Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
The quintessential form – a weeping willow reflected in a pond.
Weeping plants come in a variety of shapes, often described in nursery catalogs as arching,
cascading, pendulous and drooping. These silhouettes are the result of a number of factors.
In some cases, branch buds point horizontally or downwards instead of upwards. Genetic
mutations can produce weeping forms, which are then selectively bred to enhance the shape.
Sometimes older branches lack the reaction wood to keep them growing skyward. Finally,
when woody plants lack a terminal stem and produce a head of layered branches, growth
could be forced outward and downward.
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
The weeping form can also be caused by temporary factors such as the weight of heavy,
drooping flowers. Examples include the yellow pendulous flowers of the golden chain tree
(Laburnum x watereri ‘Vossii’) and the pendent flowers of wisteria. Shrubs such as pearlbush
(Exochorda spp.), beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) and
bridal wreath spirea (Spiraea x vanhouttei) can take on an enhanced arched form with age.
Many of the smaller-sized weepers are grafted or pole trained as standards. Grafted
standards unite a branch stem or bud from a weeping form as the scion that is grafted onto
the stem and roots of a compatible genus and species. Pole-trained standards are the result
of young woody weepers having their lower side branches removed as they grow upward,
concentrating their drooping branches at the top of the pole.
Designing with Weepers
These plants offer dramatic shapes that no
garden should be without. Unlike flowers,
which offer temporary interest, plant form is
a year-round attribute, invaluable to garden
design. This is particularly the case in the
winter season when the garden is laid bare.
Striking examples include camperdown elm
(Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’), weeping
higan cherry (Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’),
weeping white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Pendula’)
and weeping hemlock (Tsuga canadensis
‘Pendula’).
The cascading forms of weeping woody
plants make excellent living drapes to hide
fences and walls and to create garden
room dividers. I will never forget seeing
a spectacular weeping blue atlas cedar
(Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’), with its
cascading silver-blue branches stretched
out some 7m on a steel frame, complete
with Gothic arch openings. Many of the
low-spreading junipers and cotoneaster are
frequently planted above walls and rocky
slopes, where they are allowed to cascade
over the wall face.
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Weeping Nootka false cypress
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
Taller weepers such as purple fountain European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purple Fountain’),
weeping white spruce (Picea glauca ‘Pendula’) and weeping Nootka false cypress
(Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’) are invaluable for drawing the eye upwards. They
work well when paired with a feature such as a reflecting pool, cobble medallion or sculpture,
which brings the eye back down to the ground.
Weepers make ideal focal points at the terminus of views and other strategic garden
locations. Perhaps no single group of weepers works better than the many fine dissected
Japanese maples such as ‘Inaba Shidare’, ‘Stella Rossa’, ‘Ever Red’, ‘Waterfall’ and
‘Viridis’. Other notables include Young’s weeping birch (Betula pendula ‘Youngii’) and the
unique whipcord cedar (Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’), with its cordlike branches. Planting these
spectacular cascading plants around a complementary landscape form such as a waterfall,
rockery or terrace adds even more impact. Be careful to avoid creating visual confusion by
combining weepers with plants of unlike form.
A weeping peashrub (back, left) in a front-yard garden.
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
The ready availability of 1.2m to 2m weeping standards makes them valuable assets for
establishing human scale in the garden. They are particularly effective in this capacity when
placed at entrances and patio locations. Look for weeping redbuds, Walker weeping peashrub
(Caragana arborescens ‘Walker’) and weeping pussy willow (Salix x caprea ‘Pendula’).
When used in pairs to frame steps, gates, windows, etc., these human-scale plants provide
symmetrical balance for more formal garden settings. Their predictable, controlled sizes also
make them excellent candidates for roof and balcony gardens.
A cutleaf stephanandra draped over boulders has a softening effect.
Weeping plants are more than just accents. Low shrubby forms make good utilitarian plants
to prevent erosion on slopes and embankments. Examples include bearberry (Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi), rockspray cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis), weeping forsythia (Forsythia
suspensa) and cutleaf stephanandra (Stephanandra incisa ‘Crispa’).
