Shrub Suggestions Required

I have a Rosa Rugosa which keeps popping up everywhere and it's driving me to distraction. I've only been keeping it because the bees adore it but this year, enough is enough. I need a shrub to replace it that has white/cream flowers, with a height of 150-200cm that doesn't get too wide altogether. I really want something that the bees will love just as much as the Rugosa otherwise I shall feel like a terrible person for removing it. It's east facing and this is a photo of the space it will be going.



Please pretend the dying tulip foliage isn't there

 

How about a Lavatera?

"The large bushy plants bear masses of huge white, trumpet-shaped flowers, which are extremely attractive to bees."

Lavatera trimestris 'Mont Blanc'

 

I just bought Lavatera Burgundy wine, £3 from Morrisons I didn't check if they have white/ cream ones.

 

Ooh, I want a Lavatera for my front garden so will have to check next time I'm there.

 

@Februarysgirl , would a Pyracantha that you could train to size on the fence suit that spot?
Our NDN's one on the boundary was absolutely smothered in white flowers a week or so ago and the bees really liked it.

It is spiny though!

 

Have a look at Exochorda "The Bride" and Choisya "Aztec Pearl".

 

Everything will also grow outwards as well as 'sideways', so is that a problem?
Deutzia is another good shrub, as is Philadelphus - especially the smaller ones.
I'd also echo Pyracantha. Mine is in full flow just now, and provides the 'seating area' for all the sparrows and their youngsters. Always a great shrub, and can be pruned in all sorts of ways. Mine are allowed to grow as much as it likes, as they're also on the boundary fence.

 

I like pyracantha and the red berried cultivars are appreciated by the birds as well as the bees. So would agree with the others on that. The only downside is they are very spike.

Fuchsia Hawkshead might be an option and you can easily train it to fit the area and the bees like it.

Weigela might works and there are new cultivars which I think they call "tower" which are more upright and colomnar. I don't know if there is a white available though, but a pinky apple blossom and red cultivar are.

 

I have a white Weigela [forgot about that!] but they tend to have quite a lax habit. However, I've pruned mine over the last few years, and it's now more upright.
My Pyracanthas are all orange berried, although I have a more upright red one in the front garden, and the birds love them.

 

@Escarpment I've had Lavateras in the past but to be honest, they never seemed to generate much interest from the bees. I'm wanting something to cover the fence so 1m is not really tall enough.

@lizzie27 Don't know why, but I've never been wild about pyracantha and I'm not a fan of spiny!

@Busy-Lizzie The maximum spread of the Exochorda is a bit more than I'd like and the Choysia only flowers in May. Really, I think I need something to take over from the spring bulbs.

@fairygirl Deutzia looks like a possibility, although for that position, I'd prefer it was longer flowering. I already have a couple of Philadelphus so don't really want a third!

@Thevictorian I have Fuchsia Hawkshead and it wouldn't have enough height for the position I need. The flowers look like something you'd see in a magical forest style garden and if it were taller, I'd be sorely tempted to rip out every one of my shrubs and replace them with it. No tower Weigela in white it seems. I did have Middendorffiana but it never really worked for me.

I've had a look and found a Hydrangea that might fit the bill but I'm not going to be replacing the Rosa Rugosa until the autumn so have a few months to mull it all over.

 

I don't grow roses, although they do well in this part of the world, but could you try a rose on an obelisk, or something similar?
You'd need to ensure enough moisture for most Hydrangeas to thrive. They also get pretty wide, although there are some smaller ones, but you'd also have lower height with those. I'm not sure that's the best choice for the narrowness of the space.

 

I was also thinking about suggesting a different rose but then thought that rose replant disease may need to be considered. There's lots of open flowered bee friendly roses. You may find something suitable here:

Bee Friendly Roses | Pollinator Roses | Style Roses

 

@fairygirl I've already got an obelisk just to right of the rose which has a honeysuckle on it which I'm also getting rid of. I'm going to be growing sweet peas and Thunbergia on that.

I'm thinking of this Hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata Great Star PBR as it grows to about the size I need. It's the same height and spread as the Buzz Ivory Buddleia I have at the other end of the bed. Well, the official height. Buzz Ivory is only supposed to grow up to 1.5 metres but it's at least a foot higher than my fence! I'm not going to be pulling up the rose until it's finished its usefulness for the year, so I still have a good few months to make a decision.

@Plantminded I was also wondering about whether or not it was a good idea to plant another rose there. I don't know anything much about them but I did read somewhere that you're not supposed to plant a new rose in the same location of an old one.

 

This is a useful link @Februarysgirl:

Can I plant a new rose in the same place and soil as one I have just taken out? – Larch Cottage Nurseries

 

It's always the way @Februarysgirl - info on any plant isn't 100% accurate because there are too many factors which affect them.
I think that's something else that all these TV shows should be making people aware of. For example - @Plantminded, you have sandy soil whereas mine is heavy, cold clay. Heights and widths of any plant are affected by that, and also because of length of season and light. It's why I mentioned about bigger grasses being tricky here, because our weather when they're in their flowering season is too irregular.
The timing of anything coming into growth, and the weather/temps, and other planting at that point, are also huge factors. Our springs are much colder/wetter than many areas, so clematis struggle. This is the first spring many of mine have thrived. I'm now planting them [ Group 2s and 3s] in containers because of it. The slugs have been deterred because of the long dry spring, which also helps.