Spirea douglasii deadheading question

Stephanie newish gardener

Hi, do I deadhead a spirea in the same way I would most flowers ie to get it to produce more flowers? I can't find anything on this topic, only advice on pruning....which leads to the sub-question....

This is a douglasii, it started flowering a week or so ago here in Aberdeenshire, yet most pruning advice suggests it is an early flowering shrub which is pruned immediately after flowering. One American site suggested it is a late summer shrub and not to prune until late winter. I know the season is a bit behind up here but I'd go with the US site.

I got it this year as a bare root plant and it spent a bit of time in a pot before going into its current home, where it gets sun until about 2pm. It has lots of new flower buds but is not a good shape, being a bit leggy, though clearly happy enough given the new growth.

Should I prune into shape after flowering or wait until late winter/early spring? Thanks

Paul B3

If mine I would remove all the leggy growth to about 1 foot from the base ; this will encourage a more bushy mode of growth for next year .

They can readily be trimmed into shape after flowering . Don't be concerned about losing flowers as they bloom on the current years growth .

PS I'll buy you a new one if I'm wrong !!

Paul B3

PPS :- What an attractive setting on your picture ; a nice damp mossy wall with trees . If mine i would interplant with numerous ferns .

Fairygirl

It'll flower more readily as it matures, which will take a little while, although they're fairly fast growing in the right place.

It's a bit lopsided and uneven, but it's a young, immature plant. It just needs time. Shrubs aren't really the same as annuals or perennials in the way they flower, although Buddleias will produce more flowers if you remove old ones.  

I'd agree with Paul - give it a haircut to encourage it to bush out a bit more and get a better shape for the future. More stems = more flowers. They can get big, but they're also hard to kill, and respond well to pruning into shape to keep them where you want them  

Stephanie newish gardener

Paul B3 says:

PPS :- What an attractive setting on your picture ; a nice damp mossy wall with trees . If mine i would interplant with numerous ferns .

See original post

 Thanks Paul, the wall is made of sections of an old Anderson shelter and the raised bed is a work in progress which was damper than anticipated when the burn the other side of it flooded in June  (pics are in the thread I started at the time, not sure how to insert link as working on a tablet)

However, ferns are on the agenda...

Stephanie newish gardener

This was it just after the water subsided, the day before the general election. I think I can be fairly happy with how it looks now, considering

Here's a brighter pic from earlier when it was sunny this afternoon

Next plan is to get more colour in it for next year. The gazania were a bit of a disappointing buy for me, bought as a gap-filler only to find they are one of those plants where the flower shuts for half the day. Hmm 

plant pauper

A yes Stephanie with the garlic.  It's all looking a bit better now.

http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/problem-solving/a-bit-of-a-drainage-problem/999578.html

Here you go. 

Stephanie newish gardener

Thanks plant pauper. I've been taking various pics with the intention of posting some updates, just need to find the time to upload them! The weeds are loving this warm damp weather so are keeping me busy - me and everyone else I'm sure!!

Fairygirl

Does the site flood regularly Stephanie? Might be tricky to get a good range of plants to establish, but if you can add a bit of manure and grit it'll help to prevent plants sitting in wet soil long term, but also means they have enough moisture when the water isn't there. 

Things like Ligularia will be fine. I have one with gold/orange daisy flowers - several to each head. Plum foliage which is olive green underneath. Slightly different to the usual ones which have spires of flowers. Makes a big clump. Depends on what kind of colours you like too - but I'm guessing if you tried Gazanias - you like it bright! Dicentras and Astilbes could be good, and Hostas for foliage along with the ferns.  What else have you planted in the border?

Stephanie newish gardener

Fairygirl says:

Does the site flood regularly Stephanie? Might be tricky to get a good range of plants to establish, but if you can add a bit of manure and grit it'll help to prevent plants sitting in wet soil long term, but also means they have enough moisture when the water isn't there. 

Things like Ligularia will be fine. I have one with gold/orange daisy flowers - several to each head. Plum foliage which is olive green underneath. Slightly different to the usual ones which have spires of flowers. Makes a big clump. Depends on what kind of colours you like too - but I'm guessing if you tried Gazanias - you like it bright! Dicentras and Astilbes could be good, and Hostas for foliage along with the ferns.  What else have you planted in the border?

See original post

 The flooding we had this year was one of those 'once in a generation' events, but we had a similar flood in late October 2009. Prior to that the last time it was that high was about 50 years previously, so theoretically no, it doesn't flood regularly, but we built that raised bed partly as a bit of a flood defence......

In between floods the soil drains well enough and isn't normally waterlogged

I put a handful of shrubs in the border, not specifically chosen as they were a GW offer, so there is the spirea, a Berberis, forsythia and a flowering currant. There is a random plant that was in a pot which has lovely purple flowers, looks a bit wild ish and sadly the name eludes me, oh, and a pieris. I've put in some echinacea and cosmos and there are also poppies, Jerusalem artichokes (!) a fern and other bits and bobs. It's all really meticulously planned as you can tell...

I don't really mind what colour goes into it so long as I can have plenty of flowers. The garden is huge and my main complaint has always been there's not much colour apart from green! I'm gradually rectifying that and would like to plan it a bit more eventually, but the immediate aim has been stick in some shrubs and interplant with pretty annuals till I get my act together. Call it a hotch-potch as my mum would say!

Fairygirl

Ah - that makes a difference Stephanie. Plants that are sitting long term in wet condions wouldn't do well, which is why I asked  

It looks like the world is 'your lobster' as Del Boy would say. I think the wall is highly unusual and interesting, as Paul says, and it might be nice to allow a bit of a view of that in between plants too. Vertical spires of flowers are good for that. 

It largely depends on the look you want to achieve - if you like a riot of colour then carry on popping in what takes your fancy, but if you want a more cohesive, balanced look, it pays to have a theme. Colour is the usual way to achieve that, and you can add foliage planting to give contrast, both evergreen and deciduous. Dark foliage works brilliantly too.

I'm not sure how much sun it gets - don't know if you mentioned that - but pick planting which will be happiest in the site to avoid disappointments. It's not a very deep border, so that can be tricky, but if you can plant ribbons of verticals to run through the length of it, that gives a good effect.  Veronicas, Liatris and Alliums, if it's sunny enough, will achieve that. Lilies and foxgloves too, and they're happy with more shade.Taller spring bulbs  - plenty of choice for sun or shade. Heucheras will give lower ground cover and take  quite a bitof sun if they're damp enough at the base. Loads of colour from the foliage, and evergreen. Again - you can have runs of those as they're quite compact.

Interspersed with splashes of colour from annuals or other perennials, and perhaps a climber on part of the wall, and that would give a good selection to fill the bed and be quite low maintenance - important if the garden's big