Before You Buy Your Shrubs…

Whether you are landscaping the entire yard of your new house or simply looking to fill a “hole” in the yard in need of a shrub, there are several important matters to take into consideration before buying a shrub:

Purpose—what role do you want your shrub or shrubs to play in your yard? Are you looking for a single shrub or a clump of shrubs that will serve as a focal point for your yard? Do you want to plant a shrub to block your view of a utility box or a group of shrubs to hide a fence line? Are you looking to add some permanent color year-round or are you wanting to add some spring and summer color to your yard?

Location—Understanding what you hope to accomplish by planting y your shrub or shrubs goes hand-in-hand of knowing where to plant them. Wherever you decide to plant your shrub, it is important to envision what the shrub or shrubs will look like when they reach their mature size. For example, the 1’ Nanking Cherry bush you plant today will, in 5 years be 3-4 times as tall and as wide as it is when you planted it. Will the space you have mind accommodate such growth, or will the shrub crowd out other shrubs and trees in the yard? Will it block your views from windows? A common mistake made by many would-be landscapers is to plant their trees and shrubs too close together. Doing so makes the yard look “full” now, but in a few years, it will look more like a disorganized jumble.

Size—A common mistake that many people make when deciding to landscape their yard is that they forget their plants are going to grow and keep growing for many years to come. Thus, with each passing year, this growth is going to impact the look and feel of your yard. Take into consideration both the mature height and width your plants when you envision what you hope your yard to look like not just now, but in the years to come. Several years from now, the shrub(s) could block your view out a favorite window or crowd out other plants in your yard, as noted above.

Type—Do you want an evergreen, a flowering shrub, or a ground cover? Interested in drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant, or deer-resistant shrubs? Try to envision how each of these different kinds of shrubs will impact the look and feel of your yard. At Brady’s West, you can chose shrubs of all sizes, shapes, textures, and bloom colors. Yards with the most interesting visual appeal often have different combinations of shrubs with goal of adding maximum variety across a range of characteristics: size, leaf color, flower color, and texture.

Color—Do you want your shrub to provide year-round color, like junipers or provide color during just the spring and and summer, like most flowering shrubs? Because they are green year-round, low-growing junipers, mugos, and pine and spruce shrubs provide a constant source of color even in winter. In contrast, deciduous shrubs, such as most flowering shrubs, provide colorful blooms in the spring and summer. Some shrubs, such as the amur maple, provide brilliant fall colors.

Water—A very important question to ask is “How am I going to water this shrub or shrubs?” Will the shrub be planted close to the house or far away—how easy will it be to get water to it? You’re going to want to have a plan for watering in mind before your purchase your shrub(s). The simplest and easiest way to get water to any plant is by using a drip system. A drip line is easy to install and automatically takes care of all of your watering needs without you having to do anything once the system is set up (other than to occasionally check to make sure that the system is working properly).

Planting—Who is going to plant the shrub? Are you going to do it yourself, or is someone else going to plant it for you? Planting can be an enjoyable task, but with our rocky soil, it is definitely a physical task. Keep in mind, too, there are necessary steps involved in proper planting. If you’re willing to take the task on, but are not familiar with these steps, just ask us and we’ll be glad to give you some basic tips.