@mitchell.jamiers2luPHP Hebes have flowers in shades of white/ pink and purple and have suffered this winter both in the ground and in pots.
Euonymous has variegated leaves whites creams and yellows or dark green, tough plants but this is the limit of colours.
Osmanthus won't give you the red you require. Again variegated.
Nandinia has white flowers, some forms have red leaves that turn green others are plain green
I have just been asked to remove a fargesia by a solicitor, as we are moving and I am happy to take it with me. It is a red stemmed one if you look very closely but only in the spring. Black Bamboo is not a clumper.
I grow a dozen ornamental grasses ,yes there is some colour but predominantly green. Some would need to be evergreen and some deciduous to get the limited colours required. Sedges are more often golden but need shade to do well.
Hi GardenerSuze,
I think my original post wasn't very clear. I'm just looking for a plant that exists in any four colours. They don't have to be the same colours I previously had with my acers. Sorry if this wasn't made clear.
So... given this new information, do you have any recommendations not mentioned above please?
Cotinus comes in red/purple, golden yellow and green forms, but are deciduous (changing colour in autumn before leaf fall) and do flower (although you could remove the flowers) so don't tick all your boxes. I've never tried one in a container though. They are (to me) best pruned hard/coppiced in late winter/early spring, which keeps them compact with bigger leaves.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
They didn't have clumping bamboo then! That was likely your neighbour not knowing what they bought, or telling porkies... I've got fargesia rufa, it's quite plain but I love it. I had it in plastic pots for about 5 years, and I never split it on time, so it got really pot bound, but no it doesn't split the pot - running bamboo would. I wouldn't worry about getting the bamboos mixed up, a reputable seller will not accidentally sell you the wrong one, and will advise on care. 👍
@mitchell.jamiers2luPHPI think we need a recap. South facing and exposed. Four pots, 35cm diameter which as @Fairygirl has said is small for a shrub long term. Plants to be evergreen in four different colours the same species. Both Nandinia and Osmanthus were mentioned but with the addition of an exposed site these shrubs won't be happy.
@Dovefromabove Has mentioned grasses. You could look at Knoll Gardens website many diffeernt ones and maybe not your taste. Helictotrichon sempervirens, Nassella tenuissima, Calamagrostis Overdam, Sesleria Argentea, Ophiopogon planiscaphus Nigrescens [a lily not a grass].
Imperata cylindrica is a short lived perennial, Molinia Poul Petersen has dark flowers and both deciduous. Flowers can look insignificant until you look closely to see their beauty. All the ones I have mentioned vary in height and will need to be lifted and split as necessary this could be a start of some ideas.
It is good that we gardeners like different things, for me the colour green is very special. There are so many shades from the dark and moody to the acid greens and leaf shape, size and texture plus a touch of orange or red, that is how to make a plant stand out.
If you do decide to plant directly into the ground the type of soil you have will be the first consideration. Also as far North as Scotland grasses may not be suitable.
Good Luck Suze
Pots always work better grouped rather than in a line again my own thoughts.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@mitchell.jamiers2luPHPI think we need a recap. South facing and exposed. Four pots, 35cm diameter which as @Fairygirl has said is small for a shrub long term. Plants to be evergreen in four different colours the same species. Both Nandinia and Osmanthus were mentioned but with the addition of an exposed site these shrubs won't be happy.
@Dovefromabove Has mentioned grasses. You could look at Knoll Gardens website many diffeernt ones and maybe not your taste. Helictotrichon sempervirens, Nassella tenuissima, Calamagrostis Overdam, Sesleria Argentea, Ophiopogon planiscaphus Nigrescens [a lily not a grass].
Imperata cylindrica is a short lived perennial, Molinia Poul Petersen has dark flowers and both deciduous. Flowers can look insignificant until you look closely to see their beauty. All the ones I have mentioned vary in height and will need to be lifted and split as necessary this could be a start of some ideas.
