Fothergilla 'Mount Airy'
Fothergilla x intermedia 'Mount Airy' ·
A vigorous fothergilla with larger bottle-brush flowers, blue-green summer leaves and the most reliable autumn colour: yellow, orange and red-purple together.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around fothergilla 'Mount Airy'
The planner designed this bed around fothergilla 'Mount Airy' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why fothergilla 'Mount Airy' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' × 1, white
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 8, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 25, blue
- 4 Swamp milkweed × 4, pink
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Hellebore 'Ivory Prince' × 3, cream
- 8 Easter lily × 3, white
- 9 Asiatic lily × 4, yellow
- 10 Snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to swamp milkweed (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 9 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Leadwort is planted in 7 places along the bed, which gives it rhythm. The flowering is at its height from early July, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where fothergilla 'Mount Airy' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The best all-round fothergilla, and one of the finest shrubs for autumn. It is handsome in every season and has no troubles.
- Outstanding autumn colour
- Shrub borders and woodland edges
- Spring fragrance
What to plant with fothergilla 'Mount Airy'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Oakleaf hydrangea: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid June; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
- Hosta 'Halcyon': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about fothergilla 'Mount Airy'
Does fothergilla 'Mount Airy' need sun or shade?
Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does fothergilla 'Mount Airy' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does fothergilla 'Mount Airy' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should fothergilla 'Mount Airy' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many fothergilla 'Mount Airy' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is fothergilla 'Mount Airy' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like fothergilla 'Mount Airy'?
Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Black chokeberry: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; wants average soil.
- Smooth hydrangea 'Incrediball': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to early September, bold leaves, not medium.
- Virginia sweetspire: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early June to early July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after fothergilla 'Mount Airy'?
Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall.
- Foxglove: from early June to mid July, 4 ft tall.
What does fothergilla 'Mount Airy' look like in winter?
Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Fothergilla
- Dwarf fothergilla Fothergilla gardenii
- Fothergilla 'Blue Shadow' Fothergilla x intermedia 'Blue Shadow'
- Large fothergilla Fothergilla major
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; blue-green, red
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.