Susan is also blogging at GardenRant.Shrubs and Trees I've Known and (mostly) Loved
(In my Zone 7A garden, so if you live in a different hardiness zone, adjust accordingly.)
If you've looking for low-maintenance gardening then shrubs and small trees are the plants for you. Here are a few that have been easy for me, by which I mean they look great with little or no help. Notice I don't mean "look crappy but manage to stay alive". Don't miss the extra-credit section: Shrubs I've Killed.
And to read real gardeners' experiences with different shrubs and trees, I recommend the plant profiles at Daves Garden. Just put a plant name in the "Search Plants" function you see on the right. More photos of shrubs and trees can be found by using Google Images (a great resource!)
NEW! Dividing Shrubs? DON'T DO THAT! and Amending the Soil when Planting Trees by Don Enbretson, the Renegade Gardener.
NEW! Need screening?
Flowering and deciduous (leaf-dropping)
- Acer japonicum/Fullmoon JapaneseMaple
- Aesculus parviflora/Bottlebrush Buckeye
- Amelanchier/Serviceberry
- Callicarpa Bodinieri/Beautyberry
- Caryopteris/Blue Mist Shrub
- Hydrangea macrophylla/Big-Leaf Hydrangea
- Hydrangea paniculata/Tardiva
- Hydrangea quercifolia/Oakleaf Hydrangea
- Itea virginica/Virginia Sweetspire
- Kolkwitzia/Beautybush
- Lespedeza/Bush Clover
- Roses — easy, earth-friendly roses are now available, even for shade.
- Spirea — my favorite flowering shrub and definitely a Hero of Sustainable Gardening.
- Viburnum plicatum/Doublefile Viburnum
- Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur' (photo right)
- Viburnum macrocephalem/Snowball Viburnum
- Weigela
Evergreens
- Aucuba japonica
- Buxus/Boxwood — they can be grown to look natural
- Cedrus deodara/Deodar cedar shown here at 2 years in my garden
- Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety — easy and trouble-free.
- Red-tipped Photinia and Photinia serrulata
- Kalmia latifolia/Mountain laurel
- Ilex glabra/Inkberry Holly
- Nandina domestica/Heavenly bamboo
- Pieris japonica and Pieris floribunda
- Pinus strobus/Dwarf white pine 'Blue Shag'
- Prunus laurocerasus/Cherry laurel, including 'Otto Luyken' and 'Schip'.
- Thuja/Arborvitae, especially 'Green Giant'
- Tsuja canadensis/Canadian hemlock can still be grown.
Shrubs and Trees for Shady Spots
Aesculus parviflora/Bottlebrush Buckeye, Hydrangea quercifolia/Oakleaf Hydrangea, Itea virginica/Virginia Sweetspire, Buxus/Boxwood, Aucuba, some cherry laurels and Nandina and Pieris japonica. Oh, and azalea, of course — a shrub usually planted unhappily in afternoon sun.
And don't miss horticulturist Erica Glasener's favorite shrubs for shade on this page.
Shrubs I've Killed (Some Not-so-Easy Shrubs)
- They don't deserve their own pages, so they're all here on one sad, ugly page.
Tree and Shrub Stories from the Garden
- "Arbor Day — BAD for planting. Earth Day? Same deal" is a rant about these days being in the bad-for-planting spring.
- "How to Move a #%!@ Large Shrub". — you'll understand the cursing in the title soon enough.
Got Deer?
Do the research and don't waste money on plants they'll love. Here's the best site I've ever found on the subject for good detailed information.
More Great Info in Print
- Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs
by the best-known authority on the subject.
- NEW!
Viburnums
- Taylor's Guide to Shrubs
- Homeowner's Complete Tree and Shrub Handbook
- Shrub
And on Line
- "Which trees soak up the most carbon?" in Slate Magazine.