Zone 4-5 Shrubs

Fruit-Bearing Shrubs

• Serviceberry (Amalanchier alnifolia) grows in USDA zones 3 through 6.
  This shrub reaches 10 to 20 feet high with fragrant, white flower clusters gracing your garden from April through May. In summer, its red berry-like pomes appear, growing dark purplish with time. Serviceberry should be planted in well-drained sandy or coarse soil. The prickly gooseberry shrub (Ribes uva-crispa) also likes USDA zones 3 through 6. It likes sun or part shade and needs moist, acidic-neutral soil. Gooseberry can grow to 3 feet high, and its small white to pale yellow bell-shaped blooms appear in early spring. Rapidly forming berries are harvested about 10 to 12 weeks after bloom time. Both shrubs provide fruit for many varieties of birds and foliage for elk, deer and other mammals to graze on during winter.

Ornamental Flowering Shrubs

• Big-leafed hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) grows in USDA zones 3 through 9. It can grow 15 feet high, producing elegant blooms in colors including blue, pink, lavender and white. Colors other than white are prompted by raising or lowering the pH levels in soil. Hydrangea likes rich, porous soil but can tolerate most soil conditions if moisture is provided. It prefers part sun to part shade and blooms during summer and fall. Wood rose (Rosa woodsii) grows from 3 to 5 feet high in USDA zones 3 through 6. It is a prickly, branching shrub that produces pink, five-petaled blooms beginning in June. It prefers moist, loamy soil and grows at elevations from sea level to about 7,500 feet. After blooms disappear, wildlife may eat the rose hips.

Boxwood

• Korean boxwood (Buxus. sinica var. insularis) grows in USDA zones 4 through 8.
  Ranging from 2 to 7 feet tall and to 10 feet wide, it has small leaves and is loosely constructed. It grows well in sun but performs best where part shade is available in the afternoon. This is important during winter because leaves may lose moisture in full sun and dry out while the ground is too frozen for the roots to absorb water. Well-drained soil is best for Korean boxwood, along with some mulch to help maintain moisture around its roots. The common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) can be compact, if kept trimmed as a shrub, or can be grown erect as a tree. This dense evergreen has glossy, dark green ovate leaves and inconspicuous flowers in spring. Common boxwood can grow in full sun to full shade in loamy, or sandy soil and prefers moist soil. It grows best in USDA zones 5 through 10.

Low-Growing Evergreen Shrubs

• Siberian cypress (Microbiota decussata) grows in USDA zones 2 through 7. It is a low-spreading, slow-growing evergreen shrub that reaches 12 to 18 inches high and 6 to 8 feet wide. Siberian cypress has light-green feathery foliage that turns bronze in winter. It is used as a ground cover and is often seen on gradual slopes. It prefers shade to partial shade in well-drained soil. Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens "Nana") does well in USDA zones 4 through 7. This slow-growing shrub reaches 12 to 18 inches tall and can spread to 10 feet wide. The sharp leaves are narrow, triangular and almost steely blue. It needs full sun and well-drained soil but can handle poor conditions and drought.