Help please-orange shrub?

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LadyCleo Plainfield, NJ(Zone 6b) Jul 15, 2007

I've been commissioned to design and plant a butterfly border. The space is in full sun, approx 50 feet long with a depth that will vary from 3-6'. I'm going to do 5 color blocks with a small shrub central to each color. I'm stumped for an orange summer flowering shrub. I was thinking Potentilla "Tangerine" but the darned thing flowered a pale yellow instead of the vibrant orange promised by the grower. I'd rather not use a rose because there are small children who actively use the adjacent yard. I could substitute a substantial perenial but it would be competeing with some tall heleniums, guilardas(sp?) and rudbeckias. Does anyone have an inspirational idea for me?

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June_Ontario Rosemont, ON(Zone 4a) Jul 15, 2007

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa. The flowers are orange, it's a native plant, it loves sun, and it can easily compete with helenium, gaillardias, and rudbeckias. In my zone it blooms from mid-June into September, and besides being popular with the all the butterflies it also provides food and shelter for Monarch caterpillars. Although it makes a bushy shape, it is a perennial, not a shrub. The plant avoids frost damage by coming up much later than a lot of other perennials, so be sure to mark where it is planted or you may dig it up by mistake when doing your early spring weeding.

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LadyCleo Plainfield, NJ(Zone 6b) Jul 15, 2007

Of course!! Perfect solution. I was planning on putting in Asclepias incarnata and speciosa but my faulty (read OLD) memory left this beautiful, and essential plant out. Thanks June!

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June_Ontario Rosemont, ON(Zone 4a) Jul 15, 2007

You're welcome!

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