Thousands of shrubs are available to home gardeners, which can make it tough to choose. Here are some basics to help you understand the differences between them.
Deciduous shrubs -- those that lose their leaves each year -- come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and most have attractive blooms. Some have arching branches -- for example, butterfly bush and forsythia (figure A). Common lilac and hibiscus (figure B) have erect branches. Hydrangeas (figure C) and witch hazels tend to have a rounded form. The Sargent crabapple and staghorn sumac have spreading branches.
Coniferous shrubs are cone-bearing, primarily evergreen plants with needlelike or scalelike leaves. They may be low and trailing, spreading, rounded or upright.
Broad-leaved evergreen shrubs include boxwood (figure D), azalea (figure E) and myrtle. These plants' leaves are usually thick and waxy.
Evergreens do a good job of hiding heat pumps, dog runs or garbage cans year-round. Tall evergreens can be used to guide the eye up and over permanent landscape features such as fences and walls.
RESOURCES :
for the American Horticultural Society's Practical Guide, Flowering Shrubs
DK Publishing - Main Office
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-213-4800
Fax: 212-213-5240
for the book A-Z of Evergreen Trees and Shrubs
Reader's Digest Association Inc.
Pleasantville, NY 10570
Phone: 800-431-1246 OR 914-
for the book Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia
Timber Press
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-227-2878
for the book Taylor's Guide to Shrubs
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-351-5000
Email: tradecustomerservice@hmco.com
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