Fall shrubs

Erythrone · Oct 8, 2011

A few hardy shrubs with interesting fruits or flowers in fall. From our garden.

The fantastic Euonymus europaeus. A 20 years old plant.

Ilex verticillata Red Sprite. The best cultivar of that species for us. Compact grower. Rather large fruits… but we never see fruits in winter since birds eat them in a few days when they discover them.

Native: Hamamelis virginiana. Interesting flowering but not very showy against the yellow and red color of fall around here!

Not suppose to be a very good shrub in Quebec. Actually it is a very hardy shrub here. Its name is Ilex x meservaea Blue Princess. It bears fruits for the first time although I grow those shrubs for many years. Good flowering timing between male and female plants is difficult for me since the male (Blue Prince) is in pot. As the soil in pot warms quickly in spring, it blooms earlier than the female plants.

SlipperFan · Oct 8, 2011

Hamamelis virginiana -- is that the same thing as a Witch Hazel? I thought they were late Winter/early Spring bloomers.

Lanmark · Oct 9, 2011

SlipperFan said:
Hamamelis virginiana -- is that the same thing as a Witch Hazel? I thought they were late Winter/early Spring bloomers.

They certainly bloom in late winter or earliest spring around here! The scents of witch hazels propel me into fits of rapturous ecstasy. :drool:

Shiva · Oct 9, 2011

Very nice Lise.
As I can't afford to heat my greenhouse anymore in winter, I'm thinking of storing some Zone 6-7 plants in there. I still have to sell a lot or orchids before I can do that however. Maybe you have some ideas on what plants I could keep in there. Perhaps some cyps as well.

Erythrone · Oct 9, 2011

SlipperFan said:
Hamamelis virginiana -- is that the same thing as a Witch Hazel? I thought they were late Winter/early Spring bloomers.

Yes it is the common witch hazel. Native from North America.

That one is a always a fall bloomer. But there are many species and varieties that are winter or spring bloomer (H. vernalis, H. japonica, H. mollis, etc.) in milder weather.

Erythrone · Oct 9, 2011

Shiva said:
Very nice Lise.
As I can't afford to heat my greenhouse anymore in winter, I'm thinking of storing some Zone 6-7 plants in there. I still have to sell a lot or orchids before I can do that however. Maybe you have some ideas on what plants I could keep in there. Perhaps some cyps as well.

If you want to store such plant in pots, I think you should heat to 2 to 4 C at night.

Of course, on most sunny winter days, temp will rise well above that point... According to what many growers told me, it is still expensive to heat greenhouse although far less than growing tropical plants of course.

Since there is high temperature variation in greenhouses and since our winter are very cold, if you don't heat at all, there will be freezing and thawing in the pots. That is not a good thing for any plant I know... And temperature can be very low in the pot, far lower than in the ground (temperature at root zone can be something like -1 C under snow cover).
That is why wintering outdoors with snow or with good cover of straw, leaves, "withe carpet" allows to grow so many out of zone plants in many parts of Quebec.

Maybe your greenhouse can be useful in early spring or late fall to extend the growing season of some tender perennials and shrubs. And for winter: how can I say this.... chambre froide??? Cool room for veggies???

Or even the fridge for your Cyps!