Oceanspray
Holodiscus discolor · Rosaceae
Great, drooping plumes of creamy flowers, like sea foam, weigh down the arching branches in early summer and stay on as tawny seed heads.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around oceanspray
The planner designed this bed around oceanspray when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 341 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why oceanspray stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Oceanspray × 1, cream
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 5, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 21, blue
- 4 Golden Japanese euonymus × 1, variegated leaves
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 8, yellow
- 6 Lowbush blueberry × 11, white
- 7 Scarlet coral bells × 8, pink
- 8 Purple milkweed × 3, purple
- 9 Leatherleaf sedge × 4, bronze leaves
- 10 Creeping phlox × 5, pink
- 11 Asiatic lily × 4, yellow
- 12 Spring starflower × 19, blue
- 13 Giant snowdrop × 17, white
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only cream. Cream sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 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 brown-eyed Susan (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 five weeks. From mid June to mid July.
- Fills no gap. Every week it is in flower, at least three other kinds are too. It thickens a season that is already full.
Planned as an English border: 12 of the 14 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The front edge is finished with leadwort, bloody cranesbill and creeping phlox. The flowering is at its height from late June, with 5 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where oceanspray goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ 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.
A western native of dry slopes and forest edges, easy in poor soil with no summer water. More than a dozen butterflies and moths use it as a host.
- Dry western gardens
- Native hedgerows
- Butterflies and birds
What to plant with oceanspray
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Oregon grape: flowers first, early April to early May, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (5 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Western sword fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (3½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Snowberry: in flower together for five weeks, from mid June; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about oceanspray
Does oceanspray need sun or shade?
Oceanspray 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 dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does oceanspray grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does oceanspray flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 9 | Late May to late June |
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 oceanspray be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many oceanspray plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
What flowers after oceanspray?
Oceanspray is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight': from mid July to early October, 7 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hardy hibiscus: from late July to mid September, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does oceanspray look like in winter?
Oceanspray drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July; feathery plumes; cream, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.