Looking for shrubs that are low-maintenance, resilient, and beautiful? Native shrubs are the answer. They have a long history of adapting to Pennsylvania’s unique seasons and soils. They’re helpful for native bees, birds, and butterflies. Plus, they bring a quintessentially local character to your landscape. We think it’s time to get to know your native shrubs!
From the Coastal Plains to the Piedmont Plateau and Allegheny Mountains, Pennsylvania is a diverse state with many different ecoregions. Each has a unique history of biodiversity and plant communities that thrive there. Among this rich tapestry of life, horticulturalists have discovered and bred many beautiful native shrubs for our gardens, yards, and parks, as you’ll see below.
This gorgeous shrub is native to the low-lying woodlands and wetlands of the eastern United States. It blooms with long clusters of white flowers in May and glows red, orange, and burgundy in the fall. Although most at home in moist conditions, it tolerates drought and floods and thrives in both full sun and partial shade. It’s a tough, low-maintenance, and beautiful shrub for the home garden.
This popular landscaping shrub is native to the eastern half of North America. In the wild, you’ll find it along stream edges and in wetlands. At home, it thrives in wet and dry conditions with minimal water once established. Ninebark is prized for its pink or white flower clusters and sometimes purple foliage. The name comes from its naturally peeling bark which displays many layers as it peels.
These related native shrubs both belong to the Holly family. The Inkberry is known for its purple berries and broadleaf leaves that stay green all winter. The Winterberry loses its leaves but features bright red berries, similar to holly, which put on a beautiful show throughout the winter. Both are compact, low-maintenance, and prefer medium wet to wet conditions. They do well as hedges and make great additions to naturalized and rain gardens.
With such magnificent flowers, it’s hard to believe that rhododendrons are native to Pennsylvania, but they certainly are. In nature, you’ll find them thriving under the forest canopy of cool, moist ravines. In your landscape, they thrive in dappled-shade and moist, well-draining soil. The showy summer blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and the oval leaves stay on over winter, making this shrub an excellent choice for year-round interest.
With so many cultivars out there, viburnums are another popular shrub you wouldn’t expect to grow wild in Pennsylvania, but indeed they do. These two natives bring attractive flower clusters to the garden in spring and blueberries later in the season that attracts birds. The Nudum flushes maroon and burgundy in the fall, while the Dentatum turns yellow, orange, and red. Both are resilient shrubs ideal for hedges and screens and tolerate wet areas in your yard.
The Smooth Hydrangea is one of two native species of this famous horticultural shrub that grows in Pennsylvania. They feature big globes of creamy blossoms that last throughout the summer. Reaching 3-6′ at maturity, they bring impressive white flowers to a hedge, mixed border, or backdrop to your favorite perennials. Both the Oakleaf and Smooth hydrangea grow in full sun or partial shade.
The Oakleaf Hydrangea is the other native hydrangea found in the eastern United States. Living in moist woodlands, stream banks, ravines, and on bluffs, you’ll recognize them by their large, oak-like leaves. While garden cultivars often have more sculpted blooms, the oakleaf has more natural-looking, long-lasting white panicles.
This native Pennsylvania shrub thrives on rocky outcrops, openings, and disturbed areas. They’re known for their evergreen foliage, aromatic scent, and light blue berries. They grow with long twisting branches, a couple of feet in height. Windblown, rugged, and tough junipers are lifelong companions that color the winter months and offer a dark green backdrop to your other perennials throughout the year.
Summersweet takes the stage with an explosion of long, white panicles when other blooms are fading in mid-to-late summer. The fragrant flowers attract bees and butterflies from far and wide, who enjoy the nectar for 4-6 weeks. Native to the woodlands and marshes of Pennsylvania, they thrive in moist ground and tolerate standing water. Sturdy and low-maintenance, they’ll do well in partial shade and full sun, provided they have an adequate water supply.
Generations of insects, birds, mammals, and other plants co-evolved in Pennsylvania. Although much has been lost, old-growth regions remain in our parks and protected areas. When we plant species native to our bioregion, we enjoy more resilient species in our yard and bring a small piece of those bioregions back to life. The flowers, berries, nuts, bark, and leaves provide food and shelter to native birds and insects. Over time, we can help weave our bioregions together and restore the tapestry of life around us.
To meet your newest low-maintenance native shrubs in person, visit our garden center in Glenside, PA!