What are the Shrubs of Wisconsin?

Types

• Among the types of evergreen shrubs in Wisconsin are Canadian yew, creeping juniper and common juniper. Broad-leaved shrubs include dogwoods, ashes, viburnums, willows, sumacs, rose species and some capable of producing berries.

Geography

• Some shrubs, such as black elderberry, grow throughout the entire state of Wisconsin, making them good choices for landscaping no matter where in the state you reside. Others do best in certain sections of the state, such as American plum, a shrub relegated mostly to the southern counties.

Uses

• The smaller kinds of Wisconsin shrubs and their cultivars, including common juniper, are suitable as foundation plants, ground cover or as part of a rock garden. The larger shrubs, such as bladdernut, work to provide shade and grow in naturalized portions of your property.

Benefits

• The benefits of native Wisconsin shrubs are not solely landscaping related. Types such as nannyberry, serviceberry, pagoda dogwood, winterberry, smooth sumac and downy arrowwood provide ornamental berries for the landscape, but these fruits also help feed wild birds. The shrubs also give the birds shelter and nesting sites.