Evergreen shrubs bring us year-round presence, continuing foliage appeal, beautifully patterned leaves and colourful flowers across the year. There are evergreen shrubs for every season, too. The foliage of many is attractive in itself and varies from the large dramatic leaves of some rhododendrons to the delicate needles of heathers.
When we remember the many gold, yellow, cream and white variegated forms of evergreen shrubs, not to mention those tinted in bronze or amber or gold – well, it is easy to see how there are so many from which to choose for your garden design.
No one evergreen shrub does everything, however, so we return to one of the few universal horticultural rules: right plant, right place. Choose the plant whose features you admire, and which fits well with other plants nearby and which will thrive in the conditions where you would like it to grow. Make the right choice and these useful shrubs can become a valuable addition to your plot.
1. Boxwood (Buxus)
- Hardiness: RHS H6
- Height: 1-12ft (30cm-3.5m)
- Uses: Low hedging, formal specimens, foundation planting, containers
Boxwood is an invaluable, cold-hardy, small-leaved, dark green shrub, much used for foundation planting and to provide contrast in informal, natural-style plantings. It develops into a variety of shapes from neat, rounded balls to taller informal bushes.
Although it's generally considered to be a good shrub for low-maintenance gardens, the issue of box blight can be a problem to consider, so look for healthy new disease-resistant boxwoods.
Adaptable and hardy, box thrives in most well-drained soils and performs well in both full sun and partial shade. Once established, it requires little maintenance beyond an annual trim, making it an excellent long-term investment for low-maintenance gardens.
2. Scotch heather (Calluna)
- Hardiness: RHS H7
- Height: 10-24in (25-60cm)
- Uses: Ground cover, edging, containers, cutting, drying
An excellent shrub for small gardens, this neat summer-flowering and autumn-flowering shrub has upright stems crowded with short leaves and packed with tiny bells. In some varieties, the flowers are double and in others the buds never open but retain their colour for many weeks.
These two groups provide a very long season of colour. Many also have attractive gold or silver foliage.
Heathers need lime-free soil, and sun for most of the day. Clip back after flowering or in spring.
Top varieties to try include H. E. Beale (double pink) and Sandy (golden leaves, long lasting white buds).
Ideal for providing ground cover, this variety has semi-double red flowers from August to October. It's compact and easy to grow and is suitable for sunny spots in your planting scheme.
3. Common camellia (Camellia)
- Hardiness: RHS H4-5
- Height: 6-8ft (1.8-2.4m)
- Uses: Containers, border specimen, wall shrub
If you're looking for a winter-flowering shrub, this evergreen is a good option. It's a prolific, slightly exotic looking evergreen shrub with glossy foliage and single, semi-double or double flowers that are a little like roses.
Blooming in the autumn, winter or spring, depending on the variety and the climate, the flowers range from 2-5in (5-12.5cm) across and may be red, shades of pink, white or creamy, and are sometimes bicoloured.
When it comes to looking after camellias, they are happiest in partial shade in lime-free conditions. They can be grown in full sun, but must never dry out. They are also happy in garden planters, but will need regular irrigation to keep them growing well.
Top types of camellias to try include Nuccio’s Pearl (double white, tinted pink; spring) and Yuletide (single, golden eyed scarlet; winter), which can be purchased on Thompson & Morgan.
4. Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei)
- Hardiness: RHS H5
- Height: 1-4ft (30cm-1.2m)
- Uses: Ground cover, edging, containers, self-clinging vine, shade gardens
These are neat, slow-growing evergreen shrubs grown mainly for their colourful variegated foliage. Some are low and spreading and make good ground cover plants, some make rounded bushes, a few climb slowly and cling to tree trunks like ivies.
The leaves are small and dark green, but the most attractive varieties have gold or white edges or splashes and many develop pink tints in winter and pink-and-orange fruits.
If variegated varieties produce a shoot that is all green, snip it off with your secateurs.
Look out for Coloratus (vine, purple winter foliage) and Emerald ‘n’ Gold) (bushy, yellow edged leaves, pink winter tints).
With colourful lemon and lime leaflets from May until July, this shrub then turns to a pinky-red as the weather gets colder. Will thrive in most spots, but will do best in moist, well-drained soil and suits sunny or semi-shade conditions.
5. Japanese aralia (Fatsia)
- Hardiness: RHS H5
- Height: 6-10ft (1.8-3m)
- Uses: Impressive specimen, subtropical-style gardens in colder areas, containers
A bold, architectural evergreen shrub making an impressive feature even when still a young plant, the large, rich dark green leaves are up to 18in (45cm) across and impressively divided into nine lobes.
In autumn, white stems carry branched heads of globular white flower clusters and these are followed by clusters of black spring berries.
It's happy in sun or partial-shade and quickly makes a striking specimen in any container.
Top varieties include Spider’s Web (speckled foliage) and Variegata (white leaf tips).
Hardy and easy to grow, this architectural shrub thrives in sun or partial shade and is ideal for woodland gardens, patios and contemporary planting schemes.
6. Gardenia (Gardenia)
- Hardiness: RHS H1c
- Height: 2-5ft (60cm-1.5m)
- Uses: Indoor plant, patio or balcony container plant
This is the evergreen shrub that everyone wants to grow and which everyone can grow – even if you have no garden at all. It can be both an indoor plant in colder areas and a summer balcony or patio plant in warmer areas.
Its main feature is its large, usually double, white flowers set against glossy dark green foliage and, in particular, its superb summer and autumn fragrance.
Deadheading flowers when they start to turn brown is advised to improve its appearance.
