Extension Communications
Extension 4-H Youth Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3630
(515) 294-9915
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Extension Communications |
11/18/04
Contacts:
Jennifer Nunez, Reiman Gardens, (515) 294-2710, jgn@iastate.edu
Jean McGuire, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-7033,
jmcguire@iastate.edu
Reiman's Pick for the week of Nov. 15, 2004
Mt. Airy Fothergilla: A Shrub for Late Fall Color
By Jennifer Nunez
Reiman Gardens
Iowa State University
If you're a gardener who tries to stretch the growing season year-round with
colors and shapes, then consider adding large fothergilla (Fothergilla
major)
a round, multi-stemmed shrub to your yard. Large fothergilla boasts brilliant
yellow, orange, and red fall color in early November. Native to the Allegheny
Mountains, large fothergilla's habitat stretches from northern North Carolina
and Tennessee to northern Alabama, with its hardiness ranging from zones
4 to 8. Large fothergilla was introduced into nursery production in the
late
1800's for residential landscape use.
In 1988, a new cultivar of large fothergilla was selected from the Mt. Airy
Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio and named Mt. Airy fothergilla (Fothergilla
major 'Mt. Airy'). When compared to the native species, Mt. Airy fothergilla
has
greater multi-seasonal interest. In the fall, fothergilla exhibits vibrant
multicolored foliage in shades of yellow, orange and red. Large white flower
spikes with a sweet honey fragrance are born in late April and early May,
followed by heavily textured blue-green foliage in the summer.
Mt. Airy fothergilla is highly versatile and used in mixed borders, as a specimen, or in mass plantings. It has an upright slow growth habit with a mature height of 5 to 6 feet. Fothergilla prefers a location with partial to full sun and acidic, loamy, well-drained soil.
At Iowa State University's Reiman Gardens a grouping of three Mt. Airy fothergilla shrubs can be found in the northern border at the entrance of the Dunlap Courtyard, next to the Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center.
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Editors: A color photo, suitable for publication, is available at right. Click on the thumbnail photo to go to the fullsized photo. The picture's fullsize photo is 348K. Caption: The Mt. Airy fothergilla shrub sports blue-green foliage in the summer and yellow-orange foliage in the fall. |
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