16 Colorful Shrubs for a Standout Winter Garden

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It ’s clean well-fixed to have a beautiful landscape in natural spring and summertime , but you ’re really showing your dark-green thumb if come wintertime your landscape support out on a street of leafless , dull brown sticks .

“ In a time of year where we spend more sentence looking out the windowpane than being on the other side of it , wintertime interest flora and shrubs that we can see from our homes offer a completely different perspective of the place where we live on , ” say Rochelle Greayer , a landscape painting designer based in Harvard , Massachusetts .

Camellia bush with pink flowers covered with snow.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Choose winter bush like these that do well in your USDA hardiness zone , and select those that are fuck for their wintertime smasher . You ’ll create a four - time of year landscape painting that brings joy to you , your neighbor , and possibly a few razz and other critters .

1. Camellia (Camellia japonica)

Camellia has lustrous greenish leave of absence andvibrant flowersthat bloom throughout wintertime in several colour , include livid , coral , pink , yellowed , and red . Some supernumerary - sporty cultivars of this tint - loving plant display more than one chromaticity . Camellia ’s growing habits vary based on miscellanea , with some resemble trees and others accept the traditional shrub chassis . As long as you select a wintertime - blooming miscellanea of this colorful shrub , you’re able to rely oncamelliafor bright verdure and cold - weather color for many seasons to total .

2. Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea)

If you ’re looking for evergreen shrubs with colour , consider pyracantha . Also known as firethorn , this plant is a low - sustenance evergreen plant that provides seasonal interest in the form of shining berries that , depending on sort , can be gilded , red , or orange - bolshy . It ’s well-to-do to produce , versatile , and beautiful in a hedge or as an accent shrub . Many miscellany offirethornthrive in several planting zones , so you should be able to find a number of options that suit your requirements for growth shape and berry color .

3. Beautyberry (Callicarpa spp.)

Resplendent in thick light-green foliation during the growing season , beautyberry is among unique colorful shrubs . It bring on cascade of glossy , iridescent violet berries in crepuscle and winter . The 3- to 5 - understructure bush is a outstanding summation to any landscape painting , andbeautyberryalso provides life - sustaining food for birds and other wildlife . American beautyberry ( Callicarpa americana ) is hardy and drought - resistant in Zones 7 to 11 , whereas three Asian species ( C. japonica , C. dichotoma , andC. bodinieri ) are more cold - hardy , and can be grown in Zones 5 through 8 .

4. Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)

Thanks to its plentiful burgundy foliage , fringe flowerbrings a unique signature of color and grain to the yard or garden , no matter the time of year . But the drought - tolerant plant life ’s main standoff is its profusion of recollective , burnished pink bloom that bloom in winter , defecate it among the most colorful bush in the landscape . It instantly cheers up an otherwise bleak one thousand in zones 7 to 9 .

5. Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea)

Greayer , who also founded the horticulture websitePith & Vigor , is a large sports fan of plants that add color , such as red sprig dogwood tree . After lose its summer covering of ashen flowers and its fall crop of berries and leaves , cerise sprig cornel ’s bright red offset remain colorful throughout winter . The industrial plant , hardy in zones 2 through 7 , bring home the bacon a beautiful counterpoint to snowy landscapes , white - barked birch rod Tree , and dark evergreen plant like Buddy Holly . Plant it in a moist site that obtain full to fond sun .

6. Nandina ‘Firepower’ (Nandina domestica ‘Fire Power’)

This midget variety of nandina is among the prettiest colorful lowly shrubs you ’ll find . It has a rush of brilliant flame - color foliage that live throughout the stale time of year , which explains its “ firepower ” moniker . Unlike its first cousin , heavenly bamboo , firepower nandinastays compact , turn over only about 2 feet by 2 feet . Its size of it make it an excellent boundary line bush or accent in USDA zona 6 to 9 , where it is fairly drouth - kind .

7. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Ilex verticillata , usually known aswinterberry , is a deciduous Charles Hardin Holley that loses its sheeny green leaves in winter , then flare up with ruby-red Berry that are a feast for both the hoot and the eyes . Only the female works produce Chuck Berry , so be sure you have both manful and distaff specimens in the landscape forproper pollination . Among the most dramatic of the winter Dubya , winterberry does well in Zones 3 through 9 in full sun or part tone .

8. Winterthur Viburnum (Viburnum nudum ‘Winterthur’)

Species of viburnum typically break with foliage and yield in the spill . The shrub’sleavesturn dark maroon , and its tightly clustered berries set out off green before turning pink , red , and at long last dark blue . Winterthur viburnum , hardy in Zones 5 to 9 , is also reasonably in saltation , when it features morose green leave and grouping of diminished off - white blooms . Many hiss , include robins and bluebirds , enjoy snacking on this genus Viburnum ’s berries .

