Photo: CAES Horticulture

Chastetree's striking blue spikes spice up the landscape.

Here are three outstanding flowering shrubs that will give your landscape some pizazz. These three Georgia Gold Medal Winners were selected for their flowers, foliage and adaptability to Georgia conditions.

Chastetree

Selected for its summer flowers, attractive foliage and adaptability, chastetree is somewhere between a large shrub and a small tree.

Its greatest attraction is that it's covered with summer flowers when most other plants are done. It flowers best in full sun but will grow in partial shade.

The blue flower spikes reach upward 10 to 15 inches from the ends of the branches on the new growth. The foliage is gray-green and fragrant when crushed. The plants are pest-resistant and drought-tolerant.

While the flowers are usually blue, there are pink and white selections. As the flowers fade, they can be removed to produce a new flush of bloom in fall.

Pink Chinese Loropetalum

This striking shrub has outstanding spring flowers, new foliage and vigorous growth. At first, the young plants look small and delicate. But they grow fast, reaching 8 to 12 feet tall and nearly as wide. So space new plants 6 to 8 feet apart.

Photo: CAES Horticulture

Pink Chinese Loropetalum

The spring flush of hot pink flowers completely covers the shrub. The color gets more intense with cool nights. The flowers have narrow, strap-shaped petals that are only about three-fourths of an inch long. But six or eight cluster together, creating a mass of color.

The newly developing leaves are ruby red, and they turn a purplish green with age.

The pink loropetalum is broadly adapted. It grows well in sun or shade and in sandy or clay soils, but it does prefer well-drained sites. The plant is heat- and drought-tolerant and pest-resistant, too.

Mohawk Viburnum

A hybrid shrub introduced by the U. S. Arboretum, Mohawk viburnum combines the durability of Burkwood viburnum with the fragrant flowers of Korean-spice viburnum. It has fragrant, early spring flowers, large summer leaves and bright fall color.

Photo: CAES Horticulture

Mohawk Viburnum

The flowers are in clusters 3 to 4 inches across. They're bright red in the buds and open to white. The clove-like fragrance of Mohawk viburnum fills the early spring air. The flower display lasts seven to 10 days.

The leaves quickly follow the flowers. Glossy green all summer, they turn a bright orange to wine red in the fall before dropping.

Mohawk viburnum grows best in full sun to partial shade. The medium shrub reaches 7 to 8 feet tall. It likes well-drained soils and needs extra water during droughts.

These great shrub selections will add to any garden, new or established.