Evergreen Dogwood Screen

My experience with the Evergreen Dogwood Cornus capitata  has been excellent.  Planted in a rich, somewhat acidic soil on the coast, exposed to harsh winds and no watering, pruning or other care beyond the first year or two, it has proven to be a tough and elegant habitat-friendly plant.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for a screening plant or en masse grove planting on the coast.  The one I planted 5-6 years ago from a one gallon container has not flowered yet and was probably grown from seed.

Shrub or tree.  May drop leaves in cold weather, often loses half of them in mild winters.  To 20-30' tall and wide with gray-green leaves; some turn red or purplish in fall.  Unless grown from cuttings, trees don't flower until 8-10 years old, but when they do bloom, they are delightful.  Small springtime clusters of flowers are surrounded by 4-6 small creamy to pale yellow bracts.  Large showy, strawberry like crimson fruit in fall can be a litter problem, though birds may do some of the clean up for you.  Zoned 8, 9, 14-20.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)

Boething Special Availability List

Philadelphus lewisii ssp. californicus 'Marjorie Schmidt'

Roger Laich & Ron Lutsko selected a variety of Wild Mock Orange in Shasta County called Double-flowered Mock Orange Philadelphus lewisii ssp. californicus 'Marjorie Schmidt' available at Cal Flora Nursery .

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Janna's Perimeter Shrub Alternates

• Darwin Barberry Berberis darwinii option for CP
• Evergreen.  Very showy barberry.  Fountain-like growth to 5-10' tall x 4-7' wide.  Crisp, dark green, holly-like leaves.  Orange-yellow flowers are borne so thickly along branches that foliage is hard to see; these are followed by profuse dark blue berries, popular with birds.  Spreads by underground runners to form a thicket.  Tolerant, require no more than ordinary garden care.  Each year, thin out oldest wood and prune as needed to shape after bloom.  Make attractive hedges.  Informal style is best for species grown for spring flowers and ensuing berries, which are borne on previous year's growth; species grown for foliage can be sheared.  To rejuvenate overgrown or neglected plants, cut them to within a foot of the ground before new spring growth begins zoned 5-9, 14-24. (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Flowering Quince Chaenomeles (See Tina's List) option for PB
• Western Hazelnut Corylus cornuta californica option for VP
• Male blossoms appear as pendant catkins on bear branches in early spring.  Leaves are roundish to oval, with serrated margins.  Thin branches as needed in late winter, remove suckers when you see them.  Blight resistant.  Shrub.  Native to damp slopes below 7,000 ft, northern Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada of California, north to British Columbia.  Open, multi-stemmed, to 5-12' high and wide.  Roundish, somewhat hairy, coarsely toothed, leaves turn bright yellow in fall.  Small nuts with flavorful kernels.  Zoned 2-9, 14-20. (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Pride of Madeira Echium candicans option for BL
• Grown for striking form and flower clusters.  All do well in dry, poor soil but need good drainage.  All are excellent for seacoast gardens.  Flowers attract bees.  Give little or no water in mild-summer climates, weekly irrigation during summer in hotter areas.  Shrub.  Large picturesque plant to 5-6' tall x 6-10' wide with many coarse, heavy branches.  Narrow, hairy gray-green leaves form roundish, irregular mounds at ends of stems.  Great spike-like clusters of bluish purple flowers stand out dramatically, well above foliage, in spring.  Branch tips and developing flower spikes may be killed by late frosts.  Use for bold effects against walls, at back of wide flower borders.  Prune lightly to keep bushy.  Cut off faded flower spikes.  Zoned 14-24. (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Gunnera tinctoria option for WF
• 8' high and wide with giant leaves 4-8 ft. across.  Leaves are conspicuously veined with lobed cut, somewhat frilled edges, cupped and flaring, held somewhat vertically.  Given space, they need plenty and the necessary care, these plants can be the ultimate summertime conversation pieces.  New sets of leaves grow each spring.  In mild-winter areas, old leaves remain green for more than a year.  Elsewhere, leaves die back completely in winter.  Flower clusters to 1.5' long resemble corncobs, form close to roots.  Tiny fruits are red.  Soil must be rich in nutrients and organic material.  Feed three times per year, beginning when new growth starts, to keep leaves maximum size.  Give overhead sprinkling when humidity is low or drying winds occur.  Use plant where they can be focal point in summer--beside a pool or dominating a bed of low, fine-textured ground cover.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Fremontodendron 'Ken Taylor' option for SR
• Fast-growing plants with a typically irregular shape.  Leathery leaves are dark green above, felted beneath.  Very showy, typically saucer-shaped yellow blossoms in spring.  Flowers are followed by persistent conical seed capsules covered with bristly rust-colored hairs; some people consider them unsightly and they can irritate skin.  Plants are completely drought tolerant and will accept occasional moisture during their normally dry period in summer only if drainage is excellent (hillside planting is recommended.  Roots are shallow, so stake plants while young to prevent them from being blown over in windy areas.  Pinch young growth to encourage branching; prune off overly long shoots.  Plants are usually short lived.  To 4-6' tall and 12' wide, bearing somewhat cup-shaped golden flowers with orange backs zoned 4-24. (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' (See Tina's List) option for WF
• Kerria japonica (See Tina's List) option for CP
• Honey Bush Melianthus major option for BL
• Soft wooded, rapidly growing, evergreen shrub 6-12' tall 8-10' wide, easily kept much shorter.  Irregular habit, with stems that may be semi-erect or sprawling and spreading.  Bold-looking foliage:  grayish green, foot-long leaves divided into strongly toothed leaflets.  Foot tall spikes of reddish brown, 1" flowers bloom in late winter, early spring.  Adapts to most soils. Use for tropical effects; good as accent plant.  To get a tall shrub, stake a few stems; for a sprawling, bulkier plant, shorten some stems in early spring before new growth begins.  Zoned 8, 9, 12-24; H1, H2 (Sunset Western Garden)

