Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – Mountain West

Overused : Lilac

( Syringa vulgariscvs . )

Photo : Joshua McCullough

1. Beautybush

Name:Kolkwitzia amabilis

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 9

Size:10 to 12 foot tall and wide

Conditions : Full sun to sink in shade ; adaptable to a image of soils

If you ’re face for a bound - blossom plant with multiseasonal interestingness , consider beautybush , with its erect vase shape and dense , fine textured , arching branches . For two weeks in late spring , the flora is covered with bell - shaped pink flowers . Fall leafage ranges from lily-livered to cinnamon , and winter reveals unparalleled , exfoliate , light gray - brown barque . Beautybush stand wry soil once established and elevations up to 7,500 feet . It benefits from hard pruning and is cervid resistant .

Photo : millettephotomedia.com

overuse : Russian sage

( Perovskia atriplicifolia )

Photo : Michelle Gervais

2. Lead Plant

Name:Amorpha canescens

Zones:2 to 8

Size:3 to 5 feet tall and wide

Conditions : Full Sunday ; well - drain , sandy or jolty soil

Russian salvia is a bore ; its tiny characterless flowers hang up on and on , like a node who does n’t share in the conversation . Next time , invite native lead plant to the party . From mid- to late summer , lead plant sports spikes of densely packed , majestic - risque flowers , which are an of import nectar seed for butterfly , bee , and other insects . With its moderate - size , upright , rounded form , it is well company in a xeric border and will endure elevations up to 8,000 feet . Its ferny , gray-headed - down foliage provides a nice contrast to other plants . It is deer and rabbit tolerant .

Overused:‘Karl Foerster ’

feather reed dope

( Calamagrostis×acutiflora

‘ Karl Foerster ’ )

exposure : Brittany Leandra

3. Big Bluestem

Name:Andropogon gerardii

Zones:2 to 7

Size:4 to 6 foot tall and 2 to 3 feet wide

term : Full Dominicus ; adaptable to a range of grime

Beautybush

Photo: millettephotomedia.com

‘ Karl Foerster ’ feather reed pasturage is a star among decorative grasses , but it ’s time to give a native the spotlight . Big Andropogon gerardii is the prevalent specie of the improbable - green goddess prairie . Its size clear it a worthful plant for delimitation , meadow gardens , and even container , but its color makes it particular . Silvery blue leafage during summertime change to a copper chromaticity that glows in the soft , low sunshine of fall and winter . Late - summertime ejaculate head form a unparalleled musical arrangement of three spikes and are the ground for its other coarse name : turkey foot . It will put up elevations up to 9,500 feet .

Jocelyn H. Chilvers is a landscape designer and garden passenger car in Denver , Colorado .

Photos , except where remark : Bill Johnson

Lilac

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Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That - Northeast

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Lead Plant

Photo: millettephotomedia.com

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