Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That– Northwest

1. Overused:Tamarisk juniper

Alternative:Alpine totara

Name: Juniperus sabina‘Tamariscifolia’

Name:Podocarpus nivalis

Alpine totara

Zones:7 to 9

Size : Up to 6 feet tall and full

Conditions : Full sun to fond nuance ; well - drained soil ; drought patient of once established

Tamarisk Genista raetam is a common choice for web site with full sun , but what if you have nicety ? Alpine Podocarpus totara , an adaptable shrub from New Zealand , produce well in Sunday or shade , and it ’s easier to rationalise and keep to the desired size than tamarisk juniper . Alpine totara ’s needlelike , dark green foliage forms a dense , low - spreading hill in full sun . It has a habit that is more open in full shadiness , but it still thrives . It resents wakeless clay or wet stain . Unlike many conifers , alpine totara respond well to being cut back into quondam wood . It responds well , in fact , to shear for a low hedge . When left alone , it also makes an excellent tall ground cover under large trees .

2. Overused:Pink dogwood

Alternative:Japanese stewartia

Name:Cornus floridacvs.

Name:Stewartia pseudocamellia

Japanese stewartia

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 8

Size:20 to 25 feet marvellous and 12 feet wide

Conditions : Partial shade ; humus - rich , well - drained soil

If you fuck pink cornel but it always seems to build up some sort of disease , then the interchangeable - sounding , disease - resistant Nipponese stewartia is for you . Japanese stewartia furnish a full four season of interest with its blooms , foliage , and bark . It blossom here after the outpouring pelting have stopped , allowing the camellia - like bloom to last longer . It has some of the adept fall color in the Northwest , sour brilliant specter of orangeness and red , while its jumble of cherry brown and gray exfoliate barque stands out against our winter - foresighted gray skies .

3. Overused:English ivy

Alternative:Barren strawberry

Name:Hedera helix*cvs.

Name:Waldsteinia fragarioides

Barren strawberry

Zones:3 to 8

Size:3 to 6 inches magniloquent ; indefinite bed covering

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day to partial tint ; average to clay , well - drained soil

If you have English ivy here in the Northwest , you lie with the signification of “ invasive . ” Barren hemangioma simplex is an excellent , less strong-growing substitute , which spread out by rhizomes to form adense earth cover thick enough to suppress sess . This works with jagged leaves make pocket-size yellow heyday in spring , but they are fleeting . Its veridical use is to bring about a low carpet of green under other plants . Over time , it becomes drouth kind , although it may require superfluous lachrymation in full sun until established .

Greg Gravesis co - owner of Old Goat Farm in Graham , Washington , and head nurseryman at the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle , Washington .

Photos , except where observe : Susan A. Roth , good manners of Greg Graves , Jerry Pavia , www.cfgphoto.com , Michelle Gervais

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Buffalo - Style Gardens : make a Quirky , One - of - a - sort Private Garden with Eye - transmittable plan

ARS telescope Long Reach Pruner

Gardener ’s Log Book from NYBG

Get our latest tips , how - to articles , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That– Southern Plains

Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – Northeast

Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – Midwest

Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – South

conjoin Fine Gardening for a free engaging live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a noted plant pathologist as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technological manager …

When I recognize a particular sand buck cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I fuck I was in fuss . With a delicious color rule …

When we only prioritise plants we desire over plants our landscape needs , each season is filled with a never - ending leaning of chores : pruning , pinch , watering , treating , amend , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden room decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …