Some can grow 15-20 foot tall. Seasonal interest is provided by flowers, fruit and fall color. Can be used for wildlife cover, hedges, screening, wind and sun barriers, in mass plantings and as a specimen plant.
On this Page: Rose of Sharon, Serviceberry, Smoketree, Spiraea and Viburnums
Rose of Sharon
Azurri Blue Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘DVPazurri’
Height: 8-12′ Spread: 4-6′
Striking blue flowers that don’t form seeds. The deep blue color is especially prominent when the plant is in bud. This long-blooming, reliable, easy care plant will bloom all summer long.
Blue Bird Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Blue Bird’
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 6′
Abundant, showy violet-blue single blossoms each have a dramatic, dark eye. The upright, vase-shape with handsome foliage makes an ideal shrub for use as a hedge, foundation plant, or specimen plant, providing reliable summer color.
Rose of Sharon
Chiffon series
Generously sized, fully double flowers cover an airy, elegant, shrub that will move gently in a breeze unlike other Roses of Sharon, which tend to be more rigid in form. Flowers continuously from early June through summer. Tolerating wet sites gives it added value, and the low seed count promises fewer pesky seedlings.
Height: 8-12′ Spread: 4-6′
Blushing Bride Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Blushing Bride’
Height: 10′ Spread: 6′
Large double flowers with a lovely pink blush are held on upright slender branches with toothy green leaves. A showy specimen. Works well as a flowering hedge or screen.
Collie Mullens Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Collie Mullens’
Height: 10′ Spread: 6′
A charming flowering shrub with slender, upright branches and thick, bright green foliage. Outstanding large rose-pink, semi-double flowers provide welcome color accents in summer. Works well as a hedge or screen.
Diana Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Diana’
Height: 10′ Spread: 6′
Large, pure white flowers will bloom abundantly and nearly continuously from summer until frost, with little to no seed production. Handsome, dark green leaves and a dense, compact growth habit are ideal for an informal hedge or screen. Highly tolerant to air pollution and drought.
Helene Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Helene’
Height: 6-9′ Spread: 6′
Produces snow white blossoms with deep red eye. Summer blooming on upright habit. Thicker textured petals and foliage are displayed more densely. Tough and resilient, makes an exceptional drought resistant cold hardy choice for tropical looks.
Minerva Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Minerva’
Height: 10′ Spread: 6′
Lavender flowers have a pink overlay and dark red eye. Dense habit of handsome, leathery, dark green foliage creates a wonderful informal hedge or screen.
Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Gandini Santiago’
Height: 16′ Spread: 3′
A narrow, somewhat pyramidal pillar, which makes it ideal for creating screens or vertical accents in the mixed border. The pinkish-purple 5″ flowers have dramatic darker purple-pink flares at the center. This Rose of Sharon is sterile, so its blooms never set seed or become a nuisance.
White Pillar Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Gandini van Aart’
Height: Spread:
Naturally grows as a narrow column. Pure white, semi-double blooms, make it an elegant choice for planting in any style landscape and along with any type of architecture. New design possibilities: plant alongside your front entrance, as the centerpiece to a formal container, as a privacy screen, or a dramatic specimen.
Violet Satin Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Floru’
Height: 8-12′ Spread: 4-6′
Richly-colored hardy hibiscus features large single, deep violet-pink flowers adorned with a prominent red center. Blooms in late summer and is excellent in mixed containers or as an attractive hedge
Serviceberry
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry
Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’
Height: 20′ Spread: 15′
A shrub or small tree prized for its brilliant orange-red fall color and disease resistance. Clusters of fragrant white flowers give way to small purplish black fruit often used in jams and jellies.
Princess Diana Serviceberry
Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Princess Diana’
Height: 20′ Spread: 15′
A gracefully spreading small tree with excellent fall color. Brilliant red fall foliage is spectacular, coloring early and lasting late in the season. White flowers in clusters give way to purplish blue fruit which
Shadblow Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Height: 20-25′ Spread: 10-15′
A deciduous, early-flowering, large shrub or small tree. Showy, slightly fragrant, white flowers in drooping clusters which appear before the leaves emerge in early spring. medium to dark green leaves change to orange-red in autumn. Flowers give way to edible berries which mature to a dark purplish-black in early summer.