It is good that we gardeners like different things, for me the colour green is very special. There are so many shades from the dark and moody to the acid greens and leaf shape, size and texture plus a touch of orange or red, that is how to make a plant stand out.
If you do decide to plant directly into the ground the type of soil you have will be the first consideration. Also as far North as Scotland grasses may not be suitable.
Good Luck Suze
Pots always work better grouped rather than in a line again my own thoughts.
Thank you so much! I’ll investigate all of your kind suggestions. Thank you for sparing so much of your time to help a stranger. J
Cotinus comes in red/purple, golden yellow and green forms, but are deciduous (changing colour in autumn before leaf fall) and do flower (although you could remove the flowers) so don't tick all your boxes. I've never tried one in a container though. They are (to me) best pruned hard/coppiced in late winter/early spring, which keeps them compact with bigger leaves.
They didn't have clumping bamboo then! That was likely your neighbour not knowing what they bought, or telling porkies... I've got fargesia rufa, it's quite plain but I love it. I had it in plastic pots for about 5 years, and I never split it on time, so it got really pot bound, but no it doesn't split the pot - running bamboo would. I wouldn't worry about getting the bamboos mixed up, a reputable seller will not accidentally sell you the wrong one, and will advise on care. 👍
@mitchell.jamiers2luPHP One other group of plants you could look at are Berberis. There are hundreds of them and you will find vibrant gold/ purple/ red/orange/ there are colour changes through the season. Some are evergreen some deciduous and if you see 'nana' in the name they will be small. Long term in this aspect, I think they would be better in the ground as long as the drainage is ok. All Garden Centres are likely to have at least one and it is a plant I am sure you will know. Think you will need to do some research, I am not sure all the brightly coloured ones might be deciduous.
There are so many, some get really big, a friend had a National Collection of them in a field.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Posts
I think my original post wasn't very clear. I'm just looking for a plant that exists in any four colours. They don't have to be the same colours I previously had with my acers. Sorry if this wasn't made clear.
So... given this new information, do you have any recommendations not mentioned above please?
J x
I've got fargesia rufa, it's quite plain but I love it. I had it in plastic pots for about 5 years, and I never split it on time, so it got really pot bound, but no it doesn't split the pot - running bamboo would.
I wouldn't worry about getting the bamboos mixed up, a reputable seller will not accidentally sell you the wrong one, and will advise on care. 👍
Both Nandinia and Osmanthus were mentioned but with the addition of an exposed site these shrubs won't be happy.
@Dovefromabove Has mentioned grasses. You could look at Knoll Gardens website many diffeernt ones and maybe not your taste.
Helictotrichon sempervirens, Nassella tenuissima, Calamagrostis Overdam, Sesleria Argentea, Ophiopogon planiscaphus Nigrescens [a lily not a grass].
Imperata cylindrica is a short lived perennial, Molinia Poul Petersen has dark flowers and both deciduous.
Flowers can look insignificant until you look closely to see their beauty. All the ones I have mentioned vary in height and will need to be lifted and split as necessary this could be a start of some ideas.
It is good that we gardeners like different things, for me the colour green is very special. There are so many shades from the dark and moody to the acid greens and leaf shape, size and texture plus a touch of orange or red, that is how to make a plant stand out.
If you do decide to plant directly into the ground the type of soil you have will be the first consideration. Also as far North as Scotland grasses may not be suitable.
Good Luck Suze
Pots always work better grouped rather than in a line again my own thoughts.
Some are evergreen some deciduous and if you see 'nana' in the name they will be small.
Long term in this aspect, I think they would be better in the ground as long as the drainage is ok.
All Garden Centres are likely to have at least one and it is a plant I am sure you will know. Think you will need to do some research, I am not sure all the brightly coloured ones might be deciduous.
There are so many, some get really big, a friend had a National Collection of them in a field.
But I can't get the subject of "taste" out of my mind. To me it's important. Taste defines a person's individuality.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."