Regional Picks: Plant This, Not That – Northeast

picture : Jerry Pavia

Overused : Nipponese Astilbe japonica

( Spiraea japonica * cvs . )

1. New Jersey Tea

Name:Ceanothus americanus

USDA Hardiness Zones:4 to 8

Size:3 to 4 metrical foot tall and wide

Conditions : Full sun ; well - drained soil

New Jersey teatime is a small , attractive , deer - resistant summer - blossom bush that wo n’t reseed itself like the popular — but invasive — Nipponese spiraea . In midsummer , large white puff of beloved - scented blooms cover this Northeast aborigine , attracting butterfly stroke and pest - eating predatory insects . Drought tolerant , it grows in poor , bumpy soils without any hustle or fertilizer . Use it in introduction plantings or repeated beds where you do n’t desire too much height . A hard winter pruning every few years keeps it neat and tidy but is not necessary .

Photo : Joshua McCullough

Overused : Periwinkle

( Vinca underage * and cvs . )

pic : Steve Aitken

2. Wintergreen

Name:Gaultheria procumbens

Zones:3 to 8

Size:3 to 6 inch tall and up to 3 foot wide

Conditions : fond shade ; moist , well - drain , acidic soil

checkerberry is one of those rarified works : a shade - love evergreen primer coat cover that wo n’t take over and disrupt local ecosystem . It thrives in dry nicety but will grow in any well - drained , acid soil . Tiny pink - touch white efflorescence appear in spring , feed native bumblebee with their nectar . Its edible , brilliant red fruit have the conversant cool tang of spiceberry , and the leaves have been used medicinally for centuries . The fruit persist through wintertime , contrast attractively with snow on the forest floor or in your garden .

Photo : doreenwynja.com

overuse : Miscanthus

( Miscanthus sinensis * CV . )

3. Pink Muhly Grass

Name:Muhlenbergia capillaris

Zones:5 to 9

Size:2 to 3 feet tall and wide

Miscanthus is popular for fall interest , but its overwhelming mass makes it gawky . The beautiful aboriginal pink muhly grass remains a few feet in height and width , create it everlasting in small garden or meadow drift . greenish glob form through summertime , but its real economic value is in fall , when seeds have ripened to a sensational rose wine - bolshy . Plant where you’re able to consider the tassels backlit by the Lord’s Day . A swarm of pink muhly grass change by reversal a tardy - summertime / fall bed into a work of impressionistic artistry . Plant with New England aster ( Symphyotrichumnovae - angliae , zone 4–9 ) for a spectacular fall display .

Ellen Walther Sousa , of Spencer , Massachusetts , is author of The Green Garden : A New England Guide to preparation , Planting , and Maintaining the Eco - Friendly Habitat Garden .

Photos , except where note : Michelle Gervais

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new jersey tea

Photo: Jerry Pavia

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Regional Picks: Plant This With That—Northeast

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