A dear friend of ours has a very interesting hedge around his yard, and I'd like to tell you about it.
At first glance, it seems like just a hedge, but when you look more closely, it's a truly lovely hedge of delicate, lacy leaves with the appearance of airy tendrils coming from the new growth. The hedge is thick and lush, deep green in color, and with no sign of any yellowing or discoloration from pests or disease.
What is it? It's called cherry prinsepia, or to introduce her more formally, pirnsepia sinensis.
Cheery prinsepia belongs to the rose family, and originally hailed from Manchuria. Here are some basic facts about cherry prinsepia. It is hardy in our area, likes full sun and well-drained soil. It won't like heavy or clay soils. Until it gets established, cherry prinsepia enjoys regular watering, but can tolerate some drought. I read that it should have an inch of water a week during the growing season in the first two years to help it get firmly established.
Cherry prinsepia, lovely as it is going its carefree way, will do even better with pruning. Pruning helps air flow between the branches and encourage strong new growth. Because of the prickly nature of the branches, it is great for a privacy hedge. It is not prone to bugs or diseases, so it is a great choice for landscaping. Shrubs will grow up to eight feet tall and six to ten feet across if left to their own devices. Though it has small yellow flowers in the spring, they are rather demure and not note-worthy. The real beauty lies in the foliage and the red berries that emerge later in the season. And guess what, this dandy little shrub can live forty years or more! It is also very tolerant of urban pollutiono, making it a very "green" plant indeed! So remember that name: cherry prinsepia or pinsepia sinensis. It's our plant of the week!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will have their first meeting of the fall on Wednesday, September 21. Our guest will be John Senkiw from Foam Lake talking about "Backyard Birder: what birds to watch for during all seasons and what to plant and feed them." And later that same week, on Friday, September 23, it's the Fall Plant and Bulb Sale, from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Parkland Mall in Yorkton. We still have lots of time to plants new additions in our gardens, so mark that date down and plan to be at the plant sale.
Till next time, have a great week, and enjoy your garden.
