Question
QUESTION: Hi, Coach.  I live in Kingman, KS (zone 6a).  I would like to plant some evergreen shrubs around my front porch.  I want to be able to trim them so that they stay neat, not lanky or weedy, and remain no taller than 20 inches.  I also want them to conceal the brick foundation of the front porch, which is about 20 inches high.  I thought of boxwood, but these will be on the east side of my house and I am concerned about sun scald.  A neighbor has a couple of Green Mountain boxwood shrubs on the east side of his house and they have some sun scald damage on them.  Is there a boxwood shrub that fits the criteria i listed above that is not susceptible to sun scald?  If not, are there other evergreen shrubs you could recommend?  I thought of holly, but I read that it also is susceptible to sun scald.

ANSWER: Howdy Tim,

A hardy Howdy, Hello, and Hi. As you might have guessed I am a Home Depot garden answer guy. Your question about shrubs opens the door to many options. Here are some shrubs that meet the criteria:

"Winter Gem" (Buxus)is a dwarf form of the common boxwood, but with a little darker mature foliage (new growth is bright) and better cold hardiness. Because it is dwarf it will stay small.

"Gold Ring" (Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea)Foliage has red-purple leaves with golden ochre margins, full sun will produce the best color. Can be kept low with trimming.

"Golden Nugget" (Berberis thunberggii) Full sun to part shade in your zone. This is a very small and compact. The small golden leaves have orange highlights, and resist sun scorch and disease.

"Rosy Glow" (Berberis thunbergii atropupurea) Full sun to part shade for your zone. 慠osy Glow?is similar to the "Crimson Pygmy".

"Alpine Currant": (Ribes Alpinum)is a full sun and is a very popular hedging plant for a number of reasons. It responds very well to frequent shearing to maintain a neat hedge. And is is quite disease resistant.

This is just a sampling of shrubs that would do well in your zone. Most nurseries carry plants that are best suited for your area.

I hope this information helps you make your house more into a home.


Yours Respectfully,

Coach Dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answer.  I really appreciate it.  I noticed that most of the shrubs you listed were barberries with the exception of a couple.  I have a three year old son who is very adventurous and explorative (good traits) who I do not want to go wandering into a thorny shrub.  Do you have any other suggestions that are not prickly?

ANSWER: Dear Tim,

I listed the shrubs based on their hardiness and barberries just happened to fall into this category,(I didn't even notice that), I'm happy you have knowledge of plants. I have an exhaustive list that I didn't want to give you, but here it is.

Alberta spruce (Picea glauca albertinia 慍onica?:popular dwarf evergreen.

Alpine currant (Ribes alpinum):come in yellow, orange or red foliage, pink, red or white summer flowers.

Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 慠heingold?:rich gold color becomes copper in fall.

Azaleas and rhododendron-dwarf species:these come in many colors.

Balkan spike heath (Bruckenthalia spiculifolia):pale flowers mid-June, evergreen foliage.

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea 慔udsonia?:slow growing.

Bean抯 broom (Cytisus x 態eanii?deep yellow flowers in early May, wide habit.

Bearberry cotoneaster (Cotoneaster dammeri)pink flowers in mid-June, followed by bright red berries in fall.

Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)blue flowers in late summer.

Bronx forsythia (forsythia viridissima 態ronxensis?:extreme dwarf habit, yellow flowers in spring.

Bumald spirea (Spirae x bumalda var)pink to crimson flowers bloom extended period.

Bush cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)white to yellow flowers bloom over summer.

Canby paxistima (Paxistima canbyi):evergreen, fall color bronze.

Chenault coralberry (Symphoricarpos x chenaultii)pink flowered spikes, red berries in fall.

Compact Oregon hollygrape (Mahonia aquifolium 慍ompactum?:bright yellow flowers in early May, fruit blue-black, evergreen foliage turns bronze in winter.

Cranberry cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus)pink flowers in mid-June, followed by bright red berries in fall.

Creeping hollygrape (Mahonia repens):small yellow flowers.

Creeping willow (Salix repens):low growing with lush green.

Dryland blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum):brilliant scarlet fall color.

Dwarf Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii 慒letcheri?:blue/green needles, furrowed bark.

Dwarf drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana 慛ana?:small white flowers, evergreen foliage is bronze and changes.

Dwarf English boxwood (Suffruticosa):light green leaves.

Dwarf euonymus (Euonymus nanus var.): 3 feet, whorled leaves and pink fruit capules in fall.

Dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii):white flowers in mid-May, foliage brilliant in fall.