Planting Plan--Ornamental Terrace Garden

Tina's Dedekam Perimeter Plant List Suggestions

• Abutilon Hybrid  'Victor Reiter'
• Abelia x grandiflora 'Sunrise'
• Callistremon citrinus
• Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Lace'
• Winter Hazel Corylopsis pauciflora
• Valued for sweet-scented, bell-shaped, soft yellow flowers that hang in short, chain-like clusters on bare branches in early spring.  New foliage that follows is often tinged pink; it later turns bright green.  Toothed, nearly round leaved somewhat resemble those of hazelnut.  Rather open structure with attractive, delicate branching pattern.  Give same soil conditions as you would rhododendrons.  Grow in wind-sheltered location in shrub border or at edge of woodland.  Dainty habitat to 4-6' high and wide zoned 4-7, 14-17
• Chaenomeles - flowering quince
• Bloom as early as January, you can take budded stems indoor and place in water and watch blooms break into bloom.  Blossoms single to semi-double or double 1.5-2.5", in white and soft to vibrant shades of pink, orange and red.  Leaves are red tinged when young, maturing to shiny green.  Growth habit varies widely among the many selections available:  some grow to 10'+ high and wide, while others are compact and low growing.  Most are thorny.  All are useful as hedges and barriers.  Easy to grow and virtually indestructible, tolerating extremes of cold and heat and light to heavy soil.  May bloom sparsely or sporadically in warm-winter areas.  rune to shape or to limit growth at any time--but bud and bloom season is a good time for the job, since cut branches can be used for indoor arrangements.  New growth that follows bears next year's flowers zoned 2-23.
• Enkianthus cernuus rubens
• Upright stems with tiers of nearly horizontal branches; plants are narrow in youth, broader in age, but always attractive.  Blue green leaves are clustered or crowded near branch ends, turn yellow and red in autumn.  Clusters of nodding, bell-shaped flowers bloom in spring.  Like rhododendrons, require moist, well-drained acid soil enriched with plenty of organic matter such as peat moss or ground bark.  Prune only to remove dead or broken branches.  Plant in location where silhouette flowers, and fall color can be enjoyed close up.  Seldom over 10' tall and wide with white flowers.  Zoned 3-9, 14-21.
• Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'
• Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen'
• Broad, rounded shrub to 6' tall x 8' wide with handsome, deeply lobed 8" long leaves resembling those of oaks, turn bronze or crimson in fall.  Elongated clusters of white flowers in late spring and early summer turn pinkish purple as they age; fertile flowers are usually concealed by larger sterile flowers zoned 2b-23.
• Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora'
• Open, graceful, rounded vigorously growing shrub to 8-10' tall and wide.  Slender stems are yellowish green to bright green in winter, providing welcome color in cold climates.  Heavily veined bright green, serrated edged leaves somewhat triangular, 2-4" long.  They unfold early in spring, turn yellow in fall.  Flowers similar to small single, yellow roses appear in spring.  Plant continues to bloom off and on into early summer.  Flower color fades in strong sunlight.  Allow room for plant to display its arching form.  Plants produce clumps of stems from roots.  Cut out any unwanted shoots to keep clumps more compact.  Prune heavily after bloom, cutting out branches that have flowered and all dead or weak wood.  The green branches are a favorite subject in Japanese wintertime floral arrangements.
• Loropetalum 'Razzleberri'
• Michalia yunnancusis
• Pieris japonica 'Variegata'
• Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus'  foliage
• Viburnum trilobum 'Wentworth'
• Viburnum sargentii 'Onondaga'

