Looking at your plan for the border , there are several points to consider .
Mateuccia struthiopteris requires abundant moisture in the early summer , and rapidly deteriorates from late July onwards .
Trim lower leaves off Phormiums as they can act like sabres on a windy day and decapitate adjacent plants.
Nandina , Leucothoe , Calycanthus and Rodgersia prefer moist slightly acidic soil to thrive .
Aralia cordata is an excellent choice ; massive plant hopefully not too close to the Acer .
Consider mixing Liriope muscari with the Ophiopogon ; same size plants and related , but the Liriope flowers very late in the year with subtle purple spikes . Good contrast plant .
You've made some interesting choices there ; good luck with the planting and lets hope they all thrive .
Thanks for your comments Paul B3, all very helpful.
I was planning on using Aralia cordata 'Sun King' which I understand shouldn't get to such a significant size. Is that correct?
Any thoughts on the type of Acer, it will only be about 3m from the back wall of the house so would like something that remains small, maybe 3m tall absolute maximum. Green leaves in the summer would be preferable.
I can't read some of the plan, but on the whole, it looks good. Perhaps a bit too many to start with. But, you are designing from scratch so it's tempting to fill the whole border. I think less is more most of the time, and believe that you can keep this plan and start with what you really like and wait to see how they do, and then slowly introduce more years after.
The thing that others may have mentioned is growth rate. For instance, the Cotinus tree/shrub can put on a lot of new growth every year. You need to consider early on the type of look you want to achieve. I remember you mentioning 3 meters maximum, so you will need to keep an eye on the trunks and branches of this shrub to shape it early on otherwise, they will lose many of their lower leaves and form a high canopy.
The Acer will be dwarfed by Aralia in the early years. So you may need to keep an eye on crowding and slowing the Acer's growth from nearby plants. Rodgersias form a really dense base before they flower, in the subsequent years, you may need to divide or cut back so it doesn't take over the area.
Al M, take a look at the spindle tree, Euonymus Europaeus. If pruned correctly, they form a nice shape that doesn't weep down too much if you don't want it to. They are easier to prune over an Acer. And in my opinion has more interest throughout the season.
How do you magnify pictures? For us of a certain age it would be helpful. That plan looks great but I can't read all of the names and would dearly love to know all the plants.
As far as I recall , the Aralia gets to around 1m tall ; would look effective against Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' . This can be pruned to whatever height you require with no adverse effects ; my Acer of the same variety is over twenty years old now , and I've kept it to around 3m high with judicious pruning in the Spring .
Posts
I can't read what the plants are, but it seems you might possibly have too many.
Remember plants will grow.
You need to think about final sizes of plants, when they have grown.
Last edited: 03 February 2018 21:46:32
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Looking at your plan for the border , there are several points to consider .
Mateuccia struthiopteris requires abundant moisture in the early summer , and rapidly deteriorates from late July onwards .
Trim lower leaves off Phormiums as they can act like sabres on a windy day and decapitate adjacent plants.
Nandina , Leucothoe , Calycanthus and Rodgersia prefer moist slightly acidic soil to thrive .
Aralia cordata is an excellent choice ; massive plant hopefully not too close to the Acer .
Consider mixing Liriope muscari with the Ophiopogon ; same size plants and related , but the Liriope flowers very late in the year with subtle purple spikes . Good contrast plant .
You've made some interesting choices there ; good luck with the planting and lets hope they all thrive .
Thanks for your comments Paul B3, all very helpful.
I was planning on using Aralia cordata 'Sun King' which I understand shouldn't get to such a significant size. Is that correct?
Any thoughts on the type of Acer, it will only be about 3m from the back wall of the house so would like something that remains small, maybe 3m tall absolute maximum. Green leaves in the summer would be preferable.
Thanks again
I can't read some of the plan, but on the whole, it looks good. Perhaps a bit too many to start with. But, you are designing from scratch so it's tempting to fill the whole border. I think less is more most of the time, and believe that you can keep this plan and start with what you really like and wait to see how they do, and then slowly introduce more years after.
The thing that others may have mentioned is growth rate. For instance, the Cotinus tree/shrub can put on a lot of new growth every year. You need to consider early on the type of look you want to achieve. I remember you mentioning 3 meters maximum, so you will need to keep an eye on the trunks and branches of this shrub to shape it early on otherwise, they will lose many of their lower leaves and form a high canopy.
The Acer will be dwarfed by Aralia in the early years. So you may need to keep an eye on crowding and slowing the Acer's growth from nearby plants. Rodgersias form a really dense base before they flower, in the subsequent years, you may need to divide or cut back so it doesn't take over the area.
Further thoughts for the Acer near the back wall of the house? - max 3m tall preferably with green leaves in summer.
Would prefer a tree that will form an elevated canopy rather than something that will weep down as planning to plant below eventually.
Thanks
Al M, take a look at the spindle tree, Euonymus Europaeus. If pruned correctly, they form a nice shape that doesn't weep down too much if you don't want it to. They are easier to prune over an Acer. And in my opinion has more interest throughout the season.
How do you magnify pictures? For us of a certain age it would be helpful. That plan looks great but I can't read all of the names and would dearly love to know all the plants.
Al M
As far as I recall , the Aralia gets to around 1m tall ; would look effective against Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' . This can be pruned to whatever height you require with no adverse effects ; my Acer of the same variety is over twenty years old now , and I've kept it to around 3m high with judicious pruning in the Spring .
Duuuh..............Just seen that you prefer a green leaved form for the summer ; forget the 'Bloodgood' then
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