How to Choose Shrubbery

Shrub in a forest

Shrubbery gives your home and garden a finished, landscaped appearance. The term "shrubbery" normally means a group of shrubs planted together, often cultivated to form a specific shape. Shrubs can be a low-maintenance alternative to flower gardens and are used for borders, hedges and privacy. Choosing the right shrubbery for your garden involves consideration of your soil content, availability of light and privacy needs.

Instructions

1. Consider how high you want your shrubs to grow. Most shrubs, when first planted, are small and stick-like, but looks are deceiving. Some will grow to 6 feet or more. If you don't want to spend many hours trimming your shrubs, know your height limit before buying.

2. Get privacy with deciduous shrubs that grow thickly. Evergreens are a better choice for privacy over deciduous shrubs, however, because deciduous shrubs lose their leaves in the winter. Privet can grow very tall, up to 10 feet or more, and it can be pruned into shrubbery shapes you like.

3. Match your shrub choice to the amount of shade and sun available. Some will require full sun. Some choices for shady areas are Elderberry, Privet (Golden Vicary) and Spirea. Dogwood, Holly, Yews, Forsythia and Potentilla (Dakota Sunspot) are sun-loving.

4. Check your soil conditions. Is it sandy? Moist? Shrubbery for an Arizona garden will vary from those for tropical climates. Shrubs that grow well in dry climates include the Bar Harbor Juniper and the Western Sand Cherry.

5. Know your hardiness zone. North Dakota winters often dip into the 20-below range for weeks at a time. Make sure your shrubs can handle the climate you're subjecting them to by checking the hardiness zone. Hardiness zones are usually plainly marked in catalogs and on labels at garden centers. For colder regions, evergreen shrubs work very well. Some examples of evergreen shrubs are Juniper, Boxwood and Spreading Yew.

6. Pick the leaf shape or flowering shrub that pleases you the most. It's your garden and you should please yourself. Some examples of flowering shrubs are Red Sprite, Shrub Roses, Alice, Snow Queen, Oakleaf Hydrangea.

References

• Shrubbery Suggestions
• Privet

Resources

• Choosing Shrubs