High-performance spring shrubs
If you’re looking for spring flowering shrubs that perform, here’s a taster to get your garden looking blooming special next September
ONE of the benefits of my role as The Chronicle Garden Competition (CGC) Liaison is that I get to see all the entrants in our region and the plants that perform well at this time of year.
It’s therefore quite timely to encourage all gardeners, whether a seasoned CGC competitor, those thinking of entering next year, or simply wanting to put on a bloomin’ beautiful spring display, to think about shrubs that will grow in our region and flower around this time of year (mid-late September).
This will be an ideal time to get them into the garden as the air and soil warm up and provide the ideal conditions for maximum growth for the next 12 months.
I’ll concentrate on small to medium shrubs that will fill a space of up to 1.5m wide in a garden.
1. One of my all-time favourite toughies is Rhaphiolepis, or Indian hawthorn. The newer cultivars of the species R. indica, R. umbellata, R. x delacourii and r. x fergusonii all flower bigger and better, and for longer. Most produce pink or white flowers from late August to October/November and are drought and frost tolerant. Look for Cosmic Pink and Cosmic White, ‘Apple Blossom’, ‘Oriental Pink’ and ‘Oriental Pearl’ and “Rajah’. Full sun and most soils.
2. An oldie but a goodie is the dwarf diosma, Coleonema pulchrum ‘Compacta’. Masses of pink, white or red flowers cover these shrubs in September, held above finetexture foliage. A golden-leaved variety is also available, which flowers pink. These beauties form rounded shapes to around 11.5m wide and high and can be pruned into a hedge as well. Full sun and well-drained moist soils.
3. This year’s display of May bushes was second to none. The common May, Spiraea cantoniensis ‘Lanceata’, throws sprays of pure white blooms on arching branches in September in our region. Frost and drought hardy, this plant is one of the most reliable for blooming in September in our region. It will tolerate most soil types and needs full sun to flower best.
4. A reliable Aussie native shrub is Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’. It has long been regarded as one of the most floriferous spring-flowerers of our native tea-trees. Likely to grow around 1.5m wide but 2m high, it’ll produce magnificent sprays of white flowers on graceful, weeping branches in September. Needs full sun and well drained soils.
5. Another beautiful spring-flowering small Australian native shrub is Thryptomene Saxicola ‘F.C. Payne’, known as Payne’s Hybrid. This has been a CGC favourite for many years, noted for its toughness and reliability. Delicate pink flowers are held on aching stems from winter into spring. It’ll handle sandy and clay loam soils and tolerate light frosts. I can highly recommend this old favourite.
6. For shadier spots in your garden, the brilliant yellow and orange tubular flowers of Justicia floribunda ‘Firefly’ will excel. Any semi-shaded aspect with a moist, welldrained soil will be a beau spot for this little beauty. It’ll only grow to about 1m high and 1.5m wide. It’ll need some frost protection and consistent moisture to flourish.
7. I must include azaleas in this list. They are, for me, one of the “regal” flowers of spring in our region. They will need acidic to neutral soils to do well, with many enjoying full sun to partly shaded positions. Look for the Kurume hybrids, the singleflowered varieties such as ‘Alba Magna’, ‘Magnifica’ and ‘Alphonse Anderson’, and , and the newer “Encore” range, in particular the lacebug and petal blight resistant varieties, ‘Autumn Royalty’ and ‘Autumn Twist’.
8. If you have a full sun, warm position, then the range of Cistus varieties may fit the spot perfectly! Sometimes called rock roses, these plants flower right at springtime in our region, provided they have a welldrained position in the garden. Pinkflowered varieties include ‘Brilliancy’ and ‘Sunset’, with white-flowered varieties usually bred from C. salvifolius. Great in rockeries, only growing to about 1m high and wide.
9. A shrub that seems to be hard to get but has filled spaces in CGC gardens for many years is the orange browallia, Streptosolen jamesonii. Now the species plant grows up to 3m high, but you may be able to find the dwarf variety called ‘Ginger Meggs’, which may only reach 1.5m high. It flowers bang on time in September, sporting orange tubular flowers on the ends of branches. A toughie for our region.
10. Another old favourite that has almost disappeared from spring gardens is the dwarf yellow broom, Cytisus racemosus ‘Nana’. Sometimes called the dwarf genista, this little bottler loves hot and sunny positions, and will reward gardeners with a stunning display of yellow pea flowers along every branch in spring. Might be a little hard to find but get searching now! Will grow to about 1.5m high and wide.
11. A splash of silver foliage in the garden will create interest all year round, but imagine this silver covered in purple/mauve blooms in spring! That’s what you’ll get if you plant an Eremophila nivea cultivar in your garden! Eremophilas, or emu bushes, are some of our toughest of native plants, and they have become very popular in our region’s gardens over the last decade or so. Look for a grafted plant as they are much more tolerant of our humid summers.
12. Not really spring flowering shrubs, but great selections for your spring garden, are the wonderful range of dwarf abelias that have been bred with stunning foliage colours. These tough shrubs flower in summer, but foliage colours now range fron silver/white to deep yellow and red. Look for ‘Lime Splice’, ‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘Sunshine Daydream’, ‘Sparkling Silver’ and ‘Sunshine Daydream’.
Of course, when searching for these plants always make your local plant nurseries the first port of call.