Bushes for Hot Full Sun and Cold Weather

USDA Zone 2

• U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone 2 includes locations in North America such as central Alaska. The Siberian pea tree (Caragana arborescens) grows into Zone 2, surviving bitter winters. Siberian pea tree needs full sun, is tolerant of drought conditions and grows to 20 feet tall. It is an option for poor soil and it works as a screen or windbreak. The flowers of the lead plant (Amorpha canescens) are its best feature; they are blue-purple and emerge in spike-like clusters in July. Lead plant has extreme cold hardiness and does well in full sun in Zone 2. It matures to between 24 and 36 inches tall.

USDA Zone 3

• The shrub rose (Rosa glauca) is native to Europe, growing between 6 and 8 feet high. Suitable for a hedge or as a specimen, shrub rose handles full sun, although exposure to full sun may fade its purple-hued leaves. Full sun, though, does result in more pink flowers, notes the Missouri Botanical Garden. Syringa vulgaris 'Marie Frances' is a cultivar of common lilac for Zone 3 full-sun sites. It grows to between 5 and 7 feet, generating aromatic pink flowers. Full sun brings out the best in the flowers.

USDA Zone 4

• Mass Ural false spiraea (Sorbaria sorbifolia) in groups and take advantage of the showy white flowers of late spring. Ural false spirea, an Asian shrub, grows between 5 and 10 feet in USDA Zone 4, tolerating hot sun and cold temperatures in winter. The shrub may form colonies in a naturalized area by producing new growth from its roots. The foliage of purple-leaf sand cherry (Prunus x cistena) is attractive, as are the white and pink April flowers. This shrub excels in full sun, growing to 10 feet, but it is hardy enough to withstand a Zone 4 winter.

USDA Zone 5

• USDA Zone 5 includes locales such as central New England and the central Great Plains, with winters sometimes as chilly as 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Japanese spiraea (Spiraea japonica) is a nonnative option for this zone, doing well in the hot summers in full sun, when it produces clusters 12 inches wide full of pinkish flowers. Japanese spirea grows to 5 feet and is a possibility as a foundation plant, though it may be aggressive in some areas. Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima) grows to 15 feet in full sun locations. It is an invasive species in much warmer zones, especially the American Southwest, but is useful as a hedge or as a windbreak in Zone 5. It looks somewhat unkempt in the winter, but tamarisk features pink flowers from June through August.