink! LOL Is that the one you are going to grow?

mooie: For the coralberry I am most excited about berry production - they look so darn pretty in the picture! The witch hazel is just because of the early flowers and this one (Autumn Embers) is supposed to have really great fall color. I want more than just burning bushes for that pop of red!

viktoria: Acidic soil...great...I don't have it but by golly I can amend the crap out of soil until I do have it!

[pauhaus]

Hi Dee, have you considered Callicarpa americana, American Beautyberry?

[viktoria]

The Callicarpa is a GD weed! Great for naturalistic plantings, but not suitable for most gardens. The fruit in no way compares with that of Symphoricarpos. Unless I had a poor clone, the fruit is too small to be of much ornamental value, except perhaps in mass. It is, however, of value to wildlife.

[pauhaus]

Ooops, shows how much I know...not much

Never mind...

[mooie]

I respectively disagree with the Callicarpa statement. I would consider the berries to be highly ornamental, very deep purple and in great profusion. Our callicarpas in the display areas simply stop people in their tracks during the fall. While they may not be given to a structured landscape plan, they certainly have a place in most peoples more natural type gardens. That being said, this plant during the course of a years time will look just like a green shrub up until the time the berry show begins. Not much to see but knowing the show is about to begin makes it worth the wait. I guess I just kind of like it!

mooie

[Dee]

Oh I have seen Callicarpa before! Always at the garden center though, haven't seen it planted out. The branches were just covered in those pretty purple berries. Very very pretty! If I can get the shrub border going that I want (with those naturalistic kind of shrubs) I will add one! Basically, I'm going for soem more interesting berries and such for flower arrangements. Thanks for the idea!!

[doublemom2]

I vote for the witchhazels... I have a few and I love every one of them. The fall color is outstanding, they're just finishing their bloom right now, and I wouldn't be without them.

Here's a common one, 'Arnold Promise' showing fantastic rainbow fall colors and those intensely bright yellow winter flowers...

Andi

[Linda P]

I have symphorocarpos here, not a selection but the species. It's taken a while to settle in, and the first several years it produced some lackluster berries. Last year the berries were larger and definitely caught my eye. I also have s. alba (Snowberry). The only thing I have against them is that, once established, they tend to sucker. I have whacked at the clump of s. alba for several years now, to keep it from overrunning the area. The coralberry doesn't seem to be quite as vigorous in running about the border.
I also have a callicarpa, but it's dichotoma, not americana. It's truly breathtaking in bloom. I cut it to the ground most years, and the fruit display is wonderful. If you plant that one, site it where the sun will backlight it in the late afternoon, and you won't be able to take your eyes off it.
Mooie, I know what you mean about the heptacodium. I passed it by for at the nursery for an entire summer, until I saw it in bloom, or should I say, smelled it in bloom. Heavenly! Last fall, the bracts stayed bright red through mid-November, though this isn't always the case. I've had mine for 7-8 years now, and it has developed the marvelously stringy bark for winter interest. The first several years, the foliage looked awful all year long, and I was seriously ready to move it to the back 40, when it finally settled in and began to earn the front row seat. Now the foliage stays a nice green all year, and it has a very nice fountain shape to it. It did require some judicious pruning over the years to acheive more of an upright shape.
I also have aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) and a. arbutifolia (red chokeberry), both excellent berry producers, and a sight to behold in fall color. I believe they are both native to North America. There are a host of viburnums that are good fruit producers, with v. dentatum 'Blue Muffin' and 'Chicago Lustre' right up there with the best of the berry-producing plants. They have dark blue berries that hold into winter. Blue Muffin is a more compact form, supposedly topping out at around 6-8 feet. Chicago Lustre has the most beautiful leaves, but it seems to be a bit bigger. The old arrowood, of which these are selections, is somewhere over 15 feet in height, and mine was over 15 feet wide before I whacked it to a more suitable size last month. I also grow the cranberry viburnum, which has wonderful red fruit that lasts through the winter.
(Notice how I always manage to fit in something about viburnums whenever I can? Even though you didn't ask about them?? I love them!)
I don't have witch hazel, though I would love to, and haven't tried to grow mountain laurels. They are lovely, but I just don't have the right kind of soil for them here. I don't do at all well with azaleas and rhodies, so I'm not going to murder a mountain laurel.
Linda P

[Herb]

I can only mention Kalmia from my own experience - and even here in Victoria it's been difficult, at least in our garden. Quite my favorite was Olympic Fire. It seemed to be thriving, but in its third year - like some others - it started to go downhill & soon died.

Here's a picture of it - while it was still alive, but when its days were numbered. As you can see, the leaves look rather sick.

[JaneG]

I tried several mountain laurel here in zone 5, but never had any success. They lived, but never thrived. Instead of getting bigger every year, they seemed to get smaller. I never got a nice plant with those lovely blooms that you see in all the pictures. I gave up.

The fact that I had to mail order the plants and can't find them in local nurseries should have been my first clue not to try.

But if you love it, go for it. You may have better luck than me.

I want to try a witchhazel next.

[Ed_B]

This is a beautiful fall tree/shrub, hardy for me in z4.

Very fragrant, buterfly/bee magnet, fast grower.