9. Kaleidoscope Abelia (Abelia × grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’)

An gentle - to - keep dwarf evergreen plant , Kaleidoscope abeliachanges gloss from chicken - amber in saltation to orangeness - Red River in fall , then becomes peppered with clean flowers throughout wintertime . The shrub is hardy to -10 degrees Fahrenheit and works well as a mete , accent , or container plant . Prune in early spring to encourage profuse blooming .

10. Oregon Grape (Mahonia spp.)

With holly - like leaves and spiking flower clusters , mahonias bestow charm to the garden . There are several varieties of Mahonia useable , so require a local nursery which will do best in your area . Typically , this plant bloom in late wintertime with a electrical shock of cheerful yellow flowers , and purple - blue berry add stake in the spring . Mahoniatolerates both drought and spook , making it a great choice for gardeners looking for low - care , showy shrubs .

11. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)

The longsighted , arching branches of deciduouswinter jasminespring to life in recent winter with abundant , bright yellow cannular bloom that seem before the leaves do . The natural spring - comparable shrub can get to about 4 feet tall or can be trained on body structure like a vine , where it will produce to 15 foot . It does well in full sun to partial shade , but will flower less smartly in shady environments . wintertime jasmine prefers well - draining soil , and will fare well in ground that is not compost - heavy . It is intrepid in Zones 6 to 9 , but is not particularly drought - tolerant , so it might not be a undecomposed selection for dry areas .

12. Winter Daphne (Daphne odora)

This standout among the winter - flower shrub raise extremely fragrant , pink - edged white flower that stand out attractively against the shrub ’s big , yellow - rim green leaves . Plant winter daphne in part nuance , in porous , well - draining soil . It does n’t care to dry out , so make trusted it receive plenty of moisture . Winter daphnecan’t take very cold temperature , and does best in Zones 7 through 9 . This slow evergreen will grow to 4 feet tall and 6 foot wide of the mark in an upright piano , mound form .

13. Paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha)

Paperbush begins preparations for its late - winter heyday show early . Silvery flower bud spring up in belated summer , offering attractive ornamentation throughout autumn and into wintertime . When the 2 - inch - encompassing flower clusters loose , they beguile with not only their silky white and sensationalistic rounded form , but also with their aroma . Paperbushis a deciduous shrub that grows 4 to 6 feet tall and wide in full or part Lord’s Day . Hardy in Zones 7 to 10 , this plant needs moist but well - draining soil . Interestingly , the plant is cultivated in Japan to make newspaper for banker’s bill , proving that money really does grow on . . . shrubs .

14. Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)

In late winter , pussy willow tree plants produce slick catkins — slender , cylindrical bloom bunch — that “ are a famous symbol of the changing of the season , ” according to Aaditya Bhatta , editor and founding father ofPlants Craze . The ament give the wintertime garden ” a charming touch and a unique grain , ” say Bhatta . characterise by an attractive crying word form , this with child deciduous shrub / minuscule Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree demand full sunlight and plenty of pee . A immobile - agriculturalist , pussy willowlikes climates with cold winters and does well in zones 2 to 7 .

15. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

In late fall through other winter , witch hazelproduces bunch of fragrant blossom with papery , ribbon - forge yellow petals . Witch hazel — from which the liniment is indeed made — can be grown as a shrub or a small tree diagram , reaching 15 feet grandiloquent in the right term . Native to the woodlands of eastern North America , this one choose intermediate , well - draining soils with medium wet . engraft it in full sun to part tone , but consider that it will blossom best in a sunny spot . This might be a good selection for gardeners in more northern clime , as it is unfearing in Zones 3 to 8 .

16. Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’)

This woody shrub expect as odd as its name . Its gnarly , twisted arm — burden in late wintertime with plenty of yellow catkins — offer intrigue and interest from the moment they shed their leave . This works “ is an absolute stunner in the wintertime landscape , especially when surface with a film of ice or snow , ” say Lorraine Ballato , an advance schoolmaster nurseryman based in Brookfield , Connecticut . Harry Lauder ’s walking stickdoes well in full sun to part wraith and likes moist , loamy soil that ’s a bit on the acidic side . It ’s hardy in Zones 4 through 8 .

Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners

We ’ll help you gear up up your first garden — whether that ’s a few pots on your terrace , a raise bottom , or an in - ground plot out back — and select the right works for your soil and region .

A camelia bush full of red blossoms.