Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Saturday - May 29, 2010
From: Fort Branch, IN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Shrubs
Title: Flowering and evergreen shrubs for landscape in Indiana
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I live in Southern Indiana and we are getting ready to redesign our front landscape. Currently, we have some yews and other shrubs that are unruly and require a lot of pruning and care. My husband hates to trim the bushes and I prefer flowering plants. We are wanting to know of some possibilities for low maintenance, flowering shrubs and evergreens or both in one plant. All I can find are azaleas and rhodos. Also if I chose mainly azaleas, what other greens would complement them? I'm even considering a dwarf tree of some kind as accent if it didn't get too large. Thank you for your help!ANSWER:
On our Native Plant Database you can do a COMBINATION SEARCH by selecting Indiana from the Select State or Province box and then 'Shrub' under Habit (general appearance) to find shrubs native to Indiana. We don't really have a way to search for evergreen plants in the database and Indiana doesn't really have a lot of native evergreen shrubs, but here are a few I found by looking at the different species pages of the Indiana native shrubs.
Chamaedaphne calyculata (leatherleaf) is evergreen and flowering, and here are more photos and information.
Juniperus communis var. depressa (common juniper) is evergreen, but not flowering, and here are photos and more information.
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) is evergreen and flowering
Mahonia repens (creeping barberry) is evergreen and flowering
For native Indiana flowering shrubs that aren't evergreen, you can find quite a few on our Indiana Recommended list. On this list are commercially available plants native to Indiana that are suitable for landscaping. You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option in the side bar to select characteristics important to you. For instance. you can choose 'Shrub' in the GENERAL APPEARANCE to narrow the list. You could also limit the results by making a choice in LIGHT REQUIREMENT and/or SOIL MOISTURE. Here are a few flowering plants from that list that aren't evergreen:
Cornus alternifolia (alternateleaf dogwood)
Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (shrubby cinquefoil) This shrub can be evergreen in some locations.
Physocarpus opulifolius (common ninebark)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (coralberry)
You can do a similar search for trees in the Indiana Recommended list. Here are three smaller flowering trees from the list:
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) has blossoms, showy red fruit and spectacular autumn leaf color.
Prunus americana (American plum)
Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud)
Here are photos from our Image Gallery:
More Shrubs Questions
How to Control Pests on Plants for Sale
May 15, 2014 - I am renting a closed spot at a flea market, and am having trouble with several infestations at once, and I am not sure how to control them. I am currently having trouble with aphids, whiteflies, and ...
view the full question and answer
Replacement for boxwoods in Ohio
February 26, 2014 - I want to replace my boxwood plants but I don't know what would be a good replacement. I have a hydrangea plant that is in the middle and I would like something to go on each side of the hydrangea. I...
view the full question and answer
Holes in leaves of wax myrtle from Austin
April 30, 2011 - I just purchased 4 of the 5 gallon Wax Myrtles at the last spring plant sale and after planting them, they are getting eaten by bugs leaving holes in the leaves. I can't find any of the bugs doing th...
view the full question and answer
Potting soil recipe for azaleas
October 07, 2007 - I have a couple of Azaleas in pots that need repotting.I can't remember the recipe for the medium I put them in last time other than pine bark mulch. I think there were three ingredients. What is ...
view the full question and answer
Plants for steep slope in California
November 13, 2010 - Where do I find out about the specific root structure of various California native plants? Are there shrubs that have tap roots & hence are good for steep slopes? The genus of any such plants that y...
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |