Increase Curb Appeal with Flowering Shrubs part 2
Flowering bushes will make your place more inviting and increase its curb appeal. As you already know, flowering bushes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and blooms, all beautiful and many abundantly fragrant.
Let’s look at some in a little more detail.
Azaleas
Azaleas come in countless varieties, each beautiful. They are known as “Royalty of the Garden” and are a very popular type of flowering bush. You will discover a wide selection of colors including red, pink, orange, purple, white, and yellow. What makes the Azalea so unique is the bloom, which varies dramatically on the different varieties, some small only about one-half inch, others large up to five inches. They also have different numbers of petals. Single flowers typically have five petals other flowers can have up to 12 petals while others may have 30 or more. The shape of the petals can also differ depending on variety.
The height of these bushes ranges from just under one foot to four feet although there are varieties that grow well over 15 feet tall. Generally they bloom in the spring while some will bloom as late as September. Most Azaleas do best with a high degree of shade, preferring slightly acid soil. You also want to keep moisture around the base of the bush, which can be done by using pine bark, wood chips, or pine needles. The most important aspect of growing Azaleas is good drainage. The best solution is to plant the bush so the root ball is exposed above ground by a few inches with the mulching pushed up around it for protection.
Butterfly Bush
The Butterfly Bush gets its name because it attracts butterflies but it is also known for attracting other creatures to include fritillaries, tortoiseshells, honey bees, and swallowtail, all enjoying the sweet nectar of the blossoms. Officially known as “Buddleia”, there are more than 100 species and cultivars. These bushes are medium to large in size, making them an exceptional choice or forming a hedge, filling in space, or anchoring a perennial bed.
The only downside to the Butterfly Bush is that it is a vigorous and messy grower. In other words, the branches will begin to grow how and where they like so on-going trimming is required. The branches support beautiful lilac-like clusters of flowers, as well as side branches and blossoms. The fragrance of the blooms is sweet and pleasant, especially during the warmest par of the day. These flowers come in a variety of colors such as white, purple, pink, and red.
These bushes have a high tolerance to alkaline soil and air pollution, as well as being pest-free with the exception of the spider which might be seen during stress or drought. The Butterfly Bush prefers warm sun and well-drained soil. In the spring, a light fertilizer is suggested with deep watering in the summer months. Some of the easier varieties to grow include B. globosa, B. colvtlei, B. alternifolia, and B. asiatica, and to encourage a second blooming, you can prune the Butterfly Bush immediately after the first blossoming is complete.
Lilac
The Lilac Bush is a favorite because of the pleasant aroma and magnificent lilac-colored blooms. With proper care, a Lilac Bush can live hundreds of yeas. In addition to more than 1,000 varieties of Lilacs, they also come in a variety of colors, the most common being lilac, purple, pink, and white. The size of the Lilac bush also varies from four to eight feet with some extending upwards to 30 feet.
The blooms appear in the spring but only last a short time. To enhance the appearance of your property while enjoying the blooms and aroma of the Lilac, we recommend you grow early, mid, and late varieties. Although the blooms will die off in about four to six weeks, you are left with a green shrub that is beautiful in its own right. It is important to keep your Lilac flowering bush neatly pruned and trimmed annually for both appearance and health. Allow the bush to remain bushy but not so dense that inner leaves do not receive sunlight or air circulation.
Although Lilac Bushes are relatively hardy, they do have an occasional insect problem such as borers, ants, or aphids. The best solution is an organic insecticidal soap. The more common problem with the Lilac Bush is moles and mice that love to chew on the bark of the stems. For this, you can set a trap to avoid contaminating soil near the bush. Finally, powdery mildew is a common problem. For this, use an organic fungicide two to three times, one week apart as soon as the problem is identified.
As you can see, flowering bushes are an exciting way to enhance your home and property.
Continually developing “ideas for outdoor living”
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