Bring on the color!
Blue, pink, yellow, violet… who can get enough color after a long winter?
Listed below are a few of our favorite spring bloomers that are reliable and generally low maintenance for our zone 5 landscapes.
For best results, plant in early spring while the weather is cool and the rain is plentiful. Happy gardening in 2023!
Hydrangea ‘Nantucket Blue’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘GRENAN’): Add elegance to your garden or container with the showy clouds of sky-blue blossoms and large, green leaves of this favored shrub.
Spring Savings Sale: May 1 – 31… $39.99, reg. $59.99 (3-Gallon)
Light: Prefers morning sunlight and afternoon shade. Plant shrubs on east or north side of home.
Soil: Moist, well drained
Blooms: With the Big Leaf (macrophylla) hydrangea varieties, you’ll see blue flowers in acidic soil and pink flowers in alkaline soil. (Soil pH affects the flower color of most cultivars except white (blue in highly acidic soils and lilac to pink in slightly acidic to alkaline soils. Add aluminum sulfate to the soil to make the flowers bluer or add lime to the soil to make the flowers pinker. Begin soil treatments before flowering…in late autumn or early spring. Follow instructions on package for best results.)
Size: Shrubs mature to 4-6′ wide and tall.
Why we like it:
• Incredible blue flowers that bloom from early summer through fall. If flowers are pink, you can change them to blue at https://www.pasquesi.com/trees-shrubs/faq-changing-color-of-hydrangeas
• Beautiful in mass plantings, containers or used as hedges… just like those surrounding the homes on Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket.
• Lots of flower power with not very much maintenance.
Azalea ‘Karen’ (Rhododendron x ‘Karen’): Azaleas light up a spring landscape like no other! Electric pink/violet flowers cover the bright green, evergreen leaves when in full bloom. These shrubs thrive in a woodland setting–under a canopy of trees. Surprise Sale: May 1 – 31… $49.99, reg. $59.99 (3 Gallon)
Light: Partial, filtered sun
Water: Medium moisture
Soil: Needs fast draining acidic soil
Blooms: Early spring
Size: 3-5′ wide x 2-4′ tall, when mature
Why we like it:
• Stunning color in groupings
• Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.
• A cold hardy and dependable azalea for our zone 5
Forsythia ‘Show Off’: Nothing beats a generous hedge of vibrant yellow flowers in early spring! ‘Show Off’ is a compact forsythia shrub and matures to 60-72″ wide and tall. SOLD OUT
Light: Full sun to part sun
Water: Adapts to many types of soil with moderate moisture.
Soil: Needs fast draining acidic soil
Blooms: Early spring when daffodils are blooming
Size: 60-72″ wide and tall
Why we like it:
• Love this compact variety
• Preferred flower display over older varieties
• Deer resistant
• Long budding stems are beautiful in a vase, too.
Magnolia ‘Ann’… Magnolia ‘Ann‘ is a slow-growing deciduous shrub or small tree that blooms with slightly fragrant, reddish-purple flowers in mid- to late- spring. Perfect choice for smaller gardens. SOLD OUT
Light: Full sun to part sun
Water: Once established, water deeply when dry.
Soil: Organically rich but well drained soils
Blooms: Fragrant, 3-4″ flowers that are reddish-purple on outside and white inside. Blooms in early spring, before the leaves bud out.
Size: Slow growing. Matures to 10-12′ tall and 12′ wide. Use as single tree specimen or mix it in with evergreen shrubs to add more color in spring.
Why we like it:
• Use as a dramatic, flowering shrub/small tree for lawns, foundation plantings, shrub borders, in a woodland setting, or as an informal hedge.
• Blooms 2-4 weeks later than the Star Magnolia, thereby reducing potential damage to flowers from late spring frosts.
• Perfect for city and cottage gardens.
Rhododendron Roseum Elegans: A vigorous, medium-sized evergreen shrub that is valued for its large trumpets of rose-lilac flowers. This Rhodo thrives in cooler areas and benefits from protection from harsh, winter winds. SOLD OUT
Light: Grows best in slight shade, including the north side of house.
Water: Since rhododendrons are shallow-rooted plants, they need to be watered twice per week during the first growing season. Once established, water during dry periods (2 to 3 weeks without rain).
Soil: Prefers acid soils, even growing under large conifers.
Blooms: Late spring… after witch hazel shrubs and before lilacs.
Size: Grows moderately… 6-8′ wide and tall.
Why we like it:
• Large rose-lilac flowers cover shrub in zones 4-8.
• The moderate size is ideal for narrow side yards in the city or next to fences.
• Foliage stays evergreen during the worst of winter months.
• Grows well in light shade.
• Use in foundation plantings, or in front of taller, shade-loving shrubs.
Korean or Meyer Lilac (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’): The sage-green foliage blends well with panicles of pale pink/lavender flowers. This shrub is ideal for a sunny, ornamental shrub border. Compact and slow growing, it’s suitable for smaller gardens or try in containers.
Light: Full sun
Water: Does best in moist, well-drained soils.
Soil: Prefers a well-drained soil. Mulch annually in spring with well-rotted compost or manure.
Blooms: Pale pink flowers with panicles up to 4″ long will cover this shrub in late April or early May.
Size: 4-5′ tall and 5-7′ wide. Or, up to 8′ in tree form.
Why we like it:
• Compact, round habit with full-size, fragrant flowers
• Plant as an interesting choice as foundation plantings, low hedges or use as a single tree form.
• Flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
• Deer- and drought-resistant
