Replacing dead Hebes. What shrubs are hardy but small enough for front of a border?

[user1471530109]

I have googled this! But I'm getting Hebe come back in the search and others I'm not familiar with.

I've lost so many plants this year. 2 ceanothus, 4 Hebes (there is a speckling of a few green leaves but I've never seen my evergreen globe Hebes look like a brown mass of dead twigs) and a star jasmine.

I need to dig out the Hebes. They are very prominent and look awful. They must have been in the garden close to 20years as way before my time and the previous owners were in no state to garden in the last few years. They are right at the front of the borders. One a bit big for the space as getting close to 1m high. Any ideas what I can replace with? I'd want some colour. Not necessarily all the same shrub. Ideally evergreen, but not essential. Most importantly, needs to be hardy. We had -15 here for a week or more!

Also, why do my crocosmia never make it past a year? What am I doing wrong?

I appreciate your help. Hoping to go to garden centre later and all a bit new to gardening still 💐

But what's wrong with new Hebes?

I got so euonymous, will that work?

My erysimum Bowles Mauve cannot be killed. It’s evergreen and flowers for about 9 months. Just needs a tidy up after flowering. My hebe in the same space died this winter.
heuchera might be an option if you want something smaller and comes in lots of colours.

@SpringBunnies I don't want to have to replace again if the very cold winters become more common? These were v well established plants. Not newbies.

I'm going to Google euonymous, erysimum Bowles Mauve and heuchera. I've never heard of them! I've only been gardening for a few years. Thank you both

My garden is full of euonymous! Who knew! 😂! Thanks @SpringBunnies .

I love the erysimum @Mangomingo so thank you.

Erysimum Bowles Mauve is a short lived perennial so won't be a replacement of hebes. I live on the south coast so very different climate. However, I had some Hebes died this year but they have hardiness rating of H4. Have you google yours online? When replacing my dead plants this year, I used my phone at the garden center and looked at the RHS website. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/trials-awards/award-of-garden-merit/rhs-hardiness-rating

It sounds like you need H6 and H7.

I'm replacing with skimmia and sweet box. They are in the shades and these are shade loving plants. Heuchera likes shade too, so do check your direction too.

I am a garden designer. There’s no way I am only planting things which survive -15. It was a fluke year.

Sure if the next year we have the same I am going to get nervous. And year after well I will have to change what we do drastically. But for now it’s just one of those gardening things. Just get what you like and don’t worry about the -15 issue. Could be another 20years until we have that again.

I'm in the SW and my Hebe died too and it definitely wasn't -15. I had an established cordyline and one of those big spiky plants too (the sort without a trunk, can't remember the name..) which also died. I think it was the combination of hugely hot summer then a long cold week?

Thank you. Yes, I've never lost plants before, especially en masse! I hadn't considered the v hot summer. The jasmine didn't look happy all year so that one was unexpected. I hadn't spoofed anything amiss with the others.

What's your thoughts on weigela?

I have already replaced like for like with the ceanothus as I just love them.

My Bowles Mauve has been alive at least 7 years 🤷‍♀️

Potentilla
Cotoneaster
Euonymus.

All are really hardy, potentilla comes with white, yellow, orange or red flowers, cotoneasters have small flowers then loads of berries, and euonymus is variegated, and comes in a variety of green, cream, yellow or white leaves.

Pittosporum is a very reliable hardy shrub. Several lovely colours too.

The lower the hardiness zone number, the hardier they are., and Zone 6 would normally be fine in a British winter, but can kick the bucket if it gets below -10.

Zone 7 you are pushing your luck in all but the mildest areas.

I had wigelea wine and roses and I don't like it. The leaves are very dark and doesn't show up against the mini bark. You might have light coloured soil or a lot of light green leaves around it however.

Ok. So I went crazy yesterday and bought loads. Mostly very young plants so I'm wondering if it's best to pot them in a bit before planting out...

Clematis Montana Alba (I know it's a thug) to replace the star jasmine. I have a bare trellis across the whole back border in lieu of a fence. So the quicker it covers it the better.

A magnolia....I know! I love them though but struggling to know where to put it. I have an overgrown shrub mixed of a conifer, euonymous and various other things that have combined together to form a 2m by 2m mess. The thought of digging that up fills me with dread, but the magnolia would be lovely there 😄.

Various small perennials. Including the Bowles Mauve, tulips and some fuchsias.

A viburnum tinus.

A white rose bush.

A dwarf buddleia

A fig tree 😂.

A bamboo to put in a large pot I already have to go next to another one.

And another smaller clematis and an obelisk.

I've gone over board! Like I said, all young plants so we're cheap. But now I'm thinking not to plant them until the frost has gone. Exception of tulips.

Any other tips?

Look at your weather forecast? It's going to be very warm from tomorrow. But I'm down south and have been planting out gradually to replace dead plants since mid March.

I just checked on the metoffice website and Aberdeen has a low of 5C for all of next week? We are mid april already and the forecast is for up to 20/4. Do you get frost after April?

Watching this with interest as I'm in Aberdeenshire. I believe our last frost date is end May, which I am largely ignoring. (Beechgrove planted their tatties this week so I've planted my first lot too... Despite someone recently telling me that they wait til June for first earlies up here which is bonkers).

I'm avoiding planting out my new Nemesia which I bought as perennials and then the internet told me they weren't frost hardy... Not ideal!

Stupid question but if you are watching a forecast for frost do you only watch for 0 and below. I'd been working on 2 and below... Should I be more or less cautious?

Yes, we don't often get frosts after April. I've just checked and I'm just about past the last frost date. I've no idea @Muststopeating. I'm nowhere near Scotland though so maybe I'm the one that is being over cautious!

Does that mean you'd plant the young plants out? Not pot them on and leave in the greenhouse until bigger?

I think I may have lost another plant. A big fuchsia shrub in the front garden. It is all twigs and no new shoots. Shouldn't it have started sprouting?

two of my fuchsias have started to sprout but the others haven’t. I’m in Wales. I have a huge fuchsia bush which always sprouts new shoots around mid summer and looks glorious September/October time.

@user1471530109 last frost date here is 20 April and I never follow that! I don’t have a greenhouse and I plant everything out I bought from garden centers as soon as I find the time. I don’t however do it until mid March.

For the fuchsia I would wait until late May. It might still be alive.

Mine wasn’t reliable at all, it died this year, apparently they are not particularly hardy, I was gutted it was really lovely.

Nandina seem to have survived in my garden and are evergreen, lots of varieties to choose from.

Update to my earlier query... It was 2C here last night but with clear skies and we had a hard frost, so doesn't need to be 0C

Glad I didn't plant out my Nemesia... But they are going out today because I'll never remember to pop them in a shed each night. Fingers crossed the warmer forecast is right cos they are so pretty.

Hope my tatties are okay!