I've tried talking hubby into trying other ninebarks but he's got his heart set on having another Coppertina. I like Diablo and Center Glow.

This is a close up of the flowers of Coppertina with a visitor.

Calycanthus Venus is now in bloom. This has the nicest flowers but I'm not happy with the form. I don't know if it is because it being a synocalycanthus or because I have it in more shade than the others. It's very horizontal.

Coppertina is beautiful in bloom! OMG, I can't wait to see mine look like that!

I know what you mean about shaping them, seems quite a few blooming shrubs behave that way.

The horizontal form of Venus sounds interesting, does it have a bonsai look?

It's not an attractive form at all to Venus. Maybe I just need to prune it? I don't know. But the form is very different from my other calycanthus---and I've never had to prune the other calycanthus. Compare the whole plant pic of Michael Lindsey to this whole plant pic of Venus. They were all planted the same year (2007). This pic was taken earlier today.

I see what you mean, but it sure does show its blooms off nicely. Looks like it would be well suited to spill over a wall or terrace. May also be nice in a large container.

Yeah, I like the blooms. They have a soft, sweet fragrance and it blooms off and on all year. The autumn leaf color is a nice yellow. It would need a large container---it's supposed to be about an 8 X 8 shrub.

How old does Coppertina have to be to get blooms? Mine, from Polly is pretty big, but hasn't bloomed yet.

My favorite shrub is Hydrangea Pinky Winky. It's just beautiful. My quilting friend moved away and when I visited her she took my picture with this lovely bush. I, of course, just oohd and aahd and she told me to dig up as many seedlings as I wanted as they would just mow over them with the lawn mower. I dug a bunch of them and carefully potted them up. They were so tiny. Three years later I discovered that I'd dug up a bunch of pink .weigela. Haven't bloomed yet but they're pretty good size plants. Gotta love that Miracle Gro.

It should bloom next year, Mittsy, they don't bloom too early.

Gotta love that MiracleGro!

And Polly, you know how I hate Miracle Grow Across the back of my big bed is all lined with shrubs. There are Ninebarks, Diablo and Coppertina, several lilacs, a Stachyurus Praecox, A number of Hydrangea, several Ribes, Kerria, Bottlebrush, Soboria, Viburnum, Buckeye and Weigela. There's usually always something in bloom back there. This winter none of the 3 Clethra survived. Bummer, they smelled so good and were such Butterfly magnets.

I've not been able to get any Calyanthus to take here. It must be too dry for them. I'm hoping that all of the Beautyberry makes it through this dry spell.

My plants are Miracle Gro'd to the nth degree.

I know some people don't like any man made fertilizers, but I use Miracle Gro heavily, especially on my irises.

I know you do. I was just teasin'. I really don't like to use it. It's too high in nutrients and interferes with the Mycorrhizza growth that is so critical especially to shrubs. I'll take less foliage and blooms to insure better root development and nutritional uptake. I need healthier plants to help them survive the voles chewing at their roots.

Stinkin voles!

Yeah, They think of my shrubs as their main course following bulbs for appetizers!!

Polly, do you get them in your sandy soil?

Oh, yeah.

I'm having acidity-envy. There are so many beautiful plants that like an acidic soil--and you have many of them.

I've never seen a vole. Not sure what one is. But I live in a city so perhaps they don't like city life much (I don't blame them. I'm not thrilled with it either).

Too funny Val.

Well, if you lived in the counrty you would know voles. The look just about like mice, like a field mouse. They use other animals tunnels, like the mole or gopher tunnels, and they love to eat young plants, or bulbs. They can wipe out a whole group of newly planted bulbs in no time.

Val, is your soil naturally alkaline?

Val, Have you checked the soil in different parts of your yard? Maybe you have some acidic spots. Count your blessings that you live in a vole free zone.

The testing that we've done shows slightly acidic but I know better. I'm probably reading the results wrong. The arborist at the nearby nursery thought it was odd too since he said that some areas around here have a PH of around 8. Leaves on some plants turn yellow but the veins are green. Ironite helps but not for long. Maybe our top soil is okay but when you go deeper, it turns into a slimy orange clay. This spring I was making orange balls out of it. It felt just like play-doh.

We've (read: hubby) double-dug and amended everything with a lot of compost and peat moss. But there's only so much that can be done.

I wonder if all of the alley cats in the neighborhood guard us from the voles and such.

Most likely. Alley cats are your friends. Val, Our acid lovers become chlorotic too after a good bit of rain. i use Ironite too, but that takes a while to break down and get absorbed by the plants. I give them an Iron foliar spray and they green up very quickly. They also benefit from a few sulphur treatments a year.