Insect Resistant Shrubs

Shrubs can fall victim to infestations from many different types of insects that can make the plant look scraggly or, in the worse cases , kill the plant outright. Replacing shrubs can be an expensive and back-breaking job. Planting shrubs that are resistant to insect problems gives you a better chance that they will last a long time. Plants are not insect proof, things can happen, but resistant plants give you and not the bugs, the advantage.

Japanese aucuba (Aucuba japonica) is also known as Japanese laurel and the gold-dust tree. The plant will be either male or female. If you do not want the mess the berries from the female plant can cause, especially near the pool or deck, pick a male plant. The shrub is also an evergreen, so you will not have to worry about leaves either.
It will grow to from 8 to 10 feet tall with shiny leaves up to 8 inches long. In some cultivars, the leaves will be variegated with yellow. The plant likes partial or full shade, a moist soil and is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 10.
Aucuba makes a good container plant. Put it in a container with wheels and take it where you need it to be.

Beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Pink Cloud') is a deciduous shrub hardy in zone 4 to 8. It will grow from 6 to 10 feet tall with a similar spread. Give the plant full sun and a moist, well-drained soil and it will produce pink flowers in April and May. The plant needs pruning in order to keep it looking its best. Remove the dead wood and thin out the stems. It can become very dense as it ages. If necessary, cut the stems all the way to the ground. Don't worryThe plant will appear again the next spring. It will not produce any flowers the next year because the buds grow on old wood, but this makes the plant focus on producing more and taller stems, which brings it back to size quicker.

Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Longwood Blue') likes full sun, is deciduous, hardy in zones 5 to 9 and loves full sun. The plant will grow from 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide. The shrub will reward you with sky-blue colored flowers from July through September. The plant prefers a loose, loam soil that is moist and well-drained. It will stand up to a short drought but wet poorly drained soils will damage the plant. The shrub will probably die back to the ground in the zone north of zone 7, depending on the winter conditions. It will come back in the spring because the roots are winter hardy there even if the rest of the plant is not. This is one plant where the flowers grow in the new growth, not the old, so the dieback will not affect the next years flowers.

Source

Garden Pilot