Regional Picks: Focal-Point Plants – Northeast

1. Purpleleaf Sand Cherry

Name:Prunus×cistena

USDA hardiness zones:3 to 8

Size : Up to 5 ft tall and spacious

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; median , well - drain soil

In spring , all eyes are on this unfearing piddling shrub . It pops with a charming display of fragrant pink prime , which are still present as the leaves fill in . The frail pink on dark purple is a stunning show . Even when the petals are gone , this shrub looks attractive for the ease of the season and offers a standout contrast to surrounding greenish leaf . Keep this focal point primped by pruning and shaping it lightly throughout the turn time of year .

2. Porcupine Grass

Name:Miscanthus sinensis*‘Strictus’

Zones:4 to 9

Size:4 to 8 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet all-embracing

experimental condition : Full sun to partial shade ; well - run out land

Graceful yet rich , this grass make a striking focal point . Its form resembles an elegant fountain , with its soaked , vertical , bright green leaf . The blade have bold light-haired stripes in an temporary horizontal form , which make it await like mottled sunlight is trip the light fantastic across the flora . sleek coppery panicle develop in late summertime to early fall , trumping the already magnetise display . Fall colors array from reddish purple to scarlet , before turn a tawny Brown University for the plant ’s winter residuum . Trim to 1 foot above the ground in early spring to secure another fulgurous show .

3. ‘Annabelle’ Smooth Hydrangea

Name:Hydrangea arborescens‘Annabelle’

Size:3 to 5 base tall and wide

Conditions : Partial shade ; mediocre , well - drained filth

The dramatic display of a smooth hydrangea is sure to wrench heads . The 1 - foot - diameter bloom demand attention when they bulge in summertime . The bloom conversion between a creamy Andrew Dickson White and a gorgeous sick green . gravid downy leave of absence and a dense growth wont accentuate the billowy flower heads . Spent blooms turn sick ecru and remain on the plant throughout wintertime . Hydrangea prefer shadowiness from noontide sun and blooms on current season ’s wood . Prune it to 6 inch above the ground in early bound for the expert show .

4. Redleaf Rose

Name:Rosa glauca

Zones:2 to 8

Size : Up to 6 invertebrate foot tall and 5 infantry wide

condition : Full sun to partial shade ; average to rich , damp soil

People by nature gravitate to roses . They are placeable , traditional , and reliable . The graceful redleaf rose is my preferred twelvemonth - round focal point . The arc 6 - foot - tall stems are adorned with unique pewter blue leaf and fragrant individual pinkish flowers in former summertime . strike through winter , the fine-looking mauve canes expose copious eye - catching red - orange tree hips . In addition to its obvious splendor , this garden rose is disease tolerant and wintertime hardy .

Stephen M. Baldonadospent five years tending and show off focal points at Central Park ’s Conservatory Garden in New York City .

Photos : # 2 and # 4 , Saxon Holt ; # 1 , Jennifer Benner ; # 3 , Michelle Gervais

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