Flowering shrubs bring an extra element of blooming beauty to your garden beds and yard. As spring and summer's favorite visual workhorses, they boost curb appeal while adding riotous color, attracting important pollinators, and providing structure and privacy. Whether you have an expansive lawn or a small patio, planting shrubs that bloom from spring to fall means you'll enjoy color for months. What's more, flowering bushes are ideal for foundation plantings—as border plantings along walkways, around pool areas, and as accents in a mixed border with evergreens shrubs. Many flowering shrubs thrive in containers too, bringing color and life to a front porch, patio, or deck.
What's the easiest flowering shrub to grow in full sun?
Flowering shrubs are generally some of the easiest plants to grow and most will thrive if you follow some basic gardening rules. For starters, read the plant tag or description so you'll know what the plant needs in terms of light. Most (but not all) flowering shrubs need full sun, or at least six hours of direct sunlight to bloom. Otherwise, they tend to get 'leggy' and produce few flowers. Also, pick plants that will survive winters in your USDA hardiness zone (find yours here).
Other considerations when picking flowering shrubs to plant: Pay attention to details such as the plant's mature height and width. It may look tiny now in its quart-sized pot, but when it reaches its full size in a few years, will it cover a window or crowd out other plantings? Finally, keep it watered the first season or two, especially during dry spells, so that it establishes a healthy root system. Read on for more information on hardy varieties and growing tips.
What is the longest-lasting flowering shrub?
Although there's no one type of shrub that flowers all year long (due to cycle of growth, blooming, and dormancy), there are quite a few with extremely long bloom times or three-season interest, meaning they offer something to see in spring, summer, and fall. A few that work in many different regions of the country include hydrangeas and butterfly bushes, along with new re-blooming varieties of lilacs, azalea, spirea, and shrub roses.
Read on to learn about the 26 most beautiful flowering shrubs, along with a comprehensive guide to when they bloom as well as landscaping ideas for how and where to plant them.
Most Nostalgic Flowering Shrub: Honeysuckle
Nothing beats the nostalgic scent of dreamsicle-colored honeysuckle. Attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds alike, be careful to pick the right variety of these hardy shrubs, as some types are invasive.
When It Blooms: Late spring through mid summer is the peak time for sweet honeysuckle blooms.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs for Fragrance: Korean Spice Viburnum
Korean spice viburnum produces pale pink buds in early spring that bloom into white or pink clusters. Plant it where you can enjoy its heady scent. It's also deer resistant!
When It Blooms: It has a delicious spice cake fragrance that tells you spring has arrived, making a display of blooms from early to late spring for several weeks.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Exposure: Part to full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs for Adding Interest: Sweetshrub
With unusual, large red or white flowers that can carry a spicy scent, this easy-to-grow flowering shrub also is known as Carolina allspice, spicebush, or strawberry bush. Because it maxes out at 10 feet tall, plant it where it has plenty of space to spread.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Part to full sun
When It Blooms: The interesting flowers last for weeks in early summer, blooming most of the season in moderate climates. It's also deer resistant.
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Best Fast-Growing Flowering Shrubs: Forsythia
When forsythia blooms, it's a sure sign spring is starting. Look for newer varieties that are more compact and better behaved than old standards, which can become tall and unwieldy in small gardens. Plant as accents or in a mixed border.
When It Blooms: The canary yellow blooms appear in early spring before the shrub even has leaves. The rest of the year, it's a handsome deciduous shrub. And it's a fast grower!
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Exposure: Full sun
Longest-Blooming Flowering Shrubs: Hydrangea
Hydrangeas works as a hedge, as an accent, or even in containers. Many new varieties have been introduced in the last decade, so shop for one sized to your garden (some max out at just 2–3 feet tall and wide). No matter where you live, there's a hydrangea that will thrive in your environment.
When It Blooms: They boasts three-season interest because the flowers, which emerge in early to midsummer, stay intact through fall and winter. The papery blooms persist throughout the season and make excellent dried flowers.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Exposure: Part to full sun, depending on the variety
Best Classic Flowering Shrubs: Azalea
Known for their beautiful show at The Masters each April, these classic evergreen shrubs come in every color from peach to hot pink to a pure snow white. They're lovely planted en masse or as foundation plantings.
When It Blooms: New varieties are more cold hardy and rebloom, offering a spring show and secondary blooms throughout the season.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
Exposure: Part sun to sun
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Best Flowering Shrubs for Long-Lasting Blooms: Ninebark
Ninebark is a native shrub that's got it all: colorful foliage that's dark burgundy, chartreuse, or bronze all season long, fragrant blooms, and a natural arching shape that doesn't need pruning. Look for new dwarf varieties for smaller gardens. This shrub looks great most of the season and works equally well in mixed borders or beds or as an accent plant. It's also a pollinator magnet!
