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Apr 27, 2010 5:17 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Neal Linville
Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)
Bulbs Charter ATP Member Cottage Gardener I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Irises Roses
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
Now that spring has really arrived, lets see your favorite shrubs Smiling
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
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Apr 27, 2010 3:40 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
The first viburnum to bloom in my yard is Viburnum carlesii ‘Compactum’. This is a great viburnum for small spaces.

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Apr 27, 2010 3:43 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
A close up of the flower. It has a wonderful scent.

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Apr 27, 2010 3:49 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
This is a picture of the smallest of our three Calycanthus floridus ‘Michael Lindsey’.

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Apr 27, 2010 3:54 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
A close up of one of the flowers. It has a sweet apple scent but also a fermented scent. Sorta like Apple Jack.

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Apr 27, 2010 3:59 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
Calycanthus floridus ‘Athens’ is also blooming right now. This one has the strongest fragrance of the three calycanthus that we have. It is a very sweet apple fragrance (without the fermented scent) and it is noticeable from 5 or 6 feet away from the shrub.

All of our calycanthus have a flush in the spring but they all rebloom throughout the summer.

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Apr 27, 2010 4:04 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
My hubby's favorite shrub is Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Mindia’ (aka Ninebark Coppertina). This is what it looked like when it just started to leaf out in early April.

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Apr 27, 2010 4:10 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
After a few weeks, this is what the leaves look like today. This is the new growth--the older growth is a little darker and has flower buds. It should be blooming in a few weeks.

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Apr 27, 2010 4:15 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
This is a picture of the whole shrub that I took a few days ago. Yes, I need to get out there and prune it but it's still a nice shrub. As an added bonus, it has a wonderful peeling bark for winter interest.

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Apr 28, 2010 5:18 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Neal Linville
Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)
Bulbs Charter ATP Member Cottage Gardener I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Irises Roses
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
Love those fragrant Viburnums, I've got to pick up some this year! Just planted my first Ninebark this spring (Thanks, Polly!), and it has the most gorgeous coppery foliage! I didn't realize Calycanthus bloomed this early! That green is lovely and interesting! How do those handle shade?...dry shade in particular?
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
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Apr 28, 2010 7:05 AM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
We also have a Korean Spice, Juddii and Burkwoodii. But I pruned too late last year so we didn't get too many blooms. Oops. Sino-calycanthus 'Venus' has buds the size of a large grape but it hasn't bloomed yet. Venus is planted in a lot of shade. It's done great but it's later than the others and wants to grow more horizontal than tall. Still, I can't really compare the Venus to the others since it's a different kind of calycanthus.

We have a calycanthus ML on each corner of the front of the house. They are half-way under the eaves of the house so they are about half-dry and half-normal water. One gets a lot more sun than the other. The one with more sun is a visibly larger plant, has bigger leaves and usually more blooms. The flowers on the one with more shade seem to last a bit longer. They seem to like at least a medium amount of water. When they get dry, the leaves get a bit crispy around the edges and their blooming and growing stalls. Still, they seem to take whatever happens to them with a shrug. They're not too fussy.

Due to some gutter issues, two of our calycanthus had the soil washed away from a large portion of their roots (we didn't know it). Just bare roots showing drying and baking in the sun. They didn't leaf out on one side but they didn't die either. Added some peat moss-enriched soil, watered and they leafed out just fine. They like the soil to be a bit acidic or they will get yellowish leaves with green veins. A bit of Epsom salt makes them happy but we don't fertilize much. I've never had to prune them. They make a nice shaped shrub and turn yellow in the autumn.

The first blooms that I photographed from Michael Lindsey this year was 07 April and the first ones on Athens were 15 April. But they'll still be putting out sporadic blooms in Aug/Sept.
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Apr 28, 2010 7:37 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Neal Linville
Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)
Bulbs Charter ATP Member Cottage Gardener I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Irises Roses
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
Val, you are a wealth of valuable, concise information! Thank you soooo much! And both of us being in the Ohio River valley region gives me a good idea of what parts of my yard would work for them.
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
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Apr 28, 2010 8:12 AM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
What ninebark did you get? Do you have pictures? We're thinking about adding another. I was looking at one with the word Glow in the cultivar name. Afterglow, maybe?
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Apr 29, 2010 5:28 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Neal Linville
Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)
Bulbs Charter ATP Member Cottage Gardener I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Irises Roses
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
Mine is 'Coppertina' too. No pics yet, gotta finish weeding that bed before I take any- its not "lookatable" yet, LOL.
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
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May 6, 2010 7:51 AM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
We have a Fragrant Abelia blooming right now that smells divine. I've loved the scent of lilacs since I was a kid but if someone were to force me to choose between the scent of lilac and abelia, I'd have a really tough time choosing! This shrub is great and we're going to get another one. It's hardy, disease and pest free, has very fragrant flowers in spring and a wonderful red autumn color.

I've learned that it can get leggy and needs to be pruned aggressively when young to take a good shape. That's a small price to pay for this shrub. This is what the flowers look like this week.

Abelia mosanensis

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May 6, 2010 7:54 AM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
This is a picture of the leaves that I took last year around mid-November.

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May 6, 2010 11:40 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Neal Linville
Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)
Bulbs Charter ATP Member Cottage Gardener I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Irises Roses
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Level 2
OMG, Val that Abelia is beautiful! I don't recall having seen one of those, now I MUST find one!
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
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May 8, 2010 5:03 PM CST
Name: Polly Kinsman
Hannibal, NY (Zone 6a)

Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database. Region: United States of America Irises Lilies
Seller of Garden Stuff Garden Ideas: Level 1
That abelia is so pretty.

You are a wealth of information Val.

Physocarpus Coppertina is one of my favorites. Diablo, too.

.
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May 10, 2010 2:50 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
The only downside to the abelia is that it needs to be shaped when young. It will get leggy. As soon as it blooms, I need to cut back and shape it. I wish someone had told me this when I first got it. I lost two years because I didn't know to prune it to shape it. I'm still working on it. This shows how leggy it is.

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May 10, 2010 2:53 PM CST
Name: Val
Ohio (Zone 5b)
Cat Lover Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Ohio
Coppertina is blooming. I need to shape it up too when it's finished.

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