Good varieties to try include Double Mint (neat, double flowers) and Kleim’s Hardy (single flowers, the most cold hardy).
This hardy evergreen shrub features glossy leaves and scented white flowers throughout the summer. Choose a sheltered position, ideally in dappled or partial shade. Plants will tolerate a light frost, although it's a good idea to cover them with horticultural fleece. Can also be grown indoors.
7. Mountain laurel (Kalmia)
- Hardiness: RHS H6
- Height: 6-15ft (1.m-4.5m)
- Uses: Border specimens, lawn specimens
These are colourful, native evergreens that make a dramatic early summer show that almost rivals rhododendrons. The narrow glossy foliage makes the ideal background for the crowded clusters of starry flowers opening from buds that resemble twists of cake icing.
Colours range from scarlet or deep red through pink shades to white – but with any number of patterns and combinations.
Unlike the best plants for shade, mountain laurel insists on moist, lime-free soil and full sun or a little shade but may become bare at the base, in which case cut back hard in spring and irrigate and feed well.
Top varieties of this summer-flowering shrub include Minuet (white flowers banded red, dwarf) and Olympic Fire (pink flowers open from large red buds).
This compact mountain laurel has bright pink flowers that form in clusters. It has glossy green leaves that will provide interest throughout the year. Avoiding planting it in exposed, windy sites, instead opting for a sheltered, sunny spot with acidic, well-drained soil.
8. Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
- Hardiness: UK H5
- Height: 6-20ft (2-6m)
- Uses: Privacy screen or hedge
A relatively fast-growing hedge plant, this strong growing, cold hardy shrub, is usually wider than tall, with narrow leathery glossy evergreen leaves. Cherry laurel is one of the best options if you're looking for a dense privacy screening plant or hedge and an attractive flowering specimen.
In spring upright spikes of creamy flowers stand up vertically from the branches like candles and are followed by red, cherry-like berries that turn black as they mature. It will grow happily in any fertile soil in sun or light shade.
Top varieties are Schipkaensis (taller, bushier and especially frost hardy) and Otto Luyken (dwarf, flowers prolifically).
Its glossy dark green foliage provides year-round colour and structure, while upright clusters of fragrant white flowers appear in spring, followed by decorative red berries that mature to black in autumn and are loved by garden birds.
9. Rhododendron
- Hardiness: RHS H4-6
- Height: 1-20ft (30cm-6m)
- Uses: Flowering specimens, border features, containers
The most colourful of all flowering evergreen shrubs, rhododendrons are tough, cold hardy shrubs featuring flared, trumpet-shaped flowers in a vast variety of colours and colour combinations, often prettily spotted. Ranging in height from a few inches to many feet, the foliage too brings us an additional all year feature.
It insists on lime-free soil types, most appreciate a little shade although many will flower well in sun if the soil is not parched.
The top types to choose from are evergreen azaleas (neat growth, spectacular in flower) and Yakushimanun Hybrids (very hardy and easy to grow, impressive foliage).
Known for it mass of crimson red flowers in early May, this azalea will form a neat, compact shrub. The evergreen leaves will provide lots of interest and colour throughout the year. Will do best in moist, well drained, acid soil in semi or dappled shade.
10. Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus)
- Hardiness: RHS H4
- Height: 6-20ft (1.8-6m)
- Uses: Good as tall ground cover, an informal hedge, a border specimen, foundation planting, and smaller varieties are good in containers. Increasingly popular for cutting.
A dependable and versatile evergreen shrub with dark green oval foliage that makes the perfect background to show off the clusters of small fragrant pink or white flowers in winter, often opening from darker pink or red buds. In mild areas the flowers may open from autumn into early spring, with black berries to follow.
In terms of ongoing care, this variety is happy in fertile soil in shade, or in partial shade if the roots are moist.
Good types of viburnum to try include Eve Price (compact growth, bright pink buds) and Spirit (‘Anvi’) ’ (white flowers from autumn to spring).
Easy to grow and low maintenance, this versatile shrub is perfect for borders, woodland gardens, containers or as an informal evergreen hedge, offering year-round structure with attractive glossy foliage.
FAQs
Do you need to prune evergreen shrubs?
When it comes to pruning shrubs, there is no one rule of pruning for all evergreens, but they can conveniently be divided into three groups.
- Evergreen shrubs that flower in the summer or autumn, including Scotch heather and Japanese aralia, are pruned in the spring when growth is starting.
- Evergreen shrubs that flower in winter or spring, such as mountain laurel and camellia, are best pruned soon after flowering.
- Those evergreen shrubs that are grown for their foliage can either be left unpruned, or cut back in spring to encourage fresh new growth, or clipped over once or twice a year to maintain a neat shape.
How can I make sure evergreen shrubs in containers survive the winter?
Evergreen shrubs growing in planters will take less cold than those planted in the open ground.
In late autumn, move your containers close to the wall of your house or into a sheltered corner of your garden.
Use pot feet to lift the container above the ground to allow surplus moisture to drain away – otherwise, in icy conditions, the whole pot will freeze solid and the roots of your evergreen will be frozen in a block of water! An alternative situation is to place them in a porch or cool sun room.
If you live in an area that experiences colder winters, you can provide more protection for your evergreen shrubs by planting them in a sheltered part of your garden or by providing a garden fence or windbreak as protection against icy winds.
If they do show signs of damage, some plants will make fresh growth in spring if you prune out the damaged shoots.
The original version of this article previously appeared on Gardeningetc, a sister website to Homebuilding & Renovating.
