Help with identification of shrubs please!

[Splaker]

To get a better perspective on the size (and perhaps the variety of the shrub in question), here is a picture taken about 3.5 years ago. The shrub in question is positioned at the extreme left of the home (you can see the neighbour's home in the background).

While we are at it, I am also attempting to ID that small reddish shrub that is located at the centre pillar (below the two hanging flower baskets). Any clue?

Thanks again!

 

[Bootsy]

That certainly looks like a big shrub but could, equally, be a small tree . Do you have any closer photo of it in leaf (or bloom).

We need a closer picture of the red plant as well.

The one on the right looks like Euonymous 'Silver Queen' or 'Silver King'. The green part is either another plant or that part has reverted to the basic green.

 

[Splaker]

That certainly looks like a big shrub but could, equally, be a small tree . Do you have any closer photo of it in leaf (or bloom).

We need a closer picture of the red plant as well.

The one on the right looks like Euonymous 'Silver Queen' or 'Silver King'. The green part is either another plant or that part has reverted to the basic green.

I can take a pic of the red plant but it's leaf-less at the moment and since everyone here is telling me that it's hard to ID at this time of the year, I'm not sure how useful the pic would be to you... It does have a very distinct look, though, so you may be able to determine what it is... branches are still kind of reddish and it's almost thorny/gnarly looking. I am aware that the plant on the right is a euonymous. I am not fond of them and since it is quite scraggly and unhealthy looking at the moment, I intend to replace it. There is another one on the opposite side (out of view in the pic). I would like to plant two flower shrubs - perhaps a rise of sharon, weigela, hydrangea, or even a knockout rose - something with a lot of showy impact. What would you recommend? It is a sunny, south-facing spot. Our winters can be quite harsh (-25 C is not uncommon with averages in January/Feb of around -10C. I believe we are zone 5b (Ontario).

 

[Bootsy]

There's really no point in photographing it without leaves.

Euonymous is very easy to keep neat by cutting/shaping it with shears or hedge cutters.

We keep these golden ones short

but this Silver Queen we train upwards

They can all be cut very smooth like a hedge.

Hydrangeas are very showy plants and come in a lot of different colours. One that is different and can be cut down to 12" each year is Annabelle. It's one of the most cold hardy of the hydrangeas (I think it's supposed to be hardy down H3) and is quite spectacular when in bloom. It tends to need some support as the stems are soft wood (new growth each year) and the flower heads are big. We cut ours down to 6" each year.

Weigelias also come in a range of colours and growth habits. They can be trained into different shapes. I don't know how hardy they are but you can check locally. They also come in variegated leaf styles with light coloured flowers. We just let this grow where it wants but others we shape into standards with or keep as low shrubs.

With regard to roses: @wiseowl on this forum is an expert.

 

[Splaker]

Gorgeous pics! Very nice... your annabelles look fabulous but I am niot a fan of them. I've grown them before and I find they look tired by late summer. Our winters are cold but it can hit 35C (high 90s) often here... we have a weird climate here in Southern Ontario. Toronto's climate is a lot like NY except a bit colder... extremes. Probably closer to Chicago. So annabelles seem to struggle in our heat. Are you in the UK? If so, I suppose that would be perfect climate for annabelles.

Love the weigelias. Which cultivar is that? Do they flower all summer or just spring?

 

[Splaker]

Do you think I was too aggressive with the dogwood? It was a mess... cut out some large dead trunks... I'm sure it'll come back...

 

[Bootsy]

Yes, I'm in the UK so I'm not too well informed on the range of temperatures where you live. We range from -5C to around 30C. Annabelle originated (was found in the wild) in Anna, Illinois.

I don't remember the variety of the Weigela. We bought it about 40 years ago and the one in the photo is a descendant of that one. For us, it flowers from early May, coming into full bloom during June and continues through July. Some of our red ones have the same flowering period but then start an occasional flowering late September/early October.

Dogwood is pretty hardy so not much bothers it. I can't tell if you've been too aggressive as I don't know what it looked like before!

 

[galmal]

I've found that the best bet when moving to a new place, is to realize your first year is going to be one big experiment. Don't start pulling, weeding, pruning for a while until you're sure what everything is. I learned this the hard way - I saw some weeds coming up around a tree, and pull them all, when my neighbor came over and asked why I was pulling up all the pretty poppies. Yikes - I'd just destroyed about $500 worth of beautiful plants. Another time, I had a weedy patch, and decided to leave it. Glad I did because they turned out to be helleborus.

You just have to have a "wait and see" attitude.

 

[Bootsy]

@galmal I agree 100% with you.

I, sort of, said that in an early post on here.

 

[LIcenter]

I think I might have a guess as to what the first pic is. It was bothering my because I know I have seen that type of bark and structure in a winter setting. My thought is, it's a type of willow. Possibly an unkempt Dappled willow "Hakuro-nishiki" Looking at the buds, it looks to have two different sizes. One could be the catkin, and the other, the leaf bud. It will tolerate cold temps, and likes wet feet. Is there a gutter downspout in that bed? Again, just a guess.
Link on info here. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/information-dappled-willow-shrubs-51245.html

 

[gata montes]

I am also attempting to ID that small reddish shrub that is located at the centre pillar (below the two hanging flower baskets). Any clue?

Although I too have some thoughts on what the tree/ shrub in your first picture might be - I would prefer to wait until it has at least a little foliage before offering up my thoughts.

I do however have some very positive thoughts regarding your reddish shrub - as from looking at your photograph and reading your description - I very definitely think that what you have there is one of the many varieties of Barberry or Berberis - which although they come in an enormous range of colors as well as sizes - they almost always have foliage that looks like this

In case you are not familiar with them - they are extremely low maintenance shrubs and although a little prickly and possibly a bit vicious if you get too close - as they suit almost any situation and come in such truly amazing colors - they can be grown as hedges, as an accent plant in flower beds and even look pretty stunning in containers too.

 

[Bootsy]

@gata montes That's a good call. It can be checked to see whether it's prickly as there aren't many other red shrubs that are prickly.

They're used quite a lot as boundary hedging plants because they deter dogs and other small animals. We've just got rid of a large specimen as it and the other shrubs around were expanding.

One had to go and we chose the Berberis as it was the least user friendly although it was attractive. The shrubs either side are a variegated Viburnum and a golden leafed Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronaries Aureus) which brightens up a darkish area and is highly scented. Both flower nicely.

 

[LIcenter]

I'm taking back my guess on the first pic also. After looking more closely I don't believe it to be a willow. The branches are a little too stout, where a willow's are more wispy, and have a greater abundance of buds.
First one in the pool, I can tell you the water is cold. Think I'll wait till it warms a little like the rest here.

 

[Bootsy]

I'm taking back my guess on the first pic also. After looking more closely I don't believe it to be a willow.

I agree with you. It doesn't really have the growth pattern of most varieties of willows.

We have a few different types of willow in the garden. This particular one (behind the statue of the woman) has got to have some drastic work done on it. You can see, around the top of the tree, that we regularly cut back the outer growth in order to keep the tree from getting to high and wide.

We are now going to have to reduce the tree by half as the woodpeckers have weakened the main trunk of the tree by pecking a lot of it away!

The tree was bought for the equivalent of 30 cents in 1953!

 

[LIcenter]

That's a lovely tree. I love how it is set back unlike most who plant them dead center in their lawn, and then have to deal with all those shallow roots. Good luck on saving it. I was born in 54 and think I only cost a couple a bucks at the time.