Shrubs

The ixora shrub (Ixora coccinea) is a compact and dense evergreen shrub that thrives in United States hardiness zones 10 to 11. This delightful but somewhat temperamental shrub is often grown a a...

Shrubs add beauty, texture and interest to landscape designs. Despite their easy-care reputation, however, there are some steps you must take to ensure healthy growth and abundant flower...

Many people incorporate yucca shrubs into their interior decor and their outdoor landscaping. Since yucca plants are evergreens, their leaves remain green year-round, and in early spring, yuccas...

Skilled pruning enhances the beauty of ornamental shrubs and small trees. Indiscriminate pruning can destroy or greatly reduce a shrub's landscape value. In many cases, it is better not to prune...

Many shrubs are vigorous growers; if you ignore them for a couple of seasons you may find they've grown somewhat out of control. With branches shooting awkwardly in many directions, your very tall...

Overgrown shrubs can be an eyesore in any yard. If you would like to create some order to the shrubs, consider pruning them into small trees. You could even start pruning younger shrubs for an...

The cherry laurel is large bush that can grow up to 40 feet high and 25 feet wide in extreme situations, but is most often smaller. It is frequently used as a dense hedge, with its thick, glossy...

Winterberry holly (ilex verticillata) grows to a height of 6 to 12 feet and is native to eastern North America. Unlike most hollies, ilex verticillata is not evergreen but drops its leaves at the...

Juniper trees and plants are a variety of lush evergreen. They do not shed leaves nor do they need to be cut back or down for the winter. Junipers can grow upward and tall, or they can spread...

The smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) is an interesting-looking shrub that has beautiful foliage and airy blooms with "smoky" clouds of hairs growing around them. The healthiest and most attractive...

Pruning shrubs in the spring is a common task for many homeowners. Pruning in spring allows ample time for cuts to heal quickly and hide themselves with new foliage. It also provides a good...

With an upright, arching habit, the tea viburnum (Viburnum setigerum) is a shrub admired for its white flowers, showy red ornamental fruits and rusty burgundy fall foliage. As the plant ages and...

The sweet and spicy scented pink flower clusters of Korean spice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) are a welcome addition to the garden in mid-spring. Becoming a dense, rounded shrub with upright and...

With their gnarly branches, musky smell and thick growth, old snowball bushes (Viburnum opulus Roseum) evoke a romantic age. The large, white flowers litter the ground with "snow" when their...

Know for their year-round beauty, holly bushes play a special part in Christmas season decorations. In the yard, homeowners usually plant holly bushes as a hedge. Planting a male and female bush...

Mid to late fall and even winter are the best times to prune many, but not all, shrubs and trees. You prune to improve the health of the shrub or tree. Other reasons are to rejuvenate, to limit...

Spring-blooming climbing roses, like all other roses, need pruning to help them produce the most abundant bloom and to prevent disease. Although pruning is not difficult and correct technique is...

Gardenias are noted for their distinct, sweet-smelling white blossoms. The ornamental bush does well in temperatures between 68 and 74 degrees F and won't tolerate severe frost. The gardenia bush...

The Lime Light hydrangea is a paniculata hydrangea. It blooms on new wood, that is, stems produced in the current year. The plant can be pruned any time, except in the spring before it blooms....

The oakleaf hydrangea is a shrub that can grow 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Its distinctive foliage resembles giant oak leaves. Depending on the variety, the flower clusters can be up to 12...

Flowering shrubs fall into two categories: spring-flowering and summer-flowering. It is important to bare in mind which of these two categories your flowering shrub follows into before you begin...

The gardenia, also known as cape jasmine, is an evergreen shrub that originates from southern Asia. Growing up to eight feet tall, gardenias feature glossy, dark green leaves and fragrant, white...

Croton, or Codiaeum variegatum, is a shrubby plant grown for its foliage and native to the tropics. It is from the plant family of Euphorbiaceae, or Spurge family.

Gardenia is a popular garden shrub with very fragrant white or yellow flowers and dark green, shiny leaves. Gardenias need a warm climate, USDA hardiness zones 8 through 10, to grow outdoors. They...

