An alternative to rhododendroms

Suggestion for a bush that grows all summer and is easy to care for

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, I have trouble growing rhododendrons and wonder if you could suggest another type of bush that is easy to care for and possibly blooms all summer. *—Linda Sides-D'Errico*

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**FULL ANSWER** Linda, My favourite easy-care, long-blooming shrub is ‘Summer Snowflake’ viburnum (*Viburnum plicatum* ‘Summer Snowflake’). As the name indicates, it produces white, lacecap-type blooms throughout the summer. It has good fall colour, too, and is very pest- and disease-free. Give it rich, moist but well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Hardy to Zone 5, it gets five to eight feet tall, maybe more in optimum conditions, but does tolerate pruning. Hope that helps! *—Karen York, Botanical Editor* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass Keeping bougainvilllea healthy throughout the winer How to rid invasive green goutweed Good garden uses for fireplace ashes Growing grape hyacinth indoors The best way to convert a lawn into a meadow The proper way to grow rhododendrons Eliminating beetle damage to spruce trees Annual resembling Japanese maple Planting ivy near cedar trees In search of the 'Sundance Kid' sunflower Caring for canna bulbs A supplier for barren strawberry ground cover Winter care for roses Cutting back mauna loa The best time to harvest curly-leaf lettuce Eliminating invasive trumpet Caring for double-flowering hibiscus trees Eliminating white aphids from honeysuckle vine Where to purchase Japanese blood grass

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