Landscape shrubs fall into two main categories: evergreen shrubs that are grown primarily for the green leaves, and shrubs that are grown for their flowers. Some of the flowering shrubs grown for flowers are also evergreens, such as: albelia, azalea, banana bush, bottlebrush, bridal wreath, gardenia, ligustrum, oleander, and olive tea. Azaleas and camellias are the most important flowering shrubs.
Flowering Evergreen Shrubs
Azaleas are perhaps the best known evergreen flowering shrubs grown in America. Azalea hybrids are now planted in the northern states. Flowering Formosan azaleas are the best known and there are many colors and cultivars available for the gardener to purchase. Other categories of azaleas are Gleen Dale azaleas, hybrid Kurume azaleas, hybrid Nuccio azaleas, hybrid Satsuki azaleas, and Native American azaleas, Florida Flame, Rhodendron austrinum, and Piedmont, Rhodendrom canescens. Formosa azalea cultivars are: Bicolor, Duc De Rohan, Dutchess of Cypress, George L. Tabor, GG. Gerbin, Lavender, Little John, Madonna White, Magenta, Pink, Pride of Mobile, Red Formosa, Southern Charm, Violet. Glenn Dale’s azaleas are Moda and HH Hume. Kurume azaleas are Coral Bells, Pink Ruffles, Red Ruffles, and Snow. Hybrid Satsuki azaleas are Gumpo Pink, Gumpo White, Higasa, and Wakebishu.
Camellias are best known for fall, winter, and spring flowers in the south. Fall and winter flowering shrubs are Camellia sasanqua; Camellias that bloom in many colors of red, pink, white, variegated, and purple. The main types of camellia that bloom in winter and spring are called Camellia japonica, and many old cultivar listings are available to purchase from an Internet nursery. Cultivars such as: Alba Plena, Emily Wilson, Jesse Burgess, Mathotiana Rubra, Peppermint, Pink Perfection, Pot of Gold and Professor Sargeant, Rosea,
Abelia x Grandiflora shrubs are a vast improvement over the old common Abelia shrub. The tubular clusters of pink-white flowers are fragrant and flowering abelia shrubs are prized as a long-season bloomer that is cool and hardy in zones 5 through 9.
The banana shrub, Michelia fuggii, is commonly grown in gardens, as is Camellia, known for the scent of ripe bananas, when the small, white, magnolia-like flowers open on hot summer afternoons. The banana bush is often planted near door entrances to greet visitors with the scent of a banana.
The scarlet bottlebrush shrub, Callistemon citrinus, is not known for its cold hardiness (zone 8 – 11), but the bottlebrush’s red flowers are brilliant when blooming in early summer.
Bridal Wreath, Spirea nipponica, is also known as Snowmound Spirea, and is a vast improvement over the old white garden spirea, found in heirloom gardens. Bridal Wreath Spirea is very cold hardy in zones 4 – 8.
Gardenia Shrubs, Gardenia jasmionoides, is the dwarf form of the sweetly scented Gardenia. An ever-flowering Gardenia shrub, Gardenia jasminoides ‘Veitchii’ is a much improved gardenia, with large, grafted shrubs producing double white gardenia flowers. The rare fragrance of ever-blooming gardenias is a worthwhile growing garden experience.
Privetrum, Ligustrum texanum, is grown in some gardens as a shrub with long, seasonal white flowers, which sweetly perfume a passerby with a pleasant, distinctive privet fragrance. Ligustrum, when mature, can be stripped of the lower branches to become a small flowering tree, often planted in driveways as display trees. This plant is popular in the famous Cloister hotel complex, which operates in Sea Island, Georgia. Other Ligustrum cultivars are planted, and are more commonly grown, as privacy hedges or to edging wide sidewalks in urban settings.
Oleander, Nerium oleander, is among the most saltwater-tolerant options for planting in coastal gardens. Oleander bushes bloom in colors of pink, purple, red, salmon pink, white, and yellow. Very old oleander plants can grow into small flowering trees. The oleander begins to bloom in May and the flowers last until the fall. Insects and diseases avoid oleanders.
Tea Olive, Osmanthus fragrans, is very popular as a sweet-scented shrub that begins to bloom in fall and continues to fill the air with fragrance into spring. The aroma of Tea Olive flowers is similar to that of ripe apricots. The tea olive is an evergreen tree.
