Take away the guesswork at what to add to your landscaping this year. Need a hedge or an accent shrub? Hiding a corner or have a difficult spot to cover? There is a shrub for every space in your landscape design.
Euonymus (Burning Bush)
Rudy Haag Burning Bush in fall
Known for its brilliant red fall color, the Burning Bush is a popular choice for home landscaping. Colors will be brightest when planted in full sun, but this shrub can also take full shade in well-drained soil. ‘Little Moses’ and ‘Rudy Haag’ tend to be dense, mounded and slow-growing. The Compact Burning Bush will grow 6’ to 8’ and can be hedged. Think of the great color and contrast when planted near an evergreen or round out a corner and accent the burning bush as an accent all on its own.
Cornus (Dogwood)
Red Twig Dogwood in fall
Dogwoods are flowering shrubs with brightly colored leaves and stems for year round interest. They thrive in wet areas where other plants will not. Annual pruning in late winter or early spring is necessary to maintain vigor and color. Plant in full sun to part shade at the corners of the backyard and attract birds to your yard. Grow a variety or mass around a pond or lake for a blaze of color against gray skies.
 Red Chokeberry fruit |
Aronia (Chokeberry)Small flowers in spring, berries in summer and winter, intense fall color … Chokeberries are another great shrub for a low area in your landscape. Plant in full sun to part shade for medium growth rate on their rounded shape. They are tough and undemanding, massed in a large shrub planting, near water or along a house foundation. |
 Little Henry Virginia Sweetspire in fall |
Itea (Sweetspire)Another shrub that can take full sun to full shade and is wet tolerant as well, Sweetspire is also fragrant. With white blooms in July, this rounded shrub turns beautiful shades of orange, red, burgundy and purple for fall, retaining some foliage through winter. Easy to grow, versatile Sweetspire makes a great woodland border or foundation plant. |
 Prairie Flame Shining Sumac in fall |
Rhus (Sumac)Need something for erosion control? Sumac is your shrub of choice, being more drought tolerant in full sun to part shade. Yellow flowers followed by orange, scarlet, maroon fall color attract attention to this pollinator plant. Cover a slope with a mass planting or naturalize a woodland garden. After finding the right plant for the right place, planting depth is most important. Remove any excess soil in the pot or rootball to find the surface roots. Measure this point to the ground for hole depth. Dig the hole 2-3 times wider for the soil ball. Position plant in the hole and backfill with the same soil that was in the hole, keeping clay on the bottom. Firmly pack more soil into hole until even with ground level. Water with a slow trickle from a hose. Mulch with a 2”-3” layer of mulch, keeping it away from the base and stems. |
