Plant Profile Collection

Shrubs for layered yards

Find shrubs for structure, screening, flowers, and wildlife without guessing at mature size.

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Dense arborvitae hedge with flat evergreen sprays forming a privacy screen

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Use a guide when you are ready to grow, diagnose a symptom, or compare two close options.

Growing Guide

Best Privacy Trees for a Living Screen

The best privacy tree is one that reaches the required height and density without outgrowing the available soil, light…

Side-by-Side

Knock Out vs Drift Rose: Shrub or Groundcover?

The original Knock Out suits a shrub-sized space, while Drift roses spread across the front of a bed.

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28 matching profiles

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Search checks the common name, scientific name, and profile description. Zone checks the hardiness range; sorting uses the profile name or last update.

Pieris japonica

Pieris

Pieris belongs in cool, acidic, partly shaded beds where red new growth and hanging spring flower chains can carry the show.

Pittosporum tobira

Pittosporum Tobira

Japanese pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira) is a salt- and drought-tolerant evergreen for hedges and screens in Zones 8 to 10.

Ligustrum spp.

Privet

Privet can make a fast dense hedge, but it should not be the default privacy answer.

Rhododendron spp.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a broadleaf flowering shrub grown for spring trusses and glossy leaves, but its care starts below the show.

Hibiscus syriacus

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a woody hibiscus that flowers on new shoots from July into early September, so it is pruned…

Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis'

Skip Laurel

Skip Laurel works when you need a year-round screen in a tight strip, but it only stays useful when you plan mature width…