Great Design Plant: Wildlife-Loving Dwarf Fothergilla Blazes in Fall
My house is certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and many of the plants in it draw beneficial pollinators and encourage insect larvae. One of the standouts is native fothergilla, a tree which isn’t widely used but ought to be.
It is broadly adaptable to site requirements, and just knowing it is in my garden makes me feel like I am doing my part in a suburban landscape to encourage biodiversity. Birds love the cover the shrubs provide in the mixed border, and that I get to observe the foliage put on a spectacular show at summer’s end.
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Botanical name: Fothergilla gardenii
Common title: Dwarf fothergilla
Resource: Native to the southeastern United States
Where it will grow: Hardy to -20 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA climate zones 5 to 8; locate your zone)
Water requirement: Medium
moderate requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 3 ft tall and spreading to 4 ft wide
Advantages and tolerances: Wet ailments; disease and pest resistant
Seasonal attention: Summer and drop
When to plant: Anytime
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Distinguishing attributes. Multistemmed shrubs form mounding clumps using a slow rate of growth. They produce fragrant bottlebrush flowers in early summer and possess outstanding fall color. Dwarf fothergilla is disease and pest resistant and can be a U.S. native.
Here dwarf fothergilla is planted with summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) and oakleaf hydrangea at the new Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Popular cultivars comprise ‘Mt. Airy’ and ‘Blue Shadow’.
‘Mt. Airy’ is by far my favourite and gets the best fall color. It is slow growing and includes a great branching structure; shrubs flower in early June in Vermont, around precisely the same period as peonies, and the honey-scented spikes smell heavenly. During summer the crops provide a solid mass in a mixed border; it isn’t until the first frosts hit they start to blaze.
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The best way to use it :
In a mixed borderAs a base plantingNear that a woodland edgeTo provide a habitat for wildlifeIn my mixed edge I’ve put dwarf fothergilla facing cedars to acquire comparison later in this season. The evergreens form a backdrop for the vibrant show that will begin with the first frosts.
For a wildlife habitat, combine it with fruiting viburnums, aronia and ‘Winter King’ hawthorne. Add coneflowers or Joe Pye Weed to attract birds and butterflies.
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This is easily one of the stars in the autumn landscape, matched by only a few other plants. Place the shrubs in a location where they’ll take center stage, and you can enjoy their beauty till the end of the season.
Line a walkway or plant a group in a naturalistic border along with other prominent natives, such as bluestar (Amsonia spp) and little bluestem grass. Additionally, it makes a fantastic companion plant to Virginia sweetspire (Itea spp).
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Planting notes. Native to the southeastern U.S., dwarf fothergilla is broadly flexible but prefers moist to wet soils in full sun. It spreads by root suckers to form cubes; eliminate the suckers to maintain a compact habit.
The foliage turns bright orange and scarlet when all has gone. The color is just outstanding.