Slow-Growing Plants for Front Yard Landscaping

Winter Daphne

• Winter daphne (Daphne odora "Aureomarginata") is a broadleaf evergreen grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 7 to 9. Winter daphne's fragrant, reddish-purple flowers have pale pink to white interiors and bloom in midwinter to spring, depending on the location. It can be planted in cooler zones if care is taken to shelter it from the wind or, preferably, if grown in a container and overwintered indoors. The plant grows to be 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide. It has glossy, dark-green leaves. Winter daphne grows in partial shade and prefers rich, well-drained soil.

Dwarf English Boxwood

• Dwarf English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens "Suffruticosa") is a small, slow-growing boxwood. This evergreen grows well in hardiness zones 5 to 8. It reaches a height of 1 to 2 feet tall and a width of 1 to 2 feet, also. The dwarf English boxwood requires a sunny to partially sunny location and needs a moist, well-drained soil. Boxwoods can be used as hedges or trimmed into topiaries.

Drooping Leucothoe

• Drooping Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana), also known as fetterbush, grows primarily in the mountainous areas of the Southeastern United States in shady ravines near streams. However, some cultivars are suitable for foundation plantings, such as "Mary Elizabeth," a dwarf that grows to be 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. Its narrow leaves turn bronze in the winter. Another cultivar, "Nana," has shiny green leaves that turn bronze-red in the fall. It reaches a height of 2 to 3 feet and a width of 3 to 6 feet. These cultivars are hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8. Leucothoe's clusters of fragrant, small white flowers blossom in May. It is considered invasive in some areas.

Mugho Pine

• Mugho pine (Pinus mugo mughus) is a pine tree that is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7, although zone 7 may be too warm for it to thrive, according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. Mugo pine is a medium- to tall-sized tree, but dwarf forms are available for landscaping. It requires full sun and dry to moderate conditions. Cultivars range from mounded to globe-shaped to conical. Slow-growing cultivars include the globe-shaped "Mops," the flat mounded-form"Sherwood Compact" and "Slowmound," also a mounded form.