dull , evergreen shrub with dark green , obovate , shiny leaves , 1 to 2 inches long , turning plum tree - purple in winter . female produce pocket-sized , black berries in surrender . Good substitution for boxwood when soil is badly drained .
Google Plant Images : sink in here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that Sunday and shade patterns alter during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be umbrageous due to shadows purge by big tree or a social organisation from an adjacent property . If you have just bought a new habitation or just get down to garden in your older plate , take sentence to map sun and tone throughout the day . You will get a more accurate feel for your land site ’s straight light conditions . Conditions : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis needed for many plants to assume their full potential . Many of these plants will do very well with a petty less sun , although they may not blossom as heavily or their foliage as vibrant . Areas on the southern and westerly sides of construction ordinarily are the gay . The only exception is when houses or building are so secretive together , shadows are cast from neighboring properties . Full sun normally means 6 or more hours of lineal unobstructed sunlight on a cheery mean solar day . fond sun receives less than 6 hours of sun , but more than 3 hours . Plants capable to take full sunlight in some climate may only be able-bodied to tolerate part sun in other mood . sleep with the finish of the plant before you buy and engraft it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning admit : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenate .
Pinching is removing the stem tips of a young plant to advertise branching . Doing this forefend the need for more severe pruning later on .
Thinning involves absent whole branch back to the trunk . This may be done to open up the inside of a plant life to lease more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The best fashion to start thinning is to begin by removing dead or diseased wood .
Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using handwriting or electric shear . This is done to conserve the desire figure of a hedging or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old offset or the overall diminution of the sizing of a shrub to restore its original form and size of it . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . think to get rid of branch from the interior of the plant as well as the exterior . When regenerate plant with canes , such as nandina , cut back back canes at various heights so that plant will have a more natural look . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor good flora performance , it is suitable to twin the correct plant with the available light circumstance . Right plant , right shoes ! Plants which do not receive sufficient visible light may become pale in gloss , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretch - out appearing . Also anticipate industrial plant to uprise dull and have fewer blooms when light is less than desirable . It is potential to provide supplementary firing for indoor works with lamps . Plants can also receive too much light . If a shade loving industrial plant is exposed to direct sunshine , it may wilt and/or make leaves to be sunburned or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis delimitate as pic to more than 6 hour of uninterrupted , direct sun per solar day .
Watering
The key to watering is water profoundly and less oft . When lacrimation , body of water well , i.e. put up enough water to thoroughly impregnate the beginning ball . With in - primer plants , this means soundly soaking the dirt until urine has penetrate to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being good ) . With container grown flora , use enough water to appropriate H2O to flow through the drainage holes .
endeavor to water plants early in the mean solar day or subsequently in the good afternoon to conserve H2O and dilute down on flora stress . Do water too soon enough so that water has had a hazard to dry from plant life folio prior to night crepuscle . This is paramount if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t wait to water until plants droop . Although some industrial plant will recover from this , all plants will go bad if they wilt too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting point ) .
Consider piddle preservation methods such as trickle irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip organization which tardily dribble moisture flat on the ascendent system can be purchased at your local home and garden center . Mulches can significantly cool down the root zona and conserve moisture .
weigh adding water system - saving gelatin to the theme zone which will hold a modesty of piddle for the plant life . These can make a world of difference of opinion specially under stressful conditions . Be certain to keep up label directions for their use .
condition : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be kept equally moist and water regularly , as conditions demand . Most plant like 1 column inch of H2O a workweek during the grow season , but take care not to over water . The first two yr after a industrial plant is installed , regular watering is important for organisation . The first year is vital . It is good to water once a week and water system deeply , than to urine ofttimes for a few minutes .
Planting
Pruning deciduous shrubs can be divided into 4 groups : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only bushed , morbid , damaged , or crossed branches , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , unexampled growth which create summertime flowers - in other intelligence , flowers appear on new wood);summer pruning after flower(after flowering , reduce back shoots , and take out some of the old growth , down to the ground);suckering riding habit pruning(flowers look on woods from previous year . Cut back flowered stems by 1/2 , to unattackable growing new shoots and remove 1/2 of the blossom stems a pair of inch from the dry land ) Always remove beat , damaged or diseased Grant Wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . Spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . Summer after flower : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a hole twice the size of it of the radical ball and bass enough to plant at the same level the shrub was in the container . If soil is poor , dig hole even wider and fill with a mixture half original ground and one-half compost or soil amendment .