When It Blooms: Fragrant white flowers bloom in mid to late spring.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Exposure: Full sun
Best Low-Maintenance Flowering Shrubs: Flowering Quince
Flowering quince is a decidedly low-maintenance shrub that makes for an ideal hedge, screen, or barrier in front yards and backyards. New varieties are thornless.
When It Blooms: This deciduous shrub features beautiful vibrant flowers in shades of peach, scarlet, orange, or red in late winter or early spring.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs for Early Blooms: Mahonia
Not particularly well known, this evergreen shrub blooms in late winter or early spring with bright yellow stems that become handsome blue berries in fall. Place it along borders or as a backdrop to a mixed planting bed.
When It Blooms: Mahonia is an early bloomer and a great screening plant.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Part to full sun
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Best Flowering Shrubs for Old-Fashioned Scent: Lilac
The sweet scent signals summer is around the corner, while the heart-shaped leaves offer charm the rest of the season.
When It Blooms: Plant this late spring flowering shrub where you can enjoy its old-fashioned fragrance and heart-shaped leaves. Many new varieties are more compact or rebloom in midsummer.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Exposure: Full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs for Hummingbirds: Weigela
This deciduous shrub comes in a wide range of foliage and flower colors. Plant weigela as a showy hedge, or use as an accent or in mixed borders. New types rebloom throughout the growing season.
When It Blooms: The beautiful tubular blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies from late spring to summer.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Exposure: Full sun
Best Evergreen Flowering Shrubs: Rhododendron
An old favorite, rhododendron makes for beautiful hedges and thrives under a canopy of trees. New varieties are more cold hardy.
When It Blooms: This flowering shrub with glossy green leaves boasts blooms in white, peach, pink, or shades of purple in late spring.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Exposure: Part to full sun
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Easiest to Grow Flowering Shrubs: Shrub Rose
Every garden needs at least one rose bush, and shrub roses are the least fussy type of rose to plant, as they are hardy and disease resistant. Some also are fragrant. Plant shrub roses as screens, as hedges, or en masse on a hillside.
When It Blooms: Shrub roses bloom from late spring to a hard freeze for long season color.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Exposure: Full sun
Flowering Shrubs with Most Unique Blooms: Witch Hazel
The fun flowers on this shrub make it worth planting. This is a great plant to place along woodland borders.
When It Blooms: The crazy, curly flowers appear in late fall and linger long after the colorful leaves have dropped. Some types also bloom in late winter.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Exposure: Part to full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs with Berries: Beautyberry
It's simply striking! It's also deer resistant and attractive to pollinators. Group several plants for a colorful border, or plant as a focal point.
When It Blooms: Although this deciduous shrub produces pretty flowers from late spring into summer, it's better known for its stunning clusters of purple berries that persist into winter.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Exposure: Full sun
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Best Native Flowering Shrubs: Summersweet
Plant Summersweet en masse, in mixed borders, and along property lines. This native shrub attracts both butterflies and hummingbirds, and deer tend to leave it alone.
When It Blooms: Summersweet has dense, upright branches with fragrant white flowers in mid- to late summer with dark green foliage that turns golden yellow in the fall.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Exposure: Part to full sun
Best Flowering Shrubs for Butterflies: Butterfly Bush
This deciduous shrub features masses of blossoms from summer to fall. It comes in an array of colors including pink, purple, red, and white. Use it to add color, texture, fragrance, and height at the back of beds or near patios and other outdoor living areas. New varieties are more compact, reaching just 2–3 feet tall and wide.
When It Blooms: This fast grower is in bloom from summer to first frost. As the name indicates, butterflies love it!
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Full sun
Toughest Flowering Shrubs: Potentilla
Also known as cinquefoil, Potentilla makes a beautiful addition to everything from small container gardens to mixed borders with its pink, white, or yellow flowers. It's a super-tough plant, standing up to both urban and coastal environments. It's also deer and rabbit resistant.
When It Blooms: This hardy flowering shrub features a long bloom time with some varieties flowering in late spring through early fall.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 7
Exposure: Full sun
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Best Low-Growing Flowering Shrubs: Deutzia
This lovely deciduous shrub has a natural arching shape and produces abundant clusters of small white or pink flowers in spring. Plant as a low hedge, in mixed borders along walkways, or on slopes for erosion control.
When It Blooms: The pretty blooms last for weeks, and it's deer resistant. It's also a low-maintenance shrub that rarely needs attention.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Exposure: Part sun to sun
Low-Maintenance Flowering Shrubs: Spirea
Thanks to its long-lasting blooms, along with its versatility in beds or borders, spirea has become one of the most popular flowering shrubs. Many new varieties have been introduced with flower colors ranging from white to pink with deep green, gold, or chartreuse foliage. This super-tough shrub attracts bees and butterflies but is resistant to deer.
When It Blooms: Spirea's long-lasting blooms show off throughout the summer.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Exposure: Full sun
