When you add plants to your landscape, don’t neglect shrubs. Woody plants with a low-growing or bushy form add diversity and texture to your yard. Once established, native evergreen shrubs are generally very low maintenance.
Perhaps you’ve decided you want a few flowering shrubs that stay green all year round. Fortunately, there are many different broadleaf shrubs with evergreen foliage. Year-round greenery boosts your home’s curb appeal, provides habitat for birds and insects, and gives you something interesting and appealing to look at every time you walk through your yard.
You can find shrubs that love heat or cold, sun or shade, moisture or dry soil. What growing conditions do you have in your yard? First, identify your USDA plant hardiness zone and look for native shrubs that remain evergreen and perennial in your region. Then take a little time to match the right plants to your available light, soil, and moisture, and you’ll be well on your way to gardening success.
Now, let’s grab some gloves and dig right in and check out these 15 native evergreen shrubs to help your landscape shine through every month of the year.
California Bay
The California bay is a large shrub or small to medium-sized tree native to the Pacific coast, from Oregon south to Mexico. While it has the potential to grow into a full-sized tree, California bay can be pruned to stay a large, bushy shrub. Its aromatic silvery-green leaves will keep your landscape looking lively throughout the year.
Choose a site with full sun or partial shade and rich, moist soil. California bay isn’t well suited for a smaller site because it will eventually become quite large, potentially reaching over 50 feet wide, depending on age and amount of pruning. These attractive plants have great wildlife value, providing food and shelter for birds, insects, and mammals.
Carolina Rhododendron
If you love azaleas but want something native, check out the Carolina rhododendron. This attractive small to medium-sized shrub is native to the southeastern United States and would make a fabulous addition to your shade garden. It would do well in a moist woodland habitat with well-drained soil.
Carolina rhododendron blooms in the spring. The showy, tubular flowers are generally pink and white, blooming in rounded clusters. Pollinators and hummingbirds love these native plants. When not flowering, the bright green foliage compliments your other shade garden plants and provides long-lasting greenery. These plants remain evergreen in the warmer parts of their range.
Creeping Blueberry
Like other familiar blueberry plants, the creeping blueberry produces tasty edible fruits, but unlike most other blueberries, this plant creeps along the ground and has evergreen foliage. Creeping blueberry is found only in pine savannahs and flatlands of the southeastern United States. It requires a warm temperate climate with plenty of bright sunlight and sandy, acidic, well-drained soil.
If you have the right conditions to support a creeping blueberry, this plant will bring plenty of joy to your garden. Use it as a well-behaved ground cover along an edge in your xeriscape garden and allow it to sprawl freely. Dainty pink and white bell-shaped flowers bloom in the spring, followed by purple-blue fruits in the summer. The glossy, leathery leaves leaves turn bronze in the winter.
Dwarf Palmetto
Dwarf palmetto isn’t a true shrub but rather a member of the palm family. However, its shrub-like form is a welcome addition to warm, humid southeastern landscapes. The dwarf palmetto grows well in full sun but looks its best in partial shade. It tolerates a variety of soil conditions but prefers moist, well-drained soil.
This palmetto has large, spreading evergreen leaves for year-round interest. These plants don’t always flower yearly, but when they do, the large, snowy panicles of creamy white flowers are a pollinator favorite. After flowering, you’ll see dark purple-black fruits that are eaten by a variety of birds and other wildlife.
For a striking native southeastern garden, grow several together for an evergreen shrub hedge, or grow a single palmetto as an accent plant. Prune off dead lower leaves to keep your dwarf palmettos looking great.
Florida Anise Tree
The Florida anise tree is native to Florida and the far southeastern United States and Mexico. This shrub loves summer heat and humidity and needs a shaded environment with acidic, rich, moist soil. If your landscape has these conditions, the Florida anise tree is surprisingly showy and makes a great addition to your shade garden.
This ornamental shrub has large, elliptical, thick, glossy leaves. These evergreen leaves are aromatic, and although they smell nice, they are toxic to eat and should not be used as a culinary herb. The flowers, however, are the real star of the show. The Florida anise tree has large, unique flowers that are bright burgundy red. Each has an array of elongated petals. The flowers have an unpleasant smell but are beautiful and attract an assortment of pollinators.
Inkberry
Inkberry is a small holly species native to the eastern and southeastern United States. It generally prefers a partially shaded plot with moist to wet, acidic soil. This native evergreen shrub makes a great hedge option, or place it in your rain garden or along a wetland edge.
Inkberry has glossy green to bronze leaves with slightly toothed edges. Inkberry has separate male and female plants. The small white flowers bloom in the spring and are a pollinator favorite. If cross-pollinated with a nearby male plant, female plants form glossy black berries in late summer and fall. Inkberry has excellent ornamental value and matures into a nicely rounded, densely-leafed shrub.
Kinnikinnick
Kinnikinnick, otherwise known as the common bearberry, is a cool-weather ground cover. This plant is suitable only for cooler northern climates and won’t perform well in long, hot summers. Grow it in full sun or light shade with gritty, well-drained soil.
These low-growing shrubs hug the ground and only reach about one foot tall. Plants form a mat of evergreen vegetation that can be used along borders and edges or in a xeriscape rock garden. Kinnikinnick has tough, leathery leaves with smooth, rounded edges. It blooms in the spring with small, nodding, pink or white urn-shaped flowers. Bright red berry-like fruits ripen in the summer and are eaten by birds and small mammals.
Mountain Doghobble
The mountain doghobble, also called drooping laurel, is a showy shrub native to the mountain regions of the southeastern United States. This evergreen shrub has finely toothed, lance-shaped leaves. They are glossy green during the warm seasons and turn bronze in the winter.
