What is it?

[jwholden]

I'm leaving for vacation today but wanted to leave you guys with an assignment while I'm gone. Below is a shrub that I found growing in CT. I took the pictures in May.

Have some fun with it. :devil:

[jwholden]

Here's a closeup of the flowers.

You don't need to PM me with the answer. You can post your answers or hints here. Please give everyone a chance.

[dan deutekom]

I will take the first stab at it but I won't give the full name until others have had a try. This plant blooms only for about a week in mid spring and in the fall the leaves turn yellow with the twigs staying green all winter. It grows to about a maximum of 5' but is usually a little smaller. The plants first initial is the 11th letter of the alphabet. This was my :scholar: guess:D

[diginahole]

I think I know it. My guess is encoded in this post. I'll tell you how to decipher it when it is time.

Kerria Japonica

[PSUscaper]

clever digin! but you have to wake up pretty early to sneek one by a bunch of landscapers!

[dan deutekom]

Digin is a very clever secret agent.:bag: And he is right:cigar:

[Nek]

Ahh, I remember. Really entertaining. Keep it up.


(somewhat coded also.):cool:

[diginahole]

[james bond accent ] Ah mony penny, I guess I need to get up a tad earlier.[/ james bond accent]

[jwholden]

Jeez, I can't get away with anything with you guys. I'll foil you yet.

The plant is:

Kerria japonica - Japanese Kerria

Japanese Kerria prefers shady spots and is an excellent choice where there are few other choices due to low light. It prefers a well drained soil. This plant is somewhat bulletproof because of it's shade tolerance. Japanese Kerria is a deciduous shrub that maintains green stems through the winter after leaf drop. Bright yellow flowers put on a specatacular show in late-April and May. Grows 3-6' tall with a slightly larger spread. Hardy in zones 4-9.

[diginahole]

If I managed to sneek my code past anybody, you just need to highlight the blank area of my post and the answer will appear. I thought is was pretty clever but apparantly not clever enough to fool smarty pants GTXers.;)

[Nek]

Take the first letter of the words in my post and reverse them........ How was your vacation John?????

[dan deutekom]

NEK

Excellent code:D

[Stonehenge]

Digin, I didn't even catch the play on the font color.... And the 'coding' of the James Bond accent was a hoot. You're getting pretty talented here, besides being able to guess the plant. And I didn't get Nek's either, until I got his hint. You guys are clearly more clever than me. :bag:

[diginahole]

:) Well at least I snuck it by someone. It took me nearly an hour to find the right color. Nek I knew the answer and didn't figure out your code... good one.

[Bill Schwab]

You just gave me a great idea in a problem spot at a house we are at now....Kerrias would be great there....

[jwholden]

I planted these at my house last Spring. We had an extremely dry Summer last year and they are planted under Sugar Maples. Looks like everything came out ok!

[VoodooChile]

Deep shade, dry soils, marauding deer, Kerria takes everything Wisconsin can throw at it.

Great choice jw from the looks of that soil and the size of those tree roots!!!

[RootRot]

Funny how so many plants slip into the void of the subconscience and pop back up every now and then. I never think of using Kerria when racking my brain for flowering shade shrubs. Thanks!

[FungusMudGrub]

There is also a variegated form: 'Picta'