Under planting an Amelanchier Lamarckii

Hi everyone,

I’m now turning my attention to the design of a small rectangular border which has a multistem Amelanchier Lamarckii in the centre. It’s small at the moment but will grow in time. I’m looking to underplant the tree with plants that compliment it and the other planting in the garden. The border is in a sunny spot but will benefit from light shade once the tree is established.

I’ve had a look online for ideas and had a first stab (see photos). It’s not filling me with joy at the moment though. In the design at present is Salvia Nemerosa Caradonna, Yarrow, Nepeta Walkers Low, Brunerra Macrophylla Jack Frost, Myostis, Hakonechloa Macra.

Decent improved top soil on light clay. Slightly acidic.

I do love grasses so maybe it needs some more height with some grass?

Any ideas/criticism/help welcomed.

many thanks,

Ed

 

It looks very pretty, but I think if it were mine, I’d go for fewer plants to prevent it looking “bitty”. If you choose things with a long season, you could still have yr round interest. I don’t think your choices are lacking height. You don’t want to take away from the central feature.

How big is the bed the tree is in?

 

A young tree will need lots of water while it is getting established so I would keep planting to a minimum, perhaps one plant repeated in each of the four corners of the bed. Nepeta is a good option, maybe a more compact variety like Purrsian Blue or Cats Pajamas, terrible names but nice plants!

 

I agree with @ViewAhead. I too think it would benefit from stripping back. Some of the plants listed can grow to quite a substantial size as well. @Plantminded is right as well. I think having too many plants will indeed make it more difficult to keep the tree happy, and amelanchiers I believe don't like to dry too much, or they get powdery mildew.

I would also consider stripping back the range of colours. For instance, it seems that the yarrow you have chosen has terracotta blooms, which to me clashes a little with those of the salvia caradonna. I would maybe choose 2 colours max and focus on variants of them.

Finally, I am a bit confused about the amount of sun - salvias for instance like full sun, but brunnera are mostly a shade plant. I suspect the spot might end up being sunnier than you think.

 

Ok thanks for your comments I’ll have a think about things with a long season. The bed is 1.9m x 1.45m

Many thanks,

Ed

 

Ok I will look at stripping it back a little. With the Yarrow, I can’t remember which version I opted for. Will have a look on the planting planner in a bit. I think the actual variant I select was more orange as I was going for contrast with the purple. Maybe a more subtle palette would work better.

I too think it will be a sunny spot especially in the early years. I understand the Amelanchier is quite open too so even when established it’ll get quite a lot of sun. I will revisit this.
Many thanks for the suggestions.

 

I like orange and purple together. I don’t think the tree with cast a lot of shade, but, as has been pointed out, there will be moisture competition between it and the underplanting. 2m x 1.5m is a nice size, but it will fill out quickly. It’s amazing how plants “expand”. You could try putting in a framework of the perennials you like and filling in the gaps between these with annuals for a couple of yrs. That will avoid the tendency to overcrowd the permanent plants initially.

 

I also like the combination of orange and purple. Your bed is bigger than it looked in your visuals and @ViewAhead has given you good advice, it’s always a temptation to overplant a new border . Consider each plant’s height and spread in your plan. Once purchased, place them in the border still in their pots, moving them around until you are happy with the layout. If you get it wrong, most perennials are amenable and can be easily moved or placed elsewhere if your space fills too quickly. I would still leave a good circle of bare earth below the Amelanchier to ensure that it gets enough water without competing with the other plants.

 

Great idea. Yes I did read somewhere (think in Adam Frost's book) that he likes to do this too. I think I will do something likes this.. Now to choose some annuals...

 

Yes I suppose it can be deceiving looking at the plan without a scale. I've tried to scale all the plants to actual size so the plan should show ultimate plant size. I have sized them all to the mean height/spread as shown on the RHS website. So if it says 0.1m - 0.5m I size to 0.3m. So I guess they could grow bigger than depicted which is why leaving a bit of space and time fo them to grow is a good idea.

 

Lobelia is a very good annual and there are lots of purple ones. It forms a little mound, flowers for yonks, and doesn’t need deadheading. Plus, it is happy to be shaded by neighbouring plants and slugs tend to leave it alone.

 

Awesome, I will have a look into that.

 

Maybe something like this to replace the Brunnera....

Lobelia Fan Deep Rose | lobelia &s;Fan Orchidrosa&s; Annual Biennial/RHS.

I do like this one but it may be too high.
Lobelia × speciosa &s;Pink Flamingo&s; | lobelia &s;Pink Flamingo&s; Herbaceous Perennial/RHS

E

 

Could do. Those are more perennial types though and, I believe, like a fair amount of water. I was thinking more the annuals in the Erinus group. These grow to about 15 cms tall. You won’t find them on sale till April or May usually, though some ebay sellers take pre-orders. If you get them before the last frosts are over, you will have to keep them sheltered under cover. They can’t manage anything below about 5 degrees.

 

Having a bit of a rethink with the underplanting. I'd like to keep the centres of the rectangle lower level - say up to 45cm high and have higher plants in the corners. I'm happy with the Salvia and Nepeta in the corners and thinking about Hakonechloa in the in between on two opposing edges but trying to come up with something on the other two sides (see areas indicated in yellow in the pic) I was thinking about low ish pinky/white Geranium. Can anyone recommend anything?

Thanks
E