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Something flowery and evergeen

TheGardenerFromMarsTheGardenerFromMars Posts: 65
in Plants
A new request...

An evergreen plant which flowers for a lot of the year. Height and spread 1-1.5m. Will get a decent amount of sun (south facing with a few obstacles blocking the sun in a few places). The soil can get fairly dry so nothing that only likes moist soil. Leaves which are not just dark green as the plants behind are that colour, so a contrast would be nice.

They've already tried rhododendron (for the flowers not the leaf colour) and they didn't do well.

Any suggestions?
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Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited September 2022
    @TheGardenerFromMars The fact that rhododendrons didn't do well could be to do with soil PH or what is becoming more of a problem dry soil as you say. Improving the soil is the best start before planting.
    I think you would be better looking for a plant to give interest with it's leaves as there is no such thing as an evergreen that flowers that long. Dark green leaves are best lifted by plants like the variegated Euonymous Emerald and Gold and a grass such as Miscanthus Zebrinus[there is a dwarf form] and the area will light up.  You will also have a difference in leaf shape.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Tricky one! Most evergreen shrubs (and many deciduous ones) only flower for a relatively short time.
    How about Teucrium fruticans, if the soil is well enough drained? Silver foliage, light blue flowers in season but mostly it's the foliage that looks good. It does need light soil and sharp drainage though. I have it in a slightly elevated spot, south-facing, on sandy soil and near a privet hedge which sucks out a lot of moisture. Mine gets to about 1m or a little more in height and spread, and tends to be wider than it is high.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Daphne Eternal Fragrance flowers for ages but a bit small, as does almost ever-purple Loropetalum Chinensis Black Pearl (needs neutral-acidic soil, to 1m) both do really well in pots for me.

    I have Teucrium Fruiticans in tough, stony clay on a slope and also in a very enriched rose bed with less than ideal drainage, so I think it’s a bit tougher than it’s reputation implies @JennyJ. It easily gets to 1.5m and more but takes a good chop well. All three survive my frosty mountain winters down to -8  
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    You could very well be right @Nollie . I've tried several things in that spot but nothing else that I tried handles the dryness as well as the Teucrium. No problem with winter hardiness, but we don't often get much below around -5 and even that's been rare over the last few years.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I think Hebes might be worth looking at. 'Midsummer Beauty' is one that has particularly good flowers, in big racemes. There are variegated hebes, but they mostly don't have such good flowers - and some of the variegation is a bit garish IMO
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited September 2022
    You could investigate choisyas. What kind of soil are you on? Ph?


  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @TheGardenerFromMars  Is this garden in the North or south of the country. I assume it is dry all year round and not just at the moment.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    I have to say castor oil plants, mine is in a raised bed, I barely watered it through the droughts, it's still robust and has a flower head coming now - the flowers and seed heads are gorgeous, and they last for months. I love them, they're so easy and will tolerate branches being slain without any bother.
    I bought it in a little pot for £2 from the greengrocers 16 years ago, and kept it as a houseplant for the first 7.

    (Not the best choice if you have pets who eat anything, or young kids who don't yet understand 'poisonous' though).

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I think that one's Fatsia japonica rather than castor oil plant (Ricinus) which is tender and usually grown as an annual in the UK. Good plant, mine is at least 35 years old (it was here when we moved in), but doesn't really fit the bill for "something flowery". It does flower of course, but they're like giant ivy flowers.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    edited September 2022
    Oh really? I didn't know the difference! 🤦‍♀️🤣 Thanks Jenny. 

    I think the flowers are beautiful, there's something very 'prehistoric' about them. 
    35 is a great age!! Mine will outlive me then! Best I start making a garden will.. 

    (Edit: I'm confused now!)

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