Short Shrubs

Gardeners seem to have gravitated towards incorporating more shrubs that mature to small sizes in their landscapes. I feel like a combination of smaller lot sizes and a desire to replace the generic plants used by contractors on new home sites contribute to this trend. There are many different types of shrubs for use when ultimate height is an issue. Evergreen, deciduous (will lose leaves in winter), broadleaf and conifers can be used to diversify the garden.

Japanese hollies (often confused with boxwood) seem to be the “contractors special” when it comes to new homes. They are generally inexpensive and fit well against the house as foundation plants under windows or in any other area where height is an issue. The problem that many gardeners have with Japanese hollies is the fact that they are generic and fairly bland. These plants are not grown for their flowering ability or pretty foliage color. They are also somewhat prone to root rot diseases which can easily appear in poor draining areas near a home. Japanese holly still can serve a purpose in the landscape by use in knot gardens, as low evergreen borders and can be quite attractive when mixed with the proper companion plants. Cultivars such as ‘Hoogendorn’, ‘Helleri’ and ‘Soft Touch’ mature at or below four feet in height. ‘Compacta’ is a larger growing cultivar that can reach six feet in height.

Gardenias have been utilized in southern gardens for years due to their attractive, glossy green leaves and sweet fragrance from their flowers. ‘August Beauty’ and ‘Chuck Hayes’ are two large growing cultivars that can reach over six feet in height and can be used as accent plants or as a small screen. ‘Radicans’ (pictured to right) and ‘Frostproof’ are two cultivars that mature to under four feet in height. ‘Radicans’ is the smaller of the two maturing around two feet in height with a four foot spread. ‘Frostproof’ gets a little larger. Both have long, narrow leaves and the same white, fragrant flowers of the old fashioned gardenias during the summer months.

Loropetalum is a plant whose popularity has grown tremendously over the past ten years. It grows fast, is evergreen, flowers sporadically throughout the growing season, has purple foliage (or green) and is tough as nails. There is some bad information floating around in literature and on the internet in regards to the ultimate size of loropetalum. This has led to some loropetalum being planted in spaces that are too small for the mature plant. Look for ‘Daruma’ (pictured at top) or ‘Purple Pixie’ to ensure you are planting a smaller cultivar. ‘Daruma’ is going to mature somewhere in the neighborhood of four feet. It is a slower growing cultivar that can be maintained at four feet pretty easily. ‘Purple Pixie’ is the shortest of the bunch. It is actually almost a ground cover form with a mature height around eighteen inches and a spread of a few feet.

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