Dwarf Korean lilac (Syringa meyeri 慞alibin?:lavender flowers in spring.

Dwarf red-tipped dogwood (Cornus pumila):reddish foliage.

Elsholtzia (stauntonii):lilac-purple flowers and aromatic foliage, maintenance free.

Flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica)red, pink, and orange flowers in spring.

Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica):orange to purple fall foliage.

Genista pilosa:yellow flowers in May, silvery green stems, shade tolerant.

Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora):semi-evergreen, pale pink to white bloom summer through fall.

Gold flower/Moser抯 St. Johnswort (Hypericum x moseranum):yellow flowers July through October.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris):white to red flowers in summer and early fall, evergreen foliage.

Irish heath (Daboecia cantabrica):purple to white flowers (depending on variety) bloom through summer, glossy evergreen foliage with white fuzzy underside.

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii):dwarf cultivars 慉urea?and 慘obold? spectacular foliage in fall, with bright red berries.

Japanese holly (Ilex crenata var.):evergreen and shapable with hardiness to sun.

Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica):crimson red fruit, dark evergreen foliage.

Japanese spirea (Spirea japonica):pink, rose, or white flowers with blue-green or orange tinged foliage.

Japanese white spirea (Spiraea albiflora):white flowers bloom in July.

Juniper (Juniperus communis 慍ompressa?:compact and creeping.

Juniper (Juniperus squamata 慚eyeri?:drooping, cool blue color.

Leadplant (Amorpha canescens):blue flowers in summer, gray-green foliage.

Littleleaf boxwood (Buxus microphylla 慍ompacta?:dense evergreen foliage.

Mugo or mountain pine (Pinus mugo 慓nom?:almost bonsai form.

Norway spruce (Picea abies-dwarf varieties):Spreading habit useful as an informal hedge or landscape accent.

Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa):yellow flowers through summer.

Provence broom (Cytisus purgans):fragrant yellow flowers in spring, dense upright habit.

Purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma):flowers in July and August, metallic-looking purple berries in September and October, lime green leaves.

Pyracantha - (dwarf varieties):glossy green leaves, small white flowers, orange berries.  

Rock spray (Cotoneaster horizontalis):small pink flowers in mid-June, followed by red berries in fall; semi-evergreen.

Rose daphne (Daphne cneorum)bright pink fragrant flowers.

Sargent juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. sargentti):lilac berries in fall, steel blue foliage, evergreen.
Sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia):rose red to crimson flowers in mid-June, evergreen foliage.

Shore juniper (Juniperus conferta)low growing, and easy to care for evergreen.

Slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis): white flowers in late May, dark green foliage.

Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens): large balls of white flowers in July.

Spike broom (Cytisus nigricans):profuse yellow flowers in early July.

Summersweet clethra (Clethra alnifolia): fragrant flowers in early to mid-summer.

Sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina)pleasantly scented fern-like foliage.

Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica): fragrant summer flowers, red foliage in fall.

Wall germander (Teucrium chamaedrys):dwarf evergreen.

Weeping fir (Tsuga canadensis 慞endula?:weeping habit.

Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)yellow blooms that appear in late winter/early spring prior to the leaves but are not fragrant.

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria):  finely wavy-toothed; thick and stiff; short-stalked. Shiny green above, paler beneath.

Well Tim, I hope this does not overwhelm you.

For what it's worth in regards to your concern about you son, we learned about the world through  trial and error. Maybe we should let boys be explorers like we were. We survived didn't we?

Yours Respectfully,

Coach Dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Perhaps you're right.  Thorny shrubs would also keep the children out of the flower beds for sure. :-)  I like the shape and color of the Crimson Pygmy Barbery, but I have read that it is brittle. So if you step on a branch of it, the entire branch breaks off.  Are all barberry shrubs this way?
I also didn't notice Spireas on your list.  Do they do well in zone 6a?  I really like the Goldmound Spirea and the Little Princess Spirea. Sorry, for all of the questions, but I just want to make sure I pick the right shrubs that will make my front porch pop.

Answer
Howdy again,

Barery shrubs are like most plants and will break off if you step on them. They can be brittle or soft depending on which one of the 500 types you choose.

Spireas have a hardiness zone of anywhere from 3-8. Unfortunately the type I'm familiar with usually grow about 6-10 feet and you stated this was too tall for your need.

I do my gardening with the mindset of "this is not forever". If your taste changes, sell your home, or whatever happens,gardening is a journey. I would instead start by looking to see what is available from Home Depot or local nurseries.

Happy Gardening,

Coach Dave