Smoketree
Grace Smoke Tree
Cotinus x ‘Grace’
Height: 12-15′
Spread: 12-15′
Foliage is a vibrant wine red when young, darkening to a plum red at maturity. Expect brilliant shades of orange-red in the fall. An excellent shrub with artful branching for multi-season interest. Performs even in rocky, infertile soils.
Golden Spirit Smoketree
Cotinus coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’
Height: 8′ Spread: 6′
Spectacular foliage emerges lime green, matures to brilliant gold in summer, then turns coral, orange and red in fall. Showy smoke-like plumes of airy, pale pink flowers provide stunning summer interest. Foliage is sun tolerant and scorch-resistant unless conditions are extremely dry. Wonderful for use as a small specimen tree.
Green Smoke Tree
Cotinus coggygria
Height: 15′ Spread: 15′
An upright, loose-spreading, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub. Billowy hairs turn a smokey pink to purplish pink in summer, thus covering the tree with fluffy, hazy, smoke-like puffs throughout summer. Bluish green leaves produces attractive shades of yellow, orange, and purplish-red.
Royal Purple Smoke Tree
Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple
Height: 15′ Spread: 10-15′
Dramatic, long-lasting, pinkish purple, smoke-like airy seed clusters backed by reddish purple foliage create a prized small tree or large accent shrub. Foliage holds its color all summer, then turns scarlet red in autumn.
Velvet Cloak Smoke Tree
Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’
Height: 8-12′ Spread: 8-12′
Vivid deep red-purple leaves are nearly black with carmine red fall color. Rosy tinted plumes are borne in profusion and fade to clouds of smoky gray.
Spiraea
Renaissance Spirea
Spiraea x vanhouttei ‘Renaissance’
Height: 5′ Spread: 6′
This graceful shrub features a massive display of pure white flowers and colorful orange-red fall color. Very attractive as a specimen plant or in mass plantings.
Shoe Button Spirea
Spiraea prunifolia ‘Plena’ (aka Bridal Wreath)
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 6-8′
An early spring bloom of double white flowers appear in profusion along the bare branches. The pure white flowers are born in long sprays. The foliage appears after the blooms as small, shiny dark green leaves and often develops an attractive red-orange-yellow fall color.
Vanhoutte Spirea
Spiraea x vanhouttei
Height: 6′ Spread: 8′
Arching stems and blue-green foliage make for a handsome plant spring to frost. In spring clusters of white flowers decorate the cascading branches. An old favorite for borders and hedging. Widely adaptable and tolerant of mild drought when established.
Viburnum
Alleghany Viburnum
Viburnum rhytidophylloides ‘Alleghany’
Height: 10′ Spread: 10′
This attractive, dense, upright shrub with textured, leathery, dark green foliage makes a great hedge, screen, or windbreak. Large clusters of fragrant white flowers followed by showy red fruit that matures to black.
American Cranberry Viburnum
Viburnum trilobum
Height: 8-12′ Spread: 8-12′
Dense, rounded, spreading habit that features lacecap white flowers, drooping clusters of cranberry-like edible red berries in fall and three lobed, maple-like, dark green leaves. Fruits tend to shrivel after frost. Foliage turns a sometimes attractive purplish red in fall.
Blackhaw Viburnum
Viburnum prunifolium
Height: 10-15′ Spread: 6-10′
Usually grown as a large, upright, multi-stemmed shrub but it also may be grown as a small, single trunk tree. Flowers give way in autumn to edible blue-black fruit, which often persist into winter and are attractive to birds and wildlife. Glossy dark green leaves turn attractive shades of red and purple in fall.
Blue Muffin Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum ‘Christom’
Height: 5-7′ Spread: 5-7′
Compact selection wth clean white flowers make for a crisp contrast with the glossy green leaves in early to mid-summer. The remarkably intense blue fruit that inspired the name appear in late summer and fall. The fruit add interest to the fall landscape, and attract songbirds to the garden. Berries are not edible.
Burkwood Viburnum
Viburnum x burkwoodii
Height: 6-12′ Spread: 4-5′
Prized for its stunning clusters of pinkish white spring flowers with a wonderful spicy-sweet fragrance and beautiful, lustrous, dark green foliage. The upright, fully branched form is well-suited for use as a hedge, screen or accent plant. Evergreen to semi-evergreen.
