# need suggestions for bush



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

My Sago palm is not doing well and if I'm not out there once a week spraying it, it gets this white powdery substance on it that kills it. I'd like to remove it and replace it with some ornamental bush that loves heat and all day sun. Any suggestions?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Any of the billion sages, rosemary, a super old fashioned antique rose, ....

High humidity though, right? The rosemary might have problems.. But a good rose should be fine, the sages would be totally trouble free.

Plumbago is also pretty nice, needs a bit more water, but does well with high humidity.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

And salvias! Those too.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Salvias? Gosh it's been a long time since I heard that name. I found out the hard way that roses do not like that particular area. It's sun all day and near a corner of the house and it's just too hot. I have only had 2 rose bushes thrive here and they are the ones that get 1/2 day of sun. They bloom like crazy. I had 80 rose bushes in NY. I had to fence them in with electric fence to keep the deer out. Now in NY it was the opposite. They needed full sun there, and winter protection.

I will have to look at sage.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

There are many kinds of salvias and sages, some large and some small. They are desert plants, so do NOT give you a lush look. However, I find them very pretty. You could put Guara at the feet of whatever bush, and it would be very pretty. 

Guara is lovely and carefree.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> My Sago palm is not doing well and if I'm not out there once a week spraying it, it gets this white powdery substance on it that kills it. I'd like to remove it and replace it with some ornamental bush that loves heat and all day sun. Any suggestions?


You might consider Boxwood or Legustrum, azaleas, maybe Hibiscus, also a Holly bush.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Hibiscus needs a crazy amount of water.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I'd like something evergreen. Yea Dawg, I have a bunch of Legustrum already. They provide good shade for chickens. My goal is to grow them into little trees.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

What about ornamental grass?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Sure... I have never been excited about grasses, but lots of people like them.

Do you not like the look of sages and salvias?

Here are some photos:


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I also really like desert willows. They do grow into a shrubby tree, but you could keep it pruned more into a bush shape.























My thing is that I really only like plants that do double duty.

So, it does have to look nice, but then I also want it to be something that I can eat, or that will attract hummingbirds or butterflies.

Salvias and sages are hummingbird magnets. The Desert willow will also attract them, but they don't bloom for as long.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Here is a pic of a hibiscus bush that I cut back last winter down to two feet tall...yes, two feet tall! I recently cut back the left side of the hibiscus bush and planted a hydrangea bush several months ago. Sometimes we call them "snowball" bushes. It should eventually produce blue flowers. Both these bushes get the morning sun.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Here are other plants and bushes I planted back in June. We had temps in the upper 90's and low 100's. They required daily watering until we got rain in July. The elephant ears and aloe plants were transplanted from our previous house 5 miles away. I originally brought the aloe plants from Georgia when I moved to Jax back in late 2012. Aloe plants prefer full sun and are very hardy in the heat. I also planted abelia bushes, a wisteria vine and honeysuckle. They are mostly in full afternoon sun. I might transplant the wisteria and honeysuckle into partial shade in the spring (I knew better lol.) The abelia bushes took root nicely and they produced pretty white flowers. I hope they grow much larger next spring.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Alaskan said:


> Sure... I have never been excited about grasses, but lots of people like them.
> 
> Do you not like the look of sages and salvias?
> 
> ...


WOW!!! I love the look! I may end up doing something like that with a larger plant in the middle and something around it. I think salvia was one of my first. In NY I ended up being a day lily addict but have trouble with them down here even tho most dailies are produced in Georgia and Florida.
I had some purple cone stuff that was illegal in most states like Florida, but I had clumping ones. I had Lavender, and some short groundcover that has yellow flowers.

With photos, can I upload more than one at a time? Anyone know how?


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Dawg, you like the elephant ears? Are they evergreen? What's that in your last picture?


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Alaskan, are desert willows evergreen? Do they do okay with humidity?


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Alaskan said:


> Sure... I have never been excited about grasses, but lots of people like them.
> 
> Do you not like the look of sages and salvias?
> 
> ...


Are these all sage?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

The scientific name of sage is salvia. However, the photos I posted are all from plants that are generally referred to as salvia.

The Desert Willow does great with high humidity, my mom has one in Houston, Texas. It is deciduous. 

With photos 
I upload one at a time.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Dawg, you like the elephant ears? Are they evergreen? What's that in your last picture?


The last pic are the aloe plants. Elephant ears can grow very tall and will die off after a freeze. They come back with a vengence in the spring and spread. I cover the aloe plants with a couple of old towels when there's a freeze. I dont cover the elephant ears.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Now I have to wait until spring to plant the new bush. I've had this Sago palm for 5 years. In the last 2 years, it gets this white stuff on it that kills the leaves. I got Malathion and sprayed. It went away. Now it came back. I removed all the dead leaves. Then sprayed. But the new leaves are curling at the ends and dying. So it has not been attractive in a few years now. I don't want to keep spraying continuously to keep it looking good when it's going to get this white stuff anyway. Too much work. So out it goes, I guess.

Just aside; it's a female and if you cut branches off from the bottom, it's got this whitish spongy stuff on the top of the plant that produces the new leaves. Just kind of interesting. i'll take a picture. Due to my new gardening technique in the front (not live plants), I am removing that area all together and replacing it with sod. That area is a real hot spot in the summer.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Now I have to wait until spring to plant the new bush. I've had this Sago palm for 5 years. In the last 2 years, it gets this white stuff on it that kills the leaves. I got Malathion and sprayed. It went away. Now it came back. I removed all the dead leaves. Then sprayed. But the new leaves are curling at the ends and dying. So it has not been attractive in a few years now. I don't want to keep spraying continuously to keep it looking good when it's going to get this white stuff anyway. Too much work. So out it goes, I guess.
> 
> Just aside; it's a female and if you cut branches off from the bottom, it's got this whitish spongy stuff on the top of the plant that produces the new leaves. Just kind of interesting. i'll take a picture. Due to my new gardening technique in the front (not live plants), I am removing that area all together and replacing it with sod. That area is a real hot spot in the summer.


Here's a link for you regarding the 'white stuff.' It looks like malathion is a good treatment:
http://www.ktrh.com/pages/gardenline-sagocycad.html


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I recently dealt with fine silk like spider webs on the underside of hibiscus leaves which eventually killed the leaves. I removed the webs and there were white eggs present. Turns out they were white flies and liquid permethrin took care of them pronto.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Thanks. Yea my dad had said to treat with malathion. 
I did spray it. I'll see what happens. I know I need to spray every few days. I do like bushes that don't need work aside from a trim. Like evergreen shrubs.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I like tough bushes too, legustrum comes to mind, holly bush second.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

dawg53 said:


> I like tough bushes too, legustrum comes to mind, holly bush second.


Legustrum (privet) is my favorite go-to bush. My yard has it all over. I have some I am growing into cute little trees. I love that stuff!!!!!


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