The yellow rose of Texas, Kerria japonica ‘Pleniflora’, blooms in late spring and produces densely clustered bright yellow flowers along long arching stems. Kerria japonica is very cold hardy in zones 4 – 8.
deciduous flowering shrubs
Crape Myrtle (Crepe Myrtle) Lagerstroemia x Fauriei hybrids are also called Japanese Crape Myrtle (Crepe Myrtle). These shrubs are often grown as shrubs, but many of the newer cultivars are being marketed as trees and can easily grow up to 30 feet tall, with trunks growing to over a foot in diameter. It is difficult to set limits on growing size, because newly introduced hybrids have not aged sufficiently to predict final limits on size fifty years from now. The old Crape Myrtle species were Lagerstroemia indica, which flowered attractively, but the new hybrid Crepe Myrtle shrubs bloom in light, fiery colors for 45 to 60 days, then bloom again in the fall. Crepe Myrtle flowers are beautiful, but the new peeling bark colors provide a new and different attraction after the winter cold freezes the leaves. Crepe Myrtle has been placed in several color categories: Red-flowered Fool; Acoma and Natchez white flowers; Muscogee with lavender flowers; Biloxi with pale pink flowers; Miami and Tuscarora with dark pink flowers; hot pink flower sioux; and dreamy rose;
Hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, and Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, are the two important species in the hydrangea group. Hydrangea macrophylla has been greatly improved to create hybrid flowers of pink, red, white, blue, and purple. Some of these hydrangea colors are stable and are not subject to change with changing soil acidity (soil pH). Hydrangea macrophylla flowers come in several new hybrids, such as Cardinal Red, macrophylla ‘Cardinal Red’; Lacecap ‘Blue Billow’, microphylla ‘Blue Billow’; Lacecap ‘Pink Diamond’, microphylla ‘Pink Diamond’; Lacecap ‘Variegated’, microphylla ‘Variegated’; Oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, produces giant white flowers that perch on a 6-foot bush with large, oak-leaf-shaped leaves.
The New Zealand tea bush, Leptospermum scorparium, is a winter and early spring flowering shrub in red and pink colors that is cold hardy in zones 8 – 10.
Evergreen Berry Shrubs
Valuable evergreen shrubs for garden landscapes are 2 types of Mahonia that grow prickly, holly-shaped leaves, which in the spring, bloom and the flowers turn into colorful berries. Mahonia Featherleaf shrub, Mahonia japonica, flowers develop into attractive clusters of grape-like fruits, which are cold hardy in zones 5 – 8. Chinese Mahonia, Mahonia fortunei, produces short spikes of hardy, yellow flowers to cold in zones 8 – 9.
Nandina Shrubs, Nandina domestica, is a great all-season plant. Nandina canes produce fragrant flower clusters in the spring, which develop into clusters of persistent green, orange, and red berries, which will only drop the next year after new flowers appear. Nandina domestica can be grown as a foundation landscape plant, next to houses, to replace overgrown azaleas. Nandinas rarely grow taller than 4 to 5 feet and will not block views from windows like many foundation plants. Clean-growing nandina is disease-free and can be found for purchase at local nurseries or mail-order nursery sources. Dwarf nandina plants are called heavenly bamboo, and the dwarf cultivars are the best winter colorants for Nandina, with brilliant crimson foliage, which lasts from fall through winter. Nandina shrubs are cold hardy when planted in zones 6 – 8.
deciduous bushes with berries
Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, was discovered by William Bartram, the famous American botanist and explorer, who wrote in his book, Travels, records of this beautyberry with hidden stems in the fall with clusters of bright purple berries surrounding the twigs after the leaves fall from the frost fall. The white berry clusters of the white berry bush are quite impressive in the dark woods below the ground landscape.
Mock orange bush (Philadelphus X Virginalis ‘Natchez’) is an heirloom improvement of the Native American plant that blooms in late spring with citrusy, orange, scented flowers. Mail order nursery websites rarely offer the Mock Orange shrub for purchase. Many gardeners wanting a nice native shrub should purchase the Mock Orange shrub.
Pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinia, is often grown to keep out unwanted visitors, due to its deadly spines. The beauty of the berry clusters is indefinable in winter and spring, when the leaves fall. The berries grow in large orange or red clusters. Pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinia, will bloom fragrant white in the spring and remind any thief that they shouldn’t have visited that special execution-style garden. The two recommended cultivars for planting are Pyracantha Victory, Pyracantha coccinea ‘Victory’ and Pyracantha Orange Berry, Pyracantha coccinea ‘Orange Berry’.
