Some shade-tolerant shrubs produce beautiful blossoms, while others are famous for their attractive foliage. Many offer year-round appeal, making them perfect for shady yards where sun-loving plants simply cannot thrive. Learn about 30 low-maintenance shrubs that will spruce up shaded areas of your lawn and garden without a lot of effort.
Low-Maintenance Shrubs for Shade
Cultivars have been developed just for use in the landscape, including the dwarf Minuet laurel, which has more vibrant flowers than those on wild mountain laurels. Where soil is not sufficiently acidic, fertilizing with an acid-enhanced fertilizer, like that used for azaleas and rhododendrons, will help mountain laurel thrive.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9 Color Varieties: Rose, pink, white; blooms may have purple markings Sun Exposure: Prefers part shade, but can tolerate full sun Soil Needs: Thrives in cool, rich, acidic soil that is moist but well-drained; does not do well in clay
Seriously overgrown shrubs can be revived by cutting them all the way back to the ground in the fall.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9Color Varieties: YellowSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Loamy soil
Naturally peeling bark on their stems provides winter interest.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: White, blue, pink, purpleSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Acidic, well-draining
Daphnes do not like acidic soil; adding lime can help neutralize soil that is too acidic.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8 Color Varieties: White to light pink Sun Exposure: Partial sun to partial shade Soil Needs: Well-draining and moist soil
There are many kinds of euonymus. One is quite notorious as an invasive plant, the winged spindle tree. While this is a shrub that grows in shade, lack of sufficient sunlight may rob it of its primary selling point: its fall color. Euonymus can be a very fast-growing plant; you can control it with hard pruning in the spring.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Sun Exposure: Partial sun to full sunSoil Needs: Moist and well-drained
Like boxwood shrubs Hetz’s Japanese holly can