Looking for more foliage color in part shade? Love the idea of using native plants when possible? Are you a sucker for fall color? Have I got a shrub for you. I planted Fothergilla ‘Blue Shadow’ four years ago as small plants just one foot high and three stems wide. Every year this plant gets more spectacular. The white bottle-brush flowers are beautiful in early spring and the blue foliage is almost iridescent in the summer. The blue-gray foliage is especially lovely next to a red leaf maple and dark green Rhododendron foliage. But in the fall…wow. Blues, purples, reds, yellows and green all at the same time.
My plants are just over three feet high and wide after four years of growth. Last year I gave some of the branches a heading cut to stimulate bushiness, but otherwise they have required no pruning. My understanding is that this cultivar will grow to at least 6′ tall. I can hardly wait.
