Deutzia Chardonnay Pearls

End of the day distractions yesterday (Tuesday) caused me to forget to post this blog!  I had loaded the photos of this wonderful shrub and simply "spaced out".  The shrub is Chardonnay Pearls slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan') which we have found to be an excellent performer in the full sun landscape.  This shrub is in the hydrangea family and is native to Japan and portions of Asia.  The golden/chartreuse foliage is eye catching (and brightest in full sun) and the tight, white, spring buds ("pearls") open to some showy flowers in late May.  We have used this shrub in some tough locations and it has done well with a mature size of roughly 3' tall by 3' wide.  The flowers last about 2 weeks and are lightly fragrant.  Full sun locations will result in more flowers.  While drought tolerant (and deer resistant), this shrub does prefer more moisture as prolonged dry periods may result in some leaf burn in full sun.  Light shearing is easily accomplished after flowering and consider the value of this selection as a replacement for the ubiquitous Japanese spireas and potentillas that continue to dot the Midwest landscape.  Late season fall color (November) can also be spectacular as seen further below. 

Both today and yesterday saw plenty of action both at the Horticulture Center and out in the gardens.  Warm weather and temperatures around 60 degrees F have caused all of us to think about spring.  However, the last remnants of the Holiday Light Show (HLS) still linger out in the gardens and both Big John and Larry H. have been committed to finishing this monumental task. Yesterday we also saw Janice, Gary, Vern, Bill O. and members of our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee (Maury, Hal, Big John, Iza, Christy, Larry, Gary and Ron).  We also saw many others.  Today was busy as well with Alan M. and Bill O. heading in to the gardens for various tasks.  John and Larry continued with their HLS "kung fu".  Ron P. repaired more lights from the HLS prior to storage.  Kay was in to staple lots of handouts for me including some for the upcoming Plantaholics Retreat which is our Spring Symposium on March 19th.  It's not too late to sign up!  Check out www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org for more information on this event.  Myrt, Nancy and Gena did some painting and we also saw Barb C.,  Bev D., Karen B., Dr. Gredler, Maury and many others today.