This plant spreads by root suckers to form colonies. Prune any unwanted suckers or allow them to naturalize and fill a larger area. The spring-blooming inflorescences form pendulous bunches of creamy white, urn-shaped flowers. These flowers are very showy and fragrant, attracting pollinators and plenty of attention.
Mountain Laurel
Mountain laurel is a lovely evergreen shrub native to cooler mountain regions of the eastern United States. The native species prefers cooler summer weather but there are many cultivars available that are more heat tolerant, which allows you to choose a mountain laurel variety that best suits your region. These plants generally prefer a partially shaded habitat with well-drained soil and consistent moisture.
From late spring until early summer, mountain laurel displays its spectacular flowers. Densely packed clusters or angular pink and white flowers form a uniquely showy sight that’s hard to miss. These shrubs have a generally rounded but somewhat irregular form. They make excellent specimens for a shaded plot. Try growing two or three together for maximum appeal.
Oregon Grape
Oregon grape, also called Oregon grape holly or holly-leaved barberry, is an interesting broadleaf evergreen native to the Pacific Northwest where it grows in moist forests. This plant grows upright stems and root suckers to form dense colonies. Prune off unwanted root suckers to keep your patch looking tidy. This is a shade-loving plant that requires rich, moist, acidic soil.
The Oregon grape has thick, glossy green, pinnately compound leaves. The individual leaves have sharply pointed margins, looking much like holly leaves. Bunches of bright yellow flowers bloom in spring, maturing into clusters of blue-black fruits that resemble blueberries or grapes. The fruits are much loved by birds and can be harvested for jams and jellies.
Sparkleberry
Sparkleberry is known by several common names, including huckleberry and farkleberry. Sparkleberry is closely related to blueberries. It produces dark purple-black fruits that are eaten by birds and other wildlife, but these fruits are unpalatable to humans. If you want to eat the fruits yourself, you should grow a blueberry bush instead.
Sparkleberry has evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage, so you can use this plant as a year-round hedge or privacy screen. It’s also a good option as a long-lasting accent along a border or with other assorted shrubs. Masses of small white, bell-like flowers bloom in the spring and attract pollinators.
St. John’s Wort
St. John’s wort is a small shrubby wildflower native to the southeastern United States. You’ll love this little plant in your woodland garden or along a partially shaded border. Its bright yellow flowers bloom in summer and attract plenty of pollinators. St. John’s wort is deciduous in the northern parts of its range, but in the southern parts of its range, enjoy its bright green leaves throughout winter.
These plants are fairly adaptable and grow well in full sun or partial shade. They prefer rich, moist, well-drained soil but tolerate other soil conditions as long as they have adequate drainage. St. John’s wort grows into a nicely rounded form with dense foliage and a generally vibrant appearance.
Sweet Bay Magnolia
The sweet bay magnolia is an ornamental large shrub or small tree native to the southeastern United States. It can grow up to 35 feet tall with a tree-like form, but it can also be pruned to stay more compact and bushy, making an excellent year-round privacy screen. It appreciates abundant sunlight and rich, moist soil with good drainage.
This beautiful native plant has excellent wildlife value. Pollinators visit the flowers, while birds and mammals nibble on the seeds. This is also a larval host plant for several species of butterflies. The evergreen leaves are large and glossy, and the large, fragrant white flowers bloom in spring and attract pollinators.
Wax Myrtle
Wax myrtle is a medium to large shrub found throughout the warmer climates of central and eastern North America. It is highly adaptable to a variety of growing conditions, from full sun to moderate shade. It tolerates moist soil, dry soil, swampy margins, and occasional drought. Although it can grow to a sizable 25 feet tall, it rarely reaches its full height and can be easily pruned to stay smaller and bushier.
Wax myrtle has fragrant spicy-scented leaves. The leaves are oblong, glossy, and sparsely toothed along the margins. Wax myrtle plants are dioecious with separate male and female plants. The spring-blooming flowers are non-showy, but cross-pollinated female plants produce showy dusty-blue berries along their stems. These little berries add a bit of color and texture to your landscape, as well as offer a food source for wildlife.
Yaupon Holly
The Yaupon holly is a native evergreen shrub from the southeastern United States and Mexico. It grows in full sun and while it’s tolerant of heavy shade, it won’t grow as densely. These shrubs prefer moist, acidic soil with good drainage, although they aren’t too picky and grow well in a wide variety of soil conditions.
Yaupon holly is a mid to large-sized shrub. It grows a densely branched, rounded form and needs to be pruned to remove thicket-forming root suckers. The glossy, dark green leaves don’t have sharp points like many other hollies. The tiny white flowers bloom along the stems in the spring, attracting pollinators. Birds feast on the bright red fruit clusters in the fall and winter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Needled evergreens are known as conifers and bear cone-like seed pods. They typically (but not always) retain their needle-like leaves all year round. Broadleaf evergreens, on the other hand, are flowering plants that don’t lose their leaves in the winter.
They are often characterized by having tough, thick leaves that can handle winter cold. There are broadleaf evergreens adapted to most climates but they are generally more common in warmer climates.
Spring and fall are both excellent times to introduce new plants to your garden. Aim for a cool, overcast day because you’ll want to avoid hot days with intense sun that will stress your newly transplanted shrubbery.
If you’re transplanting in the fall, try to time the planting for about six weeks before the first average fall frost. This will give the roots a chance to take hold before the ground freezes.
Shrubs are highly versatile and play a valuable role in landscape design. Many people think of shrubs as barriers, borders, and privacy screens and evergreen shrubs are especially useful for this purpose. Shrubs are also very ornamental and can look great as a central accent point in your yard.
You can arrange groupings of shrubs in larger landscapes or even grow a single dwarf shrub in a patio garden if you have limited space. Flowering shrubs increase your home’s curb appeal and offer structure and beauty throughout the year.
