Questions tagged [shrubs]

Another name for a bush - shorter than a tree and with multiple stems. Use this tag with questions about caring, propagating and indentifying shrubs.

Shrubs are bushes. Unlike s, shrubs have multiple and are shorter - usually under 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be grown as shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions.

Horticulturally, shrubs are usually broad-leaved plants, although smaller conifers (e.g. Common Juniper) can be grown with a shrub shape and structure.

Botany and ecology have stricter definitions, and ecology uses these along with cover to define different kinds of landscape (e.g. "open-scrub", "low shrubland");

Use this tag for general questions about shrubs, shrubberies, and choosing shrubs for a particular location. Species/variety specific questions should use the specific plant tags instead.

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Can I force a dormant forsythia branch to bloom by bringing it inside?

I live in Massachusetts, where we have approximately three feet of snow in the yard, and the temperature has been well below freezing nearly every day for the last two months. In an article in yesterday's local newspaper, a horticulturist wrote that…
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How do I save lilac seeds?

I know it's possible, because that's how people come out with new hybrids, but how does one go about saving the seeds of a lilac? Specifically, I have the straight species of Syringa vulgaris, and each year it produces a few seed capsules in the…
J. Musser
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What are these small growths on my huckleberry?

My huckleberry branches are growing through these. Is it a fungus? Is it some kind of tumor? these grow wild around my cabin in southcentral alaska leaves appear to be incorporated into the thing. here is a cross-section of the thing.
user18116
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What sort of planting layout should I follow to cover a fence with a hedge?

I'm planning on planting around 500 ft of evergreen hedge in Tennessee, partly in the sun and partly in shade. I talked to a local landscaping company who recommended one of the following: Manhattan Euonymus I'm leaning towards Manhattan at the…
Jon Zane
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Does Dawn dishwashing detergent kill plants (shrubs & flowers)?

Yesterday I was talking to my neighbor, and he was telling me he was cleaning the trim on his house with Dawn (dishwashing detergent used in the US) mixed in water. I thought I read somewhere that Dawn can damage or kill plants. Is this true? I was…
danludwig
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Best practices to grow haskap bush: Lonicera caerulea edulis

This honeysuckle with edible fruit is being sold by retailers in my area as the new best thing. After researching them I planted three varieties to get good cross pollination. What experience have people had growing them? Do they perform as…
kevinskio
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Rabbits ate the blueberry shrubs I planted right down to the ground. Will the shrubs grow back?

I made the mistake of not setting up chicken wire and the rabbits ate these 24" bushes I just planted. All that remains are 1-2 little twigs, stripped of all the branches and leaves. Will these plants grow back in spring?
Luke Smith
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Bee-attracting tall shrub with cones of tiny cream-white flowers in Colorado?

We live at 7000 feet and have a volunteer shrub that is over 6 feet tall. The flowers are about 1/4"-3/8"; cream/white colored; with 5 wee petals and a pale yellow, spikey center. Also, the flowers are clumped in cones of about 8 rows. The flowers…
RJo
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Can I mulch a plant bed before planting in it?

Can I mulch a plant bed before I plant in it? Can I just clear out the mulch at the spot where I want to plant shrubs later on? I am planning to grow shrubs and ornamental grass.
anset
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Variegated Arboricola shrubs leaves wilting

What can I do to help this Variegated Arboricola to grow healthy and stop wilting? I am in Southern Florida. I was spraying my lawn with Ortho® Weed B Gon® Weed Killer For Lawns Ready-To-Spray2 which is near these plants. Prior to the…
Ryan Gates
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How can I save Yew bush branches severely bent by snow and ice?

It's been snowing on these Yew bushes for the past three months of this harsh Massachusetts winter. With regular gentle cleaning, they've been doing fine. After last week's snow it warmed up a bit, and the snow began to melt, so we left them alone.…
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My long stemmed rose is growing new leaves

I had a long stemmed rose in a bouquet of flowers. The head had died so I went to discard the stem, only to notice new leaves were shooting out of it in 3 different places. I left the stem in the vase of water and came here to find out what to do…
user9775
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Is this deciduous shrub with leathery green leaves in Northern England, some sort of cotoneaster?

Our garden in the North of England was full of these when we moved in. It grows a lot vertically, never seems to flower, is deciduous, and has leathery green leaves. Been trying to work out what it is for a while with no luck. Photos:
Matt Roberts
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Should I seal the wounds where limbs were removed on a crape myrtle?

I have a crape myrtle that I attempted to transplant last spring. Unfortunately, it didn't do so well (I damaged more of the roots than I intended), and while it did leaf out last year, after a long cold winter I thought for sure it was dead. But,…
Josh
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How do I make Emerald Green Arborvitae grow as fast as biologically possible?

I'm buying a bunch of these babies below to create a privacy screen in my backyard. I'm getting young ones and want them to grow as fast as I can make them grow. Is there anything I can do to make them grow extraordinarily fast?
Kirk Ouimet
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