Help! Which shrub should I use?

by Grace
(Danielson, CT)

Dear Doug,

My son wants to plant shrubs along his property line but can't plant anything that grows over 6 feet tall. He and his wife prefer something in an arborvitae but the ones they were looking at grow at 4 feet per year. Something that flowers looks interesting as well. Any suggestions?

Auntgracie

Doug says he doesn't know a cedar family plant that grows 4 feet a year. No reason why he can't plant a dwarf cedar (a ball shaped one) and then prune it to whatever shape he likes. They'll reach 3-4 feet in a few years. Or simply prune a regular cedar to 5-6 feet if that's what he wants.

He's not going to get a flowering cedar family plant. Sorry.

Dwarf flowering shrubs abound in nurseries right now. Tons and tons - way too many to include them all. If flowering is the most important thing then potentialla are hard to beat as they flower most of season. They'll reach 4 feet tall (the big ones will).

Good luck with it.