Small Gardens are Crying for Vertical Plants

by Nina Koziol

plantbreeders are creating smaller shrubs, trees, and even tinier annuals? That’s because everyone seems to be talking about “small” gardens these days.

Forget those big, beefy perennial borders of years past. Baby boomers are downsizing and don’t have the energy to garden on big lots. And those in the 18 to 34 year age group either don’t have the time or the interest in maintaining large gardens. They’re more likely to grow trendy houseplants, and pots of herbs or tropicals on a patio or deck. As a result, breeders and nurseries are practically flooding the market with Lilliputian plants.

We can now get petite Knock Out roses, compact PJM rhododendrons, Tiny Tuff Stuff® mountain hydrangea (18” wide by 2 feet tall), Kelsey’s Dwarf Red-Osier Dogwood (30” tall and wide), itsy-bitsy annuals like the 6-inch-tall Brainiac celosia, which has a blossom the size of a cauliflower, and Kitchen Minis—super compact tomato and pepper plants sold in 4- and 8-inch pots intended for growing indoors or outside!

Compact, dwarf, short—they’re all marketing buzzwords to attract those gardening in or designing for small spaces. But must everything be rounded, mounded blobs just because space may be at a premium?

“Gardens are getting smaller— they’re not getting shorter,” says plantsman Tony Avent, owner of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, N.C. “There’s a time and a place for short plants but we need height!”

You’ve no doubt encountered tight spaces—narrow walkways, foundation beds, confining spots along fences and garages, and little borders in urban back yards. They warrant something that makes a statement without overgrowing the space. That’s where vertical plants and vines come in to play.

Living Large by Growing Tall

Many new varieties of woodies have been developed for limited, narrow spaces. Columnar trees—slender but tall—are useful in confined areas. Some examples include Dawyk’s purple beech, columnar English oak, and Green Giant arborvitae. Susie Eyre of the former Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery used an espalier of Rohanii purple beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Rohanii’) in a narrow bed for one client. “It makes a beautiful statement against the wall,” she said.

Some plants have the word “fastigiate” in their name or description, which simply means tall and thin. Fastigiate plants add a very desirable vertical line to the landscape. Besides working as a screen, they can be used as a single specimen plant to provide a visual pop in the garden.

Here are some favorite woodies for smaller spaces suggested by Todd Jacobson, head of landscape horticulture at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “You can see all of these plants at the Arboretum,” he said. (Check mortonarb. org to see current visitation requirements.) Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’

Slender Silhouette sweet gum is a beanpole of a tree, growing about 45 feet tall but only 6 to 8 feet wide at the base. It creates a dramatic towering effect and adds an exclamation point to the landscape. Star-shaped glossy leaves turn a dramatic orange-red in fall.

Parrotia persica ‘Vanessa’ Persian ironwood

This tree’s multi-season appeal starts in spring when the attractive mottled bark is highlighted by small red spidery flowers. The new growth has scalloped leaves with burgundy edges. By summer, the foliage is a bright green, taking on stunning shades of red, purple, orange and gold in fall. This vase-shaped cultivar reaches 30 feet high by about 15 feet wide.

Carpinus caroliniana ‘J. N. Upright’ Firespire muscle wood

This cultivar of American hornbeam grows about 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It was selected for its unique shape and improved red-orange fall color. With its slow growth rate and dense canopy, it shines as a small-stature screening plant. It thrives in full sun to full shade and has a variety of landscape applications, from specimen to shrub borders. Its upright habit is especially useful to frame a building or a view.

Nyssa sylvatica ‘WFH1’ Tupelo Tower

At 30 to 40 feet tall and 15 to 20 feet wide, this native cultivar produces outstanding shades of scarlet, orange and yellow in fall. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

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Chionanthus retusus ‘Tokyo Tower’

Cascades of white, thinly petaled flowers appear on this very upright selection of the Chinese fringe tree. Upon maturity, the fruit turns blue, providing a nice contrast with the golden-yellow fall foliage. With age, the bark starts to exfoliate, revealing tan and gold colors. It reaches about 15 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Although Tokyo Tower is listed as zone 6 on many web sites, it grows at the The Morton Arboretum and is sold by Illinois nurseries.

Thuja occidentalis ‘American Pillar’

This arborvitae is touted as highly resistant to wind and ice damage because of its strong root system. It grows 4 to 5 feet wide and 25 to 30 feet tall at maturity. Its tall, narrow and dense shape makes it a good specimen plant or massed as a living hedge.

Thuja occidentals ‘North Pole’

Touted by growers as resisting winter burn, this arborvitae reaches 10 to 15 feet tall and 5 feet wide. A narrow columnar selection of ‘Wintergreen’, North Pole has excellent hardiness and dark green winter foliage. Suitable for narrow sites as a specimen or screen.

Vines

Perennial vines can scramble up a porch, an obelisk, trellis, fence or arbor. “I use climbing hydrangeas, but I’ve found they grow irritatingly slow,” says landscape architect Bailey Hoines of Bret-Mar Landscaping. But once they’re established, climbing hydrangeas (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris) produce fast-growing cinnamon-colored woody stems covered with lightly fragrant flowers. Jill Selinger, manager of education at the Chicago Botanic Garden recommends clematis vines, which are typically underused but offer a bounty of colors. Here are some of her favorites.

Clematis ‘Roguchi’

Clematis ‘Roguchi’ (sometimes spelled ‘Rooguchi’ or ‘Rouguchi’) is a shortgrowing vine spreading 6 to 8 feet. The indigo-blue to plum-colored bell-shaped flowers nod on black stems and provide a long season of bloom. It can be grown on a trellis or allowed to meander through a tall, narrow shrub.

Clematis ‘Arabella’

Another bush-type clematis, this moderate grower reaches 3 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide with training. Suitable for a trellis in a narrow border.

Clematis viticella

The viticella group includes easy to grow, strong vines with many colorful cultivars including stunners such as Etoile Violette, Polish Spirit, Abundance, Blue Angel, Prince Charles and Wisley. Bred in 1885, Etoile Violette offers masses of small, nodding dark violet flowers up to 4 inches wide with profuse flowering over a long period. Clematis texensis

Native to Texas and commonly called scarlet or Texas clematis, this vine flowers on new growth. It can reach 10 to 15 feet long, suitable for covering a fence or scrambling across the rails of a porch or deck. The bell-shaped, reddish-orange to scarlet flowers bloom from early summer to frost. Passiflora incarnata Maypop, Passion Flower

Purple passion flower is a perennial vine with intricate, unusual flowers. “I find them remarkably hardy for looking so tropical,” Selinger said. It has 2 to 3 inch white, pink, and purple flowers in mid- to late-summer. It spreads by root suckers—so having it contained between a building and sidewalk would be a good idea. It’s also a host plant for the variegated fritillary butterfly.

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