Common Shrubs for Landscaping

Black Chokeberry

• Widely adaptable, the black chokeberry shrub grows rapidly, reaching a maximum height between 3 and 6 feet. It is one of the most common shrubs because it can tolerate a wide range of soils and grows well in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9. The black chokeberry is also a good ornamental shrub with dark-green foliage and white flowers in the spring, giving way to purplish-red foliage and blackish-purple blueberry fruit in the autumn. This shrub does well near streams, ponds and water gardens. Lake and mountain properties are a good fit for this type of landscaping shrub.

Red Rum Honeysuckle

• Growing between 12 to 15 feet tall in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 8, the red rum honeysuckle can grow in full or partial sun, but it is shade tolerant too. It is widely adaptable to many soil types, including poor soil. This deciduous shrub first produces masses of white flowers that then turn yellow towards the fall. It produces a bright red fruit that is an excellent wildlife food source during the winter. The shrub is also commonly used as a windbreak shrub as well as an ornamental one, so if you seek a tall enough hedge and a windbreak this is an excellent shrub choice.

Compacta Burning Bush

• Transplanted easily and widely adaptable, the compacta burning bush grows in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 9 reaching 8 to 10 feet in height. This shrub grows better in full or partial sun but is also shade tolerant. However, the fall coloring suffers without more sunlight. Rabbits and mice feed on this deciduous shrub in the winter, which can withstand wide ranges in temperatures as well as acidic and alkaline soil pH levels. The shrub produces dark red leaves, and orange and red fruit. Its corky wings are able to hold falling snow.