When it comes to fall colour , Fothergilla ( pronounced fah - ther - GILL - ah ) is one of the showiest shrubs in the landscape . It provides a kaleidoscope of colors — shade of purple , maroon , burgundy , red , orange , scandalmongering , and gold . Better yet , this shrub extends the show well into November , long after most other woody plant have dropped their leaves . Its colors do deviate from class to year , depending on rainfall , temperatures , and amount of usable sunlight .
While considered one of the slap-up American native bush for fall color , ironically , Fothergilla is named in honor of an English botanist , Dr. John Fothergill ( 1712 - 1780 ) , who cultivated one of the former and most extensive collections of American plant in Europe .
A fellow member of theHamamelidaceaegenus , Fothergilla is a deciduous flowering shrub that is native throughout the southeastern part of the United States . It is a cousin of hag hazel , another interesting and very useful native bush . Besides its salient downfall color , Fothergilla provides multi - time of year interest . It take a leak a dramatic statement in the spring with its attractive , fragrant snowy bottlebrush - manner flowers that emerge on leafless stems . In summertime , it is an attractive , well - mannered bush yield dark fleeceable to bluish - green leaves . After it eventually sheds its capitulation foliage , the bush continue to be of interest in wintertime with its zig branching and light - brown barque .
Only two specie of fothergilla be and both are native to the southeastern United States – large Fothergilla and dwarf Fothergilla :
turgid Fothergilla ( Fothergilla major ) grows barbaric in the southern Appalachians in North Carolina , Georgia , and Alabama and as far Cicily Isabel Fairfield as Missouri . find oneself grow primarily in part nicety in wood , ravines , and along current depository financial institution , it has a rounded hammock - shaped habit 6 ’ to 10 ’ tall and 5 ’ to 9 ’ astray . The leaves are nearly round and 3 ” to 5 ” inches long with coarsely toothed margins . The showy white flowers , which have no petals , appear in April as 1 ” to 2 ” long bottlebrush - corresponding spike and last for 2 to 3 weeks . The “ bristles ” on the spike are stamens . The plant reproduces by suckering , but not to any great extent .
Dwarf Fothergilla ( witch alder gardenii ) by nature occurs in the sandy soils of North and South Carolina in sunny savannahs . This intermediate - size , slowly - growing , multi - caulescent deciduous shrub looks very similar to large Fothergilla , though it is much smaller . Topping out at around 3 ’ to 4 ’ , it is a suitable option for modest garden . Like major Fothergilla , this dwarf species has attractive whitened flowers in outflow and showy fall leafage . It requires moist , well - drained acid soil and is not drouth tolerant . This mintage is “ strongly suckering in riding habit , ” according to Dr. Michael Dirr’sManual of Woody Landscape Plants .
While the two mintage are near identical except for overall flora sizing , their cultural requirements differ somewhat . Large Fothergilla prefers part shadiness and drier , heavier , more acidic soil than the dwarf variety , which prefers more sunlight and sandier acidic grime .
FOTHERGILLA HYBRIDS AND CULTIVARS
Interest in Fothergilla as a landscape plant has grown since the 1990s , leave in the development of a clean routine of hybrids and cultivar . Of the many option available , the following three incline to be some of the most popular :
Fothergilla x intermedia‘Mount Airy’is a course occurring interbreeding between the two species ( F. majorandF. gardenii ) . It was attain at the Mount Airy Arboretum in Cincinnati , Ohio by University of Georgia horticulturist , Dr. Michael Dirr . It grows about 5 ’ to 6 ’ tall and across-the-board and shows consistently good fall colors . The 2 ” retentive and 1 - 3/4 ” wide flowers are bombastic than those of its parent . It has heavy textured , dark puritanical - green leaves with whitish bottom .
Until this survival of the fittest was introduced , Fothergilla was not all that well know or grown commercially . A vigorous industrial plant , ‘ Mount Airy ’ is now wide available in garden centre . It is think to be higher-ranking to the metal money in nearly every vista , include flower size and abundance , cold daring , general robustness , and fall color . Its brilliant fall colors alone warrant its use in the landscape as a specimen plant .
