Bitter disappointments

Its a whole lot more enjoyable to report on successes, but I've got a couple of shrubs that just aren't working for me. I had such high hopes for them, so its a bitter pill to swallow. The first is Clethra 'Ruby Spice'. I've got it on the north side of garage in good, moisture retentive loam, and I after reading of the improved hardiness of this clone I planted three of them and was expecting sooo much more. I just don't think they're fully hardy up here. They were planted 4-5 years ago, so have had plenty of opportunity to prove themselves worthy. Anyone out there having success with Ruby?

The second disappointment (and I really like this shrub) is Philadelphus 'Miniature Snowflake'. Again, just not hardy in z4 and suffers pretty much complete dieback, even in the realtively mild winters we've experienced of late. Touted as fully hardy, but just hasn't lived up to the billing for me.

Finally, the biggest disappointment of all. I've got voles tearing up the place and all he seems to want to do is lay around and watch me pull weeds. CATS!!

What is happening to your P. 'Miniature Snowflake' is exactly what is happening to my P. 'Bouquet Blanc'. I think I'm going to throw in the towel on Philadelphus.

I don't have 'Ruby' but my C. alnifolia, C. 'Hummingbird', and C. 'Sixteen Candles' are fine.

I've often wondered about putting chicken wire around a plant that isn't exactly zone hardy and then wrapping the chicken wire with something like vizqueen or shrink wrap? Would that help to protect them in winter? I recently got a Franklinia and that was my thought for this coming winter. Work??

Hi Bob,
I don't have 'Ruby', but my C. 'Hummingbird' is about ready for the big compost bin in the sky. I'm totally unimpressed with 'Hummingbird'. The plant has been in the ground for at least 8 years and is only slightly larger than when it went into the ground. I do realize that 'Hummingbird' is a smallish plant, but this is ridiculous. I have 'Hummingbird' on the east side of my house so the plant is in a protected spot. I think the plant is going to take a trip to the great beyond sometime this week.
Mike

Clethra likes acidic soil. Could any lime be leaching into the area? Also could it be planted too close to the foundation which may be wicking off the moisture which the clethra loves? (much like the sides of a clay pot) I have a big stand of the Clethra alnifolia which I love for it's evening fragrance in Aug. I just planted 'Ruby', so I hope I will love it too. I have not been very happy with my Philadelphus either. I recently moved one. A friend suggested that I whack it down to the ground just after blooming to rejuvenate it. I shall see. Patti

My Clethra is planted within a few inches of the garage foundation, so maybe that is having a negative impact. Or maybe its those d@#& voles! Otherwise, my soil is on the acidic side and we've got wild vaccinium growing here.

I've never been one to build protective structures for plants. Not because I don't think they'd work, but because I'm either too busy or lazy to do it come late fall. ;)

Interesting you mention 'Hummingbird', Mike, as I was thinking maybe it would do better for me. I actually I like the white flowers of Hummingbird better than Ruby Spice, not that I actually get to see much in the way of flowering on mine. I went with RS only because it was supposed to be hardier. Doesn't it just bug you to see these growing so nice at the nursery and then performing so poorly in the garden.

Bob

We have a family of rabbits living under the neighbors shed and plants that I didn't have caged in chicken wire were chewed on pretty severely, unless they have size to them, then they didn't bother them. We've also got squirrels that like to climb and if the plant is a smaller plant the squirrels have snapped off branches. The squirrels also like to bend a branch down to eat the leaves, so chicken wire stops them from chewing too. Adding vizqueen or shrink wrap would just be one more step here.

Another "no" vote for Minnesota Snowflake and Philladelphus in general, from my experiences in the last 15 years. I did have a Philadelphus for many years that I liked, a reject from Dr. Pellet's breeding program. Can't deny the wonderful orange fragrance. Tried a cultivar of P. lewisii for a while. A shy bloomer, and the great fragrance it is suppose to have wasn't there.

My clethra ventures never got off the ground. Couldn't keep the rabbits away.

I don't know how big your Franklinia is but I would think a tree tube of some sort might be worth a try. You can get that sheet plastic from craft stores and wrap it around your chicken wire. I thought the manufacturer of Miracle Tube used to claim that their tubes extended the growing season by one month but I poked around at their site and didn't find that. Here's their site-
http://www.treepro.com/id73.html

Here's where Miracle Tubes can be ordered but the cost is prohibitive for just one so I'd go to a craft store like Hobby Lobby and make your own but just be sure to provide a little ventilation-
http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/3892?template=Plant

My Franklinia is maybe a foot tall if I'm lucky. It's doing wonderfully though. I have vizqueen and I also have shrink wrap, so I'll probably use either one. I know that the Franklinia is iffy here, so I just want to winter protect and make sure he survives for as long as possible.

Those Miracle Tubes look like the things I've seen people use to stop or try and deter a buck from rubbing.

Yes, they come in an assortment of heights. The one problem with them is that if you have a lot of deer in the area, the deer will browse any vegetation growing out of the top of the tube. I even had a deer get a mesh tree protector stuck on its head once getting greedy. Someone once described the tubes as treecicles. The pop up ice cream treat for deer. The trunk is protected from being stripped by deer and rabbits which is a big help.

I don't have deer here in town, but like I said above, a family of them is living under the neighbors shed. That's why I'm using chicken wire cages around my all smaller plants. They didn't bother any bigger plants not in a cage.

Hi Bob,
I have actually not seen any Clethra growing in the nurseries due to not really looking for them. I purchased my 'Hummingbird' via mail order so I never got to choose one from a bunch of plants.

My soil is slightly acidic, too, but my plant is near the foundation of my house so I'm sure the cement blocks are dumping loads of lime into the soil and affecting my plant.

I may just pull my plant out and try something else. I don't have enough real estate to have plants that are not performing well. I do enjoy the fragrance when the plant blooms. The rabbits have also eaten a lot of my plant so there isn't much left any longer.
Mike

I have a locally bought clethra 'ruby spice' I planted next to the garage foundation about a month ago. So far it looks great, but time will tell. Peg