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
The cascading form of fountain grass
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
Japanese forest grass in a shade garden
Although I’ve concentrated on woody plants, there are many vines, perennials, ornamental
grasses and annuals that have eye-appealing arching and cascading forms. Perennials such
as Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum spp.), with its white bell-like flowers drooping below the leaf
axis, and the arching foliage of spiderworts (Tradescantia spp.), daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.)
and ferns make attractive additions to beds, borders and slopes. Ground-hugging perennials
such as creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), evergreen candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), rock
cress (Arabis spp.), aubretias and dragon’s blood sedum (Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’)
can crawl across the top of walls and
rock outcrops and cascade downward to
soften these features. Many of the popular
ornamental grasses have foliage and seed
heads with an artistic cascading form.
Examples include fountain grass (Pennisetum
alopecuroides ‘Hameln’), blue oat grass
(Helictotrichon sempervirens), Japanese
forest grass (Hakonechloa spp.) and tufted
hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa).
Many gardeners are familiar with the role
that weeping annuals play in decorating
the edges of hanging baskets, urns and
planters. Their waterfall-like forms contrast
effectively with upright centerpiece plants and
also fills bare spaces. Some of my favorites
include fuchsias, trailing lobelia, glacial ivy,
trailing verbena, spider plant, licorice plant
(Helichrysum spp.), annual morning glory vine
and black-eyed Susan vines
A hanging basket of fuchsia
(Thunbergia alata).
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
Maintenance and Care
Weeping plants are not without required maintenance. I have found that some of my
cascading Japanese maples experience branch dieback in winter in zone 6. To remedy this,
prune out dead wood in the spring and provide burlap wrap protection in the winter. Their
slender weeping branches can also be somewhat fragile in the winter, so give them a wide
berth and avoid having snow pile up on them.
A weeping Norway spruce
A weeping mulberry in a cityscape
Cascading branch specimens such as the viridis green cutleaf Japanese maple (Acer
palmatum dissectum ‘Viridis’) and the weeping Norway spruce (Picea glauca ‘Pendula’) can,
with age, extend outward for considerable distances. This can be a problem when they are
located too close to walks and paths, and will necessitate extensive pruning. In more open
locations, they can be allowed to grow outward, but you’ll probably find, as I did, that prop
sticks are needed to stop lateral limb breakage with the weight of winter snow and ice.
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Don’t Cry for Weeping Plants
Gardening Newsletter
Vol. 10, Issue 7 - July 2015
Branch reversion of weeping grafted specimens can occur where errant upright branches and
root suckers destroy the form of the weeper. Cracks can also occur to bark and branch tissue
at the graft union, presenting a site for insects and disease to enter. A case in point is the
popular weeping mulberry (Morus alba ‘pendula’), which can have branches cascade to the
ground and root at branch tips, as well as branches becoming tangled above the graft union.
Much pruning is required to retain the weeping specimen form.
Weepers often have shallow roots, which are protected from the sun by the plants’ umbrella
canopies and cascading branches. Cultivating below their crowns can disturb and damage
these valuable feeder roots, so consider applying mulch or other groundcover protection.
Weepers provide a distinctive, permanent form that is hard to match. Because of their visual
impact, a few make a significant difference to the appearance of the garden. Visit your local
nurseries and garden centers and get acquainted with some of these must-have plants.
Text by Frank Kershaw
Photos by Marnie Wright
Frank Kershaw is an award-winning horticulturist with more than 35 years of experience. He
teaches garden design and horticultural courses at George Brown College in Toronto and at
the Toronto Botanical Garden. Frank is also a seminar presenter at Lee Valley’s Toronto-area
stores.
Marnie Wright ([email protected]) is a lifelong gardener, writer and passionate
garden photographer. Her Rocksborough Garden, developed over 30 years, is located in
Bracebridge, Ontario.
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