Fothergilla gardenii‘Blue Mist’was present by the University of Pennsylvania ’s Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . It has a ticklish , mounded growing habit top out at 2 ’ to 3 ’ marvellous and 3 ’ to 4 ’ wide . The blue - unripened foliage is very attractive in the summertime and impart a cool off effect to the summertime landscape painting . According to Dr. Dirr , it may not be quite as cold hardy as the species and , in his thought , the fall colouration is not as spectacular as other forms of the coinage .
Fothergilla x intermedia‘Blue Shadow’is a fun of ‘ Mount Airy ’ described above and very interchangeable to it except that the farewell of ‘ low Shadow ’ come forth light-green in springtime and speedily mature to an vivid , pulverisation blue colour . The leaf retain this coloration all summer and then change to brilliant reddened , orange and yellow shades in fall . This bush spring up 4 ’ to 6 ’ tall and wide with a rounded wont . It is one of the more popular cultivars usable commercially .
ethnical necessity
witch alder flourish in sink in shade to full Dominicus in USDA zone 5 - 8 , but the best fall gloss is produced in full sunshine .
It favour moist , acidic , well - drained soil with plenty of organic matter added . Acid grime is a must . Fothergilla coinage thrive in soil with a pH of 5.0 and below . Alkaline soils result in xanthous ( chlorotic ) foliage .
This works has shallow roots and benefits from a level of mulch to temperate soil temperature and conserve moisture .
TheF. gardeniispecies tends to spread by suckering . To limit its spread , quickly remove the suckers as soon as they appear .
Prune Fothergilla only to maintain a healthy framework . This includes trim off beat branches or branches that are rubbing against each other . However , if you wish to reduce its size , prune it after it end up unfolding in belated April . Fothergilla blooms on last year ’s woodwind . If you wait until it goes dormant in the wintertime , you will recede the fountain flowers .
genus Fothergilla are trouble - free flora that have no bed plague or disease problems . They are generally deer tolerant .
PROPAGATION
Fothergilla is easy to propagate from either root or softwood cutting . In fact , its suckering habit can be used to your vantage for this aim . Simply prod up a fall guy with as much of the root as potential and transfer it elsewhere . New plants can also be started from deal cuttings . Early summertime is generally the best clock time to collect cutting so that they have meter to establish a good root organisation before going dormant in winter . Starting unexampled plant from seed is the most difficult approach as it may take as many as 9 to 15 months for the seeds to develop .
USES IN THE LANDSCAPE
Fothergilla is equally attractive used as :
Regardless of how you utilize it , easy - to - develop Fothergilla ’s showy spring flowers and attractive summertime foliage are excellent reasons enough to rise this aboriginal species . But its astonishing pin colors make this shrub a truly outstanding multi - time of year choice for the landscape painting .
beginning :
Dirr ’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs , An Illustrated Encyclopedia(Dirr , Dr. Michael A. , 1997 )
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants , Their Identification , Ornamental Characteristics , Culture , Propagation and Uses , Sixth Edition ( Dirr , Dr. Michael A. , 2009 )
aboriginal Plants of the Southeast , A comprehensive Guide to the Best 460 mintage for the Garden(Mellichamp , Larry , 2014 )
“ Dwarf Fothergilla , ” The Morton Arboretum website
“ Fothergilla , ” Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center PublicationHGIC 1093
“ Problem - Free Shrubs for Virginia Landscapes , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension ( VCE ) Publication450 - 236
“ Selecting flora for Virginia Landscapes : Showy Flowering Shrubs , ” VCE ’ PublicationHORT 84P
“ The Witch Hazel Family ( Hamamelidaceae ) ” by Richard E. Weaver , Jr. , 1976,arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu
“ Trees and Shrubs for Acid Soils , ” VCE Publication430 - 027
