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Is it possible for plants and trees to be floral, require low maintenance, and still reap year-round interest? Or is that too good to be true?
What we’ve just described are attributes found in evergreen shrubs, and they’re nothing but versatile.
If you’re only now building your garden, perhaps laying artificial grass is a good idea before adding the evergreens. And Essex Artificial Grass can provide you with the most natural products and fix them for you if you contact us.
Undoubtedly, there are numerous types of evergreen plants, and choosing the right one can be a tad overwhelming, which is why we’re going to tell you all about the different kinds of evergreen shrubs.
With fast-growing evergreens, you have to put extra effort into pruning, but, in return, you get fast results. Here are a few suggestions:
Starting off strong, this variety grows up to 5m in height and width. You can keep it in check with regular pruning (and hard pruning if needed). It’s pretty easy to grow, and you get to enjoy its bright red flowers over spring.
If you want to create a hedge, escallonia is just the fast-growing shrub to do it, as it grows about 24cm to 45cm per year. You’ll most likely need to shelter it in the UK because it isn’t fully hardy in some places. Also, the escallonia grows waxy leaves and gorgeous white or pink flowers.
Clematis Armandii can grow up to 8m if placed in the right conditions (a warm spot with shade). With it, you can add a beautiful shrub with scented flowers and glossy dark green leaves to your garden. Besides, this clematis needs no routine pruning, so it’s the low-maintenance evergreen you’re looking for.
Small Evergreen shrubs are preferable to tall ones when it comes to maintenance. Below are some examples:
This is the bushy rhododendron in travel size; we’re talking just under 1m tall and wide. It features large leaves and grows big pink lavender flower clusters towards the spring’s end. Also, it requires no pruning and is ideal for foundation plantings.
This female plant is 1.2 to 1.8m high and wide and can become even smaller with constant pruning. It has thick branches with oval dark green leaves. With a male variety, it can reap mini dark berries that withstand the cold winter. The compact inkberry holly is best used as a foundation plant or hedge.
Dwarf Japanese Holly almost grows in slow motion (about 2.5cm per year). It’s just under 1m tall and 30 to 60cm wide when fully grown. It has clusters of dark and glossy leaves in rows protruding from a stem, and it’s ideal for patio beds and rock gardens. This variety thrives in anything from full sunlight to faint shades but still can get through -20°F temperature.
Tall shrubs are well-suited for screening and privacy once they’ve reached full maturity (in 10 years or less). Without further ado, here are some of our favourites:
Bamboos can be 3m tall and 3m wide, allowing you to create a natural screen if you want privacy or if you want to block an undesirable garden feature.
They’re also a sensible choice if you’re going for an urban or contemporary garden look with smooth swaying movement and rustling sounds.
Moreover, you get colour options, such as black and yellow. In the summer and spring, they require a lot of water, and a high-nitrogen feed is advisable.
Bamboos are best kept in the sun, but one of the many bamboo plants, fargesia Murieliae, is fully evergreen and stands strong against winter weather. It doesn’t spread too much, so most of its foliage is towards the top of the plant rather than its sides.
Bay is an ornamental shrub, which can grow up to 3m long. It’s a dense evergreen shrub with dark aromatic leaves that hide any unfavourable views. Typically, you can find it shaped into a ball or a cone. Moreover, the bay has several culinary purposes. If you’re to get it, it’s better placed somewhere sunny with shade.
Choisya is about 3m high and 2.5m wide. It stands out among other tall evergreens thanks to its low maintenance. Of course, it’s breathtaking with gorgeous white flowers and year-long green leaves, and we can’t forget the smell of orange blossoms. Yet, we’d urge you to keep the choisya somewhere bright and sheltered to reap its benefits.
For those looking to transform their garden, flowering evergreen shrubs bloom with vibrant colours and heavenly scents. Some of their examples include:
These daphnes have tiny pinkish flowers with a sweet and spicy fragrance. Their foliage is compact, and they’re undoubtedly hardy; however, they can be semi-evergreen in cool places. Last but not least, they’re about 1 to 1.5m tall and wide.
Evergreen abelia grows glossy dark green leaves and hot pink blossoms (in early summer) to the extent that they draw in butterflies and hummingbirds. The abelia needs full sunlight and is 3m tall and 3.7m wide.
The azaleas bloom vibrant-coloured flowers in the spring of a variety of colours. You can find plants with pink, orange, yellow, magenta, and purple flowers. These are often associated with Rhododendrons. As for their preferred conditions, you’re advised to keep azaleas in a shady spot in acidic soil. In case acidic soil is unavailable, dwarf varieties can be grown in pots.
If you don’t have the garden space or you want to grow your evergreens inside, you might be looking for some shrubs that you can grow in pots or containers. Don’t worry; you have multiple options.
Ceanothus is better grown in pots far from the cold and wind because it isn’t as hardy as other evergreens, and it likes the sun.
This shrub overflows with vibrant cornflower blue, white, or pink flowers and delicate light green leaves in May and June.
In terms of size, it can be 1.5m tall and 2m wide.
Heather can be grown in a pot but can also be grown in vast numbers as a ground cover or towards a border’s front. It requires a sunny spot and acidic soil.
These shrubs are small (30cm x 20cm) and have spikes of mini white, red, pink, and mauve bell-shaped flowers. As a bonus, heather makes for an excellent source of nectar for bees.
If you don’t get a ton of sunlight where you want to place your evergreens, there are various options for you to choose from, including:
Camellias grow in shady spots and acidic soil. However, acidic soil isn’t necessary because you can grow them in pots also.
They’re blessed with white, pink, or red flowers from late winter to early spring. In addition, camellias are 1m long and 50cm wide.
You can place this mahonia variety in an environment with either partial or complete shade. Of course, its lovely festive leaves remain green throughout the year.
Moreover, it’s a flowering plant. You can enjoy its floral display composed of 25cm sunshine yellow flower clusters towards the winter’s end and till spring’s beginning.
Not to mention, you’ll get some purple fruits. Finally, the ‘charity’ Oregon grape shrub is approximately 2 to 3m wide and 3 to 4.6m tall.
In conclusion, there are almost infinite choices when it comes to buying evergreen shrubs in the UK. And limiting your options can help you choose the evergreen shrub type that accommodates your expectations. This is achievable by considering several factors.
These factors include the weather in your specific location, the amount of sunlight you get, the type of soil available, the space provided for the shrub, the degree of maintenance you’re willing to put in, and of course, the reason you want an evergreen (creating a hedge, backdrop, screen, or something else).
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