Afew new shrubs have found a spot in our retail area. Some we have grown before and know to be tried and true while the hydrangeas are an experiment. Gardeners are always looking for a challenge!

Most of the pink and blue mophead, big leaf and lacecap hydrangeas are not bud hardy in Vermont. Their flower buds are formed in the fall and our cold winters freeze them. After talking with a hydrangea grower in Minnesota, we decided to test several hydrangeas for bud hardiness. Blooming is not guaranteed but ask Eileen for some tips on wintering them over.

Following is a list of some new shrubs. See Horsford’s 2003 catalogue for descriptions and culture.

Brilliant Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles)
‘Texas Scarlet’
‘Toyo-Nishiki’
Bud’s Yellow Dogwood (Cornus alba)
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum kalmianum)
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
‘Nathan Hale’
‘Snowdrift’
Yellow Grove Bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata)
Ninebark ‘Dart’s Gold’ (Physocarpus)
Elderberry ‘Sutherland Gold’ (Sambucus racemosa)
Lilac ‘Tinkerbelle’ (Syringa ‘Baillbelle’)
Viburnum ‘Emerald Triumph’ (Viburnum lantana)
Boxwood ‘Green Velvet’ (Buxus macrophylla)
Boxwood ‘Green Mountain’ (Buxus x sp.)
English Roseum Rhododendron (Rhododendron sps.)
Dwarf Norway Spruce (Picea abies ‘Little Gem’)
Dwarf Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus ‘Horsford’)
Dwarf Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris ‘Glauca Nana’)
Mountain Andromeda (Pieris floribunda)
Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
‘Domotoi’
‘Dooley’
Hydrangea ‘Midoriboshi-Temari’ (Hydrangea serrata)