Cardinal Candy Viburnum
Viburnum dilatatum ‘Henneke’
Height: 5-6′ Spread: 4-5′
Upright rounded shrub for hedge or foundation planting, displaying clusters of highly fragrant creamy white, lace-like flowers in late spring. Bright red berries ripen in fall and persist through winter, providing food for birds and wildlife. Handsome dark green leaves turn shades of bronze and burgundy-red in the fall.
Chenault Viburnum
Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Chenaultii’
Height: 6′ Spread: 4′
Ornamental shrub with clusters of deep pink buds that open to fragrant pink-tinged-white flowers in early to mid-spring. Lustrous, refined, dark green foliage covers the densely-branched, rounded form for much of the year. An excellent hedge, shrub border or foundation plant. Semi-evergreen.
Chicago Lustre Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum ‘Synnestvedt’
Height: 10-12′ Spread: 8-10′
Extremely durable, attractive, large, upright, rounded shrub with arching branches. Produces clusters of tiny white flowers. Glossy, dark green foliage turns yellow to burgundy in autumn. Use as a tall screen, hedge or specimen.
Judd Viburnum
Viburnum x juddii
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 6-8′
Noted for its sweetly fragrant white flowers in spring, quality dark green foliage that turns burgundy purple to red in fall, along with black fruit in fall.
Korean Spice Viburnum
Viburnum carlesii
Height: 4-6′ Spread: 8′
Large clusters of spicy-scented, waxy pink flowers fade to white. Bright red berries fade to black in fall. Foliage becomes red and burgundy in autumn. Plant in the shrub border, back of perennial beds and foundation plantings.
Marie’s Doublefile Viburnum
Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Mariesii’
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 8-10′
The broadly rounded form on this medium-sized deciduous shrub supports tiered horizontal branches that display the magnificent, large, white, lacecap flower clusters, creating a stunning show in spring. The pleated, green foliage may develop fall color in some regions. The red fruit in fall is very ornamental.
Pink Dawn Viburnum
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Pink Dawn’
Height: 8-10′ Spread: 6-8′
A wonderful shrub for multi-season beauty. After putting on a late winter to early spring show of pink flower clusters, the thick, lustrous, rich green leaves cloak its cinnamon-colored branches. Foliage transforms to bright hues in autumn, accompanied by blue ornamental fruit. An excellent landscape accent.
Red Balloon Viburnum
Viburnum x rhytidophylloides ‘Redell’
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 6-8′
In spring, large, lacy white flower clusters cover the plant, followed by green fruit which turns brilliant red in late summer. Handsome thick, leathery foliage.
Shasta Viburnum
Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Shasta’
Height: 6′ Spread: 10-12′
A large shrub that produces abundant flowers in spring on horizontal branches followed by abundant red maturing to black fruits.
Snowball Viburnum
Viburnum opulus ‘Sterile’
Height: 12′ Spread: 10′
Masses of large, pure white, snowball-like flower clusters make a showy display. Glossy, bright green leaves have a purplish red fall coloring. A spectacular landscape specimen.
Sparkler Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum ‘SMVDE’
Height: 10-15′ Spread: 10-15′
A densely branched, upright, deciduous shrub with lustrous, dark green, ruffled foliage that turns bright yellow to red in fall. Creamy white, flat-topped umbels give way to large clusters of showy blue-black berries that will delight birds. A hardy and reliable hedge, screen or border background, ideal for urban landscapes or native gardens.
Summer Snowflake Viburnum
Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Summer Snowflake’
Height: 6-8′ Spread: 8-10′
A beautiful medium-size shrub with a broadly rounded form. The tiered horizontal branches magnificently display the showy white flower clusters. Highly ornamental red fruit develops in the fall.
Winterthur Viburnum
Viburnum nudum ‘Winterthur’
Height: 10′ Spread: 6′
Fragrant, creamy white flowers, followed by white fruit that darkens to pink before maturing to blue. Shiny deep green foliage turns cinnabar red in the fall. Plant in groups for better fruit production. Attractive in shrub borders, hedges and foundation plantings.