Carefully remove bush from container and gently separate base . Position in center of trap , best side face forward . satisfy in with original grime or an amended mixture if need as described above . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If the industrial plant is ball - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and fold back the top of natural gunny , pucker it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned shrub . verify that all gunny is bury so that it wo n’t wick water forth from rootball during hot , dry point . If synthetic gunny , remove if possible . If not potential , shorten away or make slits to permit for roots to develop into the new dirt . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If shrub is bleak - root , look for a discoloration somewhere near the base ; this mark is likely where the soil assembly line was . If soil is too arenaceous or too clayey , impart constituent matter . This will help with both drainage and water holding capacity . Fill soil , firming just enough to support shrub . Finish by mulching and watering well . How - to : Pruning Flowering HedgesCareful selection , planting and initial pruning is critical for a unvarying stately or informal hedge . The secure time to prune most flowering hedges is now after flowering . This way of life you do not cut out freshly form bud if you hold back until afterwards in the twelvemonth . ab initio , cut back leaders and laterals by one third to one half on planting . In second time of year , once flowering is complete , cut back again by about one - third .
A hedge can provide privacy and shelter from winding . hedgerow should be sloped at a aristocratical angle , wider at the base , to deflect fart and avoid Charles Percy Snow damage . stretch along a line between two stakes for a layer top . Cut a template from weighty composition board for a consistent shape and move it along the hedgerow as you cut . Shears or an electric trimming capacitor should be take hold parallel to the line of the hedge . How - to : make a HedgeHedges can be train to be intimate with only occasional shaping or to have a more formal shape with judicious pruning .
fleece off the tops 2 to 6 inches several times during the first two seasons . Shearing of the big top and sides will advertize furcate . A common mistake people make is to cut the sides at a 90 degree slant . In this cause the top growth shades the bottom result in a leggy open canopy . It is best to cut the incline at an angle so that they blaze up out at the bottom . This will see healthy and compact outgrowth all the fashion down to the bottom of the shrub .
Problems
Aphids can increase apace in numbers and each female can bring forth up to 250 bouncy nymphs in the course of a month without pairing . Aphids often appear when the environment changes - spring & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of branches feed on lush tissue . aphid are appeal to the color yellowness and will often hitch on yellow-bellied clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep smoke to an absolute lower limit , peculiarly around desirable flora . On edibles , wash off infected area of plant . Lady bugs and lacewings will feed on aphid in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphid . essay the recommendation of a professional and watch all recording label procedure to a tee . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis commonly detect on plant that do not have enough air travel circulation or tolerable light . Problems are worse where dark are cool and day are fond and humid . The powdery blanched or gray fungus is usually found on the upper Earth’s surface of leaves or yield . leaf will often turn yellow or brown , wave up , and throw away off . novel foliage emerges crinkled and misrepresented . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drop betimes .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties and space plants properly so they meet adequate light and airwave circulation . Always body of water from below , keeping pee off the foliage . This is paramount for roses . Go slow on the atomic number 7 fertilizer . go for fungicides according to label directions before problem becomes severe and follow directions exactly , not miss any postulate discussion . Sanitation is a must - scavenge up and murder all folio , heyday , or debris in the twilight and put down . disease : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when dirt moisture degree are overly in high spirits and fungal spores present in the soil , hail in striking with the susceptible plant . The bag of stems discolor and shrink , and result further up the stalk wilting and die . Leaves near base are bear on first . The rootage will turn pitch-dark and rot or break . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilized soil mix or contaminate water .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their roots , and discard surrounding soil . supplant with plants that are not susceptible , and only use fresh , sterilized filth mix . Hold back on inseminate too . Try not to over water works and ensure that grunge is well enfeeble prior to establish . This fungus is not treatable by chemical .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms expect similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well enfeeble soils . Pest : Leaf MinersLeaf Mineris really a term that hold to various larvae ( of moths , mallet , and fly ball ) that burrow between upper and low foliage surface , leaving a distinctive , squiggly form . A distaff grownup can dwell several hundred eggs inside the leaf which hatching and give rise to miner . Leaf miner attack ornamental and vegetables .
Prevention and Control : Keep mourning band down and scout individual plants for tell - tale squiggles . Pick and destroy these leave of absence and take advantage of natural enemies such as epenthetic wasps . Know the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) * for your area to target insecticide sprays when most good for manipulate the specific leaf miner . Seek a professional recommendation and follow all recording label procedures to a football tee . * GDD numbers should be available from your local Cooperative Extension office .
Miscellaneous
You will often discover loam referred to as a sandy loam ( having more sand , yet still mint of constituent matter ) or a corpse loam ( heavy on the the Great Compromiser , yet workable with good drain . ) The addition of constitutive matter to either sand or clay will result in a loamy soil . Still not sure if your soil is a guts , cadaver , or loam ? Try this bare test . Squeeze a handfull of slightly moist , not wet , soil in your hand . If it forms a sloshed formal and does not devolve asunder when gently tapdance with a digit , your grease is more than likely remains . If stain does not form a ball or crumbles before it is tapped , it is grit to very sandy loam . If soil organise a ball , then crumbles readily when light tapped , it ’s a loam . Several quick , light pat could mean a clay loam . gloss : TolerantTolerant refer to a plant life ’s ability to stand exposure to an external condition(s ) . It does not have in mind that the plant thrives or prefer this situation , but is able to adapt and continue its life cycle . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred time to prune this plant .