If you live in zone 5, you are probably very familiar with with sweetly scented harbingers of summer--the glossy leaved lilac. With a distinctive, heady scent and lovely nodding cones of white,...

The Nikko Blue hydrangea is a popular garden workhorse. Its rich leaves and lush, mophead blooms are stunning as a focal point plant or as part of a large border. Pruning is helpful to...

Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) is a popular shrub used in hedges, foundation plantings and ornamental mass plantings. It grows so densely that older hedges in Japan can be walked upon without...

The centerpiece of any butterfly garden is the buddleia---a shrub so successful in attracting these lovely insects that it is usually known by its nickname, butterfly bush. Buddleias have a long...

Gardenias are prized for their heavenly scent. There is almost nothing better than sitting outside on a warm summer evening and having that wonderful scent of gardenia wafting through the night...

Any of the trees and shrubs that have needles are generally what people consider evergreens. They need a little maintenance so that you can maintain their size and shape, and direct the growth in...

Gardenias are one of the most lush looking and lushly scented of the flowering perennials. Their glossy deep green leaves and white to cream colored blooms make them a showstopper in garden beds,...

Unlike the familiar pink- and blue-flowered hydrangeas from China and Japan, the oakleaf hydrangea is native to the southeastern United States. This deciduous shrub reaches 4 to 6 feet tall and...

Rhododendron bushes are attractive additions to any garden. They grow full bushes of blossoms in a variety of different colors. Rhododendron bushes do not typically need extensive trimming. If...

Shrubs are generally among the easiest plants to care for, and viburnums are easy even among shrubs. This group of large, deciduous, flowering shrubs includes species native to Europe and Asia and...

With brightly colored globular, mushroom-headed or conical flowers, hydrangeas are a favorite in many gardens. But people often wonder when to prune their hydrangea. Some think this year's blooms...

Pruning helps make the shrub more beautiful by shaping it and enhancing its flowering or fruiting. Pruning also improves the shrub's health by removing dead or diseased branches and allowing light...

Syringa is the name for several varieties of lilacs that are available to the home gardener. Hybrids are available for most growing zones in the United States. Common lilacs prefer areas that have...

Hydrangeas are beautiful flowering shrubs that will add life and color to any garden. They typically bloom throughout the summer and into September depending on the climate. They are closely...

The tropical hibiscus tree, with its dark green leaves and showy trumpet-shaped flowers, is the state flower of Hawaii. The flowers come in colors ranging from yellow to pink, to deep reds and...

Silverberry, also commonly known as Wolf-willow and known botanically as Elaeagnus commutata, is a perennial shrub or small tree that is native to western North America. Silverberry thrives in...

Viburnum tinus is a flowering shrub that throws pink buds which turn to white blooms in the late winter and early spring. The shrub has dramatic, clumping fruit the is a deep, nearly iridescent,...

Privets are fast-growing vigorous shrubs that are often planted close together to form a hedge. They are vigorous growers that need to be pruned several times during the growing season. Because...

Weigela is beloved as a garden and container shrub because of its profuse and reliable blooming habit and very low maintenance. The more than 150 varieties bloom in a wide variety of colors from...

While unrelated to the maple tree, abutilon, or the flowering maple, is an upright, evergreen shrub with leaves similar to the maple. The abutilon flowers throughout the year and the plentiful...

Wichita Blue Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is a popular plant for hedges and borders because it holds its shape naturally without much pruning. But occasionally you will need to prune a Wichita...

How to plant Hibiscus. If cared for properly, hibiscus will be a long-lasting and lovely addition to your garden. Here's how to grow hibiscus for the best results.

Forsythia is the bright yellow harbinger of spring. The first sighting of the yellow Forsythia means that warm spring days are about to begin. A deciduous shrub, Forsythia can grow up to ten feet...

Known for its long life span, beauty and intense fragrance, the lilac plant practically takes care of itself. While the life span of the flowers and blooming season are only measured in weeks,...

Yellow bell shrubs, also known as forsythia bushes, are hardy deciduous bushes that can live for generations. Many homeowners use yellow bell shrubs in gardens and as hedges, and enjoy their...

The bottle brush plant is a shrub that is popular in the southern region of the United States. It grows slowly during the first few years, and then begins to grow more quickly into a dense shrub...