Shrubs With Pink & White Flowers

Hydragneas have showy pink and white flowers.

Flowering shrubs are an attractive addition to any landscape. They can be used as a hedge or privacy screen, or planted alone as a visual center point. Numerous shrubs -- too many to count -- feature pink and white flowers, but some stand out as being exceptionally hardy, beautiful or easy to grow.

Winter-Blooming Shrubs

Flowering Quince or Japonica (Chaenomeles speciosa) blooms in late February or early March. The small flowers bloom in shades of pink, white or red and appear before the leaves. Viburnum tinus is an evergreen species of viburnum that features tiny pink flowers. This shrub is desirable for its pleasant fragrance and for the fact that it blooms continuously from late fall to early spring. Winter Daphne (Daphne odora), like V. tinus, has a strong but pleasing scent. It blooms from February through March with dark pink flowers.

Spring-Blooming Shrubs

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) are desirable for their clusters of tiny flowers and for their beautiful fragrance. Some cultivars make excellent cut flowers. They bloom in many different shades, including pink and white. Try Maiden's Blush for a pink lilac with a particularly strong scent. Vanhoutte spirea (Spirea vanhouttei) has a distinctive shape, with long branches that droop gracefully to the ground. In the spring, those branches become profusely covered with white flowers. Weigela (Weigela florida) shrubs bloom in the spring and can grow to heights of over 6 feet. Try Minuet if you want a pink-flowering weigela that will remain small. This dwarf variety reaches heights of only 2 to 3 feet.

Summer-Blooming Shrubs

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is desirable for its long-lasting, sweet-smelling flowers. The blooms are pink, white or red, depending on the cultivar. This plant blooms from July through August and is exceptionally hardy. The Bottlebrush shrub (Aesculus parviflora) features large, attractive panicles of white flowers that can reach lengths of 12 inches. Besides its showy appearance, this shrub is also desirable for its ability to grow and thrive in the shade. It blooms in July and August. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp), with their huge clusters of flowers, bloom in shades of pink, white or blue, depending on the species and soil acidity. Rhododendrons and azaleas bloom in a wide variety of colors. Some bloom in early spring, but many species and cultivars bloom in early-to-mid summer. Try Boule de Neige if you want a hardy white-blooming type.

Fall-Blooming Shrubs

The rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) features trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom from late summer through fall. The flowers are either white, pink or purple, depending on the cultivar. Camellias (Camellia spp) are prized for their large, waxy flowers. Many come in shades of white and pink. Depending on the variety, they bloom in spring, summer or fall. Choose Camellia sinensis if you want a white-flowering species that will bloom from early fall through winter.

References

• University of Arkansas Cooperative Extenion; Plant of the Week Flowering Quince, Japonica; Gerald Klingaman; March 2004
• Birds and Blooms: Top 10 Flowering Shrubs
• University of Illinois Extension; Beautiful Flowering Shrubs for Shade; Sandra Mason; April 2001
• Washington State University; Winter Flowering Shrubs; Valerie Jean Rose; November 2010
• Iowa State University Extension; Spectacular Spring Flowering Shrubs; Cindy Haynes; April 1999