Workhorses of the garden provide both beauty and versatility. Consider the following mini and mighty shrubs if you’re looking to maximize landscape projects with personality, color and vibrancy.
Petite Knock Out® Rose
Petite Knock Out® Rose
The first-ever miniature shrub rose is fire-engine red and a petite version of its full-size cousin. At only 18 inches tall and wide at maturity, this beauty has abundant, continuous blooms through first frost. Dark green, glossy foliage provides contrast. Flowers are petite at about 1.5 inches in diameter. This mini shrub is perfect in mass plantings at the front of a border. Use it as thriller in the center of a container or solo as a specimen.
Petite Knock Out® Rose requires minimal to no fertilizer. If needed, use a balanced fertilizer or rose formulation. Carefully follow package directions and plant in moist soil to avoid burning roots. Deadhead roses to encourage rebloom throughout the growing season. Plant in full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 10. Cut the shrub back to 4 to 6 inches tall in late winter or early spring. In a container, it is ideal for overwintering.
Little Quick Fire® Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)
Little Quick Fire® Hydrangea
A small, compact version of the popular Quick Fire® Hydrangea, Little Quick Fire® Hydrangea blooms about one month earlier than other varieties. It produces white panicles in early summer that transform to pink and then red in late summer. This hydrangea is versatile as a border plant, in containers and in garden beds. Panicles make beautiful additions to cut and dried flower arrangements.
At maturity, Little Quick Fire® Hydrangea is about 60 inches tall and wide. It has an upright habit and blooms on new wood. Trim in early spring and apply a slow-release fertilizer. Soil pH does not affect panicle color. Plant in part to full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Tiny Tuff Stuff™ Hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata)
Tiny Tuff Stuff™ Hydrangea
Do not let the dainty appearance of Tiny Tuff Stuff™ Hydrangea fool you. This aptly named, prolific rebloomer produces buds all season. Buds open to elegant, double-sepaled lacecap flowers from early to late summer. Depending on soil, colors range in soft shades of blue, pink and white. Flowers are lavender-pink in most “typical” soils. Add aluminum sulfate to the soil to encourage blue flowers. More alkaline soil produces pink blooms.
Habit is mounded with blooms that nod slightly as they mature. Tiny Tuff Stuff™ Hydrangea blooms on new and old wood and attracts butterflies. It prefers well-drained soil. It is great as a border, specimen or landscape shrub. Mature height and width are 24 inches. Plant in part to full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9.
Pugster Pinker® Butterfly Bush (Buddleia x)
Pugster Pinker® Butterfly Bush
This miniature butterfly bush produces full-sized, fragrant flowers on a mounded habit. Mature size is 24 inches tall and 30 inches wide. Each bubblegum pink petal has a vibrant orange eye in its center. Flowers attract butterflies and beneficial pollinators. Thick, sturdy stems help this shrub stand up to Midwest winters.
Pugster Pinker® Butterfly Bush blooms from summer through fall on new wood and enjoys full sun. It is easy to maintain and has low watering needs. This butterfly bush grows well in average to poor soil but expects good drainage. It resists deer and rabbits. Use as a border, specimen or edging plant. Place in full sun. Best in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9.
Pugster Blue® Butterfly Bush (Buddleia x)
Pugster Blue® Butterfly Bush
The Pugster series continues with Pugster Blue® Butterfly Bush. With characteristics similar to its cousins, this specimen is unique for its hard-to-find, true-blue petals. It is winter-hardy in USDA Hardiness Zone 5 and thrives up to Zone 9.
Blooms are continuous from summer through fall. Pugster Blue® Butterfly Bush is drought tolerant, fragrant and attracts pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds. It does not require deadheading. It is easy to maintain and likes full sun.
Pugster Amethyst® Butterfly Bush
Pugster Amethyst® Butterfly Bush
Planting each Pugster butterfly bush in mass is sure to turn heads. Pugster Amethyst® Butterfly Bush is the newest jewel of the bunch and does not disappoint. Fragrant flowers with purple petals and yellow-orange centers bloom from early summer to frost. Foliage is deep green.
The Pugster series is so name because each shrub is short and cute. Pugster Amethyst® Butterfly Bush is easy to grow on new wood. It needs good drainage, but does well in average to poor soil. With multiple uses in the landscape, this butterfly bush is low maintenance and provides a pop of color in a sunny spot. It has no special water needs. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9.
Fire Light Tidbit® Panicle Hydrangea (Paniculata)
Fire Light Tidbit® Hydrangea
There is no other word to describe Fire Light Tidbit® Hydrangea than gorgeous. Big on personality, its huge, lush panicles of white mophead flowers bloom from early to late summer. Panicles nearly cover its green, mounded habit and morph through the season from white to bright pink and then rich red as fall approaches. This miniature shrub is 36 inches tall and wide at maturity.
Stems are sturdy and upright. Fire Light Tidbit® Hydrangea blooms on new wood. It requires little maintenance and no deadheading. This hydrangea performs well in average soil with good drainage. It likes part to full sun. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Our mini and mighty flowering shrubs are grown for Midwest landscapes. See Loma Vista Nursery’s plant catalog for more information.
Learn More About Plants from Loma Vista Nursery!
Loma Vista Nursery’s staff members are experts in the field. We love helping people learn and understand more about healthy plants that perform well in Midwest landscapes. Feel free to email us at sales@lomavistanursery.com. Call us at (785) 229-7200 to get help with your plant-related questions.
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