Best shrubs for shade

The best shrubs for shade grow in places in your yard that don't get much sunlight. It is even better if the shrub has beautiful and fragrant flowers or colorful foliage or sometimes both at the same time. This list of shade-loving shrubs includes plenty of flowering, native, evergreen, or low-maintenance options that will brighten up difficult areas with limited sun.

1. Abelia

Abelia is an easy-to-grow flowering shrub suitable for foundation beds and mixed shrub borders. Fragrant, bell-shaped flowers appear in late spring and continue to bloom into fall. The small, glossy green leaves turn purple-bronze or orange in fall.

2. Aucuba

Akuba, also known as gold dust plant, thrives in low-maintenance shady borders. This slow-growing, evergreen shrub has yellow-speckled foliage year-round, providing color and texture when other plants go dormant in winter. Gold dust plant is grown for its foliage. It has berries and flowers, but they are small and insignificant.

3. Azalea

Celebrate the return of spring with a colorful collection of azaleas (of the Rhododendron genus). These shade shrubs thrive in rich, acidic soil. Azaleas come in a variety of colors, and some newer varieties put on an extra flower show in the fall. Once established, azaleas can survive for decades, especially in the southeastern United States.

4. Bigleaf hydrangea

With their broad, bright green leaves and their white, pink, or blue softball-sized flowers, large-leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) make beautiful and versatile shrubs for shade. Use these plants to form a low hedge, perk a mixed perennial border, or enter large pots. Although bigleaf hydrangeas thrive in bright locations, they need protection from hot afternoon sun that can burn their leaves.

5. Bottlebrush Buckeye

A native of the southern United States, bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) attracts swallowtail butterflies with its summer-blooming white flowers. It grows up to 12 feet tall and acts as a screen separating the garden from unwanted views during the growing season.

6. Camellia

The undisputed queens of the winter garden, camellias bloom at any time, depending on the variety, from autumn to late spring. These amazing plants come in red, pink and white; Some varieties are fragrant. Camellias have a dense branching habit with glossy, bright green leaves, so the plants look beautiful in the landscape even when they are not in bloom. Camellias are slow growing and prefer slightly sandy, acidic soil.

7. Kerria

One of the best flowering shrubs for shade, kerria (Kerria japonica) produces bright yellow flowers in April and May. These easy-care plants tolerate dry and wet soils, heavy shade, and hungry deer. Kerria can spread by underground suckers, so check state regulations to determine if it is considered invasive in your area before planting.

8. Leucothoe

Leucothoe is easy to grow, has few pests, and looks beautiful in every season. Reddish bronze leaves turn dark green, and some selections have burgundy fall and winter foliage. White or cream flower clusters open in late spring and last until early summer, hanging gracefully from the branches.

9. Lily-of-the-valley shrub

This eye-catching broadleaf evergreen shrub gets its name because its white or pink spring flowers resemble those of the lily-of-the-valley. It's a slow-growing shrub, but if you're patient, it will eventually become the centerpiece of your garden. Lily-of-the-valley shrub (Pieris japonica) is a shade shrub and prefers slightly moist, acidic soil, making it an excellent companion to azaleas and camellias.

10. Loropetalum

Loropetalum, also known as Chinese border flower, is an easy-care, attractive, evergreen shrub covered in fragrant flowers in spring. Its foliage, which changes from red to deep green, provides seasonal interest.

11. Mountain Laurel

If you take a spring trip through the Appalachian Mountains, you'll find wild mountain laurels (Kalmia latifolia) in bloom on the hills and meadows. This spectacular native spring-blooming shrub is a great landscape plant with large clusters of cup-shaped rose or white flowers with purple markings. It prefers rich, slightly acidic soil and makes a wonderful companion to azaleas and rhododendrons. Mountain laurel is rabbit and deer resistant.

12. Oakleaf Hydrangea

A low-maintenance native shrub for shade, oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea curcifolia) provides year-round interest to the landscape. It thrives in light shade and produces attractive panicles of creamy white flowers in early summer. Then, in autumn, its giant oak leaf-shaped leaves turn spectacular shades of yellow, orange and burgundy. In winter, you can enjoy the papery, cinnamon-colored bark of oakleaf hydrangea. This wonderful plant tolerates drier soil than other hydrangea species.

13. Oregon Grape Holly

Oregon grape holly, a Mahonia species, is an excellent shrub for shady areas, displaying changing colors throughout the growing season. In spring, it blooms with bright yellow flowers. Leaves emerge red and mature to dark green in summer. In autumn, it is purple before turning burgundy-bronze. In early fall, the plant displays blue-black berries that resemble clusters of grapes.