HBGF Permiter Shrub List Dedekam Garden

• Elfin King Strawberry Tree Arbutus unedo 'Elfin King' (AE)
• All have ornamental bark, clusters of little urn-shaped flowers, decorative edible fruit, handsome foliage.  Provide good drainage especially if plant receives regular water.  Thin growth of all types as needed.  'Elfen King' variety is a dwarf form (not over 5 ft. tall at 10 years old) that flowers and fruits nearly continuously, zoned 4-24 (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• White Flowering Wild Lilac Ceanothus thrysiflorus 'Snow Flurry' (CT)
• 6-10' tall x 8-12' wide, rich green leaves, profuse pure white clusters, adaptable, dependable, good choice for coastal gardens, zoned 5-9, 14-24 (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Purple Smoke Bush Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' (CC)
• Unusual and colourful shrub-trees creating broad, urn-shaped mass usually as wide as high.  naturally multi-stemmed, but can be trained to single trunk.  Plants are at their best under stress in poor or rocky soil.  In cultivated gardens, give them fast drainage and avoid overly wet conditions.  Resistant to oak root fungus.  12-15' high & wide, roundish leaves, 'Royal Purple' hold their purple color through most of the summer.  Those with purple foliage have richer purple "smoke puffs" than other species.  Leaves of all types change in fall, taking on colors ranging from yellow to orange red. (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Wild Mock Orange Philadelphus lewisii (PL)
• Grown for white or cram-colored usually fragrant flowers blooming in late spring or early summer.  Plants are generally large and vigorous, with fountain-like form.  Prune every year just after bloom, cutting out oldest wood and surplus shoots at base.  To rejuvenate, cut to the ground.  Taller types are striking planted in lawns and as background and corner plantings; smaller kinds can be used near foundations or planted as low screens or informal hedges.  Select this plant in bloom to check for best fragrance.  Not fussy about soil type but must have good drainage.  Deciduous.  Native to western North America.  Fountain shaped, loosely branched shrub 4-10' tall, typically broader than high.  Satiny single flowers.  Tolerate some aridity zoned 1-10, 14-24.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Laich & Lutsko selected a variety in Shasta County called Double-flowered Mock Orange Philadelphus lewisii ssp. californicus 'Marjorie Schmidt' available at Cal Flora Nursery
• Pink Winter Currant, Red Flowering Current Ribes sanguineum
• 'Spring Showers' (RS)
• 'White Icicle' (RW)
• Deciduous shrub.  Native to Coast Ranges from California to British Columbia.  5-12' tall and wide with maple-like, dark green leaves.  In spring produces drooping 2-4" long clusters of pink or red flowers.  Blue-black fruit has whitish bloom.  Little to moderate water zoned 4-9, 14-24.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)

Find alternatives for the following:

• Lochinch Butterfly Bush Buddleia 'Lochinch' (BL)
• Well drained soil.  Blossoms attract butterflies.  Deciduous, though retains leaves in mildest winter climates.  Grows 5-8' or taller and as broad with gray green foliage and light lavender blue flowers over a long season in late summer and fall.  Cut back before spring growth begins zoned 3b-9, 14-24.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox (CP)
• Needs some winter cold.  Winter-blooming shrub with spicy-scented blossoms.  Slow, open growth to 10-15' high, 6-8' wide, with many stems from base.  Flowers appear on leafless branches in winter or spring and may last for more than a month if not hit by frost.  1" wide, pale yellow blossoms with darker centers marked in shades of purple, chocolate, or maroon.  Coarse green leaves many turn green in fall.  Locate plant where its winter fragrance can be enjoyed.  Restrict size by pruning while in flower; to rejuvenate leggy plant, lop it to within a foot of the ground in late winter.  Needs good drainage zoned 4-9, 14-21.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Mock Orange Philadelphus x lemoinei 'Belle Etoile' (PB)
• Grown for white or cream-colored usually fragrant flowers blooming in late spring or early summer.  Plants are generally large and vigorous, with fountain-like form.  Prune every year just after bloom, cutting out oldest wood and surplus shoots at base.  To rejuvenate, cut to the ground.  Taller types are striking planted in lawns and as background and corner plantings; smaller kinds can be used near foundations or planted as low screens or informal hedges.  Select this plant in bloom to check for best fragrance.  Not fussy about soil type but must have good drainage zoned 1-10, 14-24.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Solanum rantonnetii (SR)
• Evergreen shrub 8-12' tall x 6-10' wide, can be staked into tree form or with support grown as a vine to 12-15' or more.  Can also be allowed to sprawl and used as a ground cover.  Bright green oval leaves, violet-blue flowers throughout warm weather, often nearly year round.  Informal, fast growing, not easy to use in tailored landscape; prune hard to keep neat.  In severe cold, leaf drop is heavy and branch tips may die back zoned 12, 13, 15-24; H1, H2.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Japanese Snowball Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Wantanabei' (VP)
• Prune to prevent legginess.  Aphids, thrips, spider mites, scale and root weevils are potential pests.  Keep sulfur sprays off foliage.  Deciduous to 8-15' tall and wide with horizontal branching pattern giving plant a tiered look.  Strongly veined dull dark green leaves turn purplish red in autumn.  Showy 3" snowball-like clusters of sterile flowers.  Mid spring bloom.  No fruit.  Zoned 3-9, 14-24.  (Sunset Western Garden 2007)
• Wiegela florida 'Bristol Snowflake' (WF)
• Not attractive after bloom, no real fall color.  Fast growth to 6 ft. tall and wide, with branches often arching to the ground.  White flowers opening from pinkish buds zoned 1-11, 14-21 (Sunset Western Garden 2007)