Hakuro Nishiki Shrub

Hi! This shrub should be about 5' feet wide, assuming I keep it pruned, and is in full sun. Any suggestions on what would look good planted under and around it? The leaves are white and pale green with a pink tinge. The stems have a delicate air to them and will let plenty of light through anything on the ground beneath them. Thinking something like an ornamental grass or sedum? Or perhaps a low, pink nepeta?

oooh Judy you're so lucky! That shrub is on my list! Check out this link..

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hakuro+nishiki&FORM=BIFD#focal=f63c36fe7aff257282e44a511aecb7e3&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tgreenhouses.com%2Fimages%2Fcontent%2Fplants%2Ftree%2FHakuro_Nashiki_Willow_Tree.jpg

Thank you, Lynnie6868. That's exactly the look I'm going for!

You're welcome. I have midnight wine weigelias that are burgundy (they're dwarf plants, 18 -24 inches ) those would look good as a purple accent. They're completely carefree, I planted them and they've thrived & they don't need any pruning at all.

You'll find that the best coloring for this shrub is in the spring and on any subsequent new growth. It can get quite large, too, 9 feet+, but since it is a willow, it can be cut back severely whenever you want to. I cut a 10' plant to the ground in June, and it's now approaching 5'.

Some drawbacks to this cultivar are: rampant growth, best color on only new growth, and Japanese beetle magnet!

Hoosier I didn't know it was a jb magnet...that's good to know, it helps decide where to put it (away from the roses lol).

The blue low growing Nepeta 'Walkers Low' would look nice.

This is one of the few plants that I have found to be a complete disaster for the garden. I had one that was grafted at 8' and grown as a standard. It was pretty in the spring. However, it was a rapid growing, wild looking, unruly shrub that was well over 12' tall in four seasons, excluding the 8' trunk. It laughed at the pruners and could put out three feet of new replacement growth in a month's time. It was a constant battle to keep it shaped or even crudely in bounds. Dont worry about underplanting this shrub if it's planted in the ground. Next year you wont see the plants anyway. If you plant it near a walkway keep a machete handy or be prepared to have an alternate route.

Ok I'm moving mine (mentally) way back to the fence lol Thanks Snapple for additional info...how did you prune that monster? bucket truck?

Chainsaw - the final solution!

I agree that the plant will grow more than 2' in a month after shearing. It was not a grafted plant but one that I trained as a single stem topiary. I loved the colorful new growth but after about 8 years it grew so big a top, 7' x 7', that I had to prune it back once a week. I finally got so tired of trying to keep it in bounds that I took a chain saw to it, There are several 3' long sprouts coming up from the base, I am going to see if one of them can be trained into a topiary with a ball shape on top. In the meantime I can see and enjoy the plants which were hidden beneath,

lol you guys are funny...but thank you for the head's up...I saw one trained as a tree and they look so pretty when they're little....it's good info to have.

Ditto to everything Snapple says - this is not a good garden plant!

Resin

in Maine on vacation i saw a grouping of them, they were about 5 feet by 5 feet.....it looked really pretty in the misty morning light...I guess they were babies. I do have the room for one. Do you think one would be ok in a privacy border, about 150 feet across, mixed in with other trees & shrubs?

Agree with Snapple.
Mine were black spot magnet in Atlanta heat. Glad they both died within 2 years.

This is an effective solution to overgrowth: plant them in full sun in heavy, dry clay and don't water them, LOL! That's where I had two at my last house. They did grow, but not nearly to the overwhelming width and height of the norm.They were still lovely, but they didn't take over the yard.

I bought the one for this house knowing that I'd have to prune it; sounds like even that may not be enough. I have no qualms about moving anything and thankfully, have the space to do that. The one thing I do know is that you shouldn't plant this one near water sources, like leach fields.

Thanks, all, for your advice!

I always forget about the leach field...good reminder Judy!

I live in MO Zone 6b and was thinking about one of these for my huge yard. Maybe I will rethink this now.

To each his own. This is one of my favorite deciduous shrubs. And yes, it can be grown as a small tree and it does take up some room but it brightens up the whole yard.

I don't know how long you've had your willow, but basal pruning is the best strategy for one that gets out of bounds, and it will get out of bounds eventually.

Eight or nine years. It takes more than the original allocated room, but that's OK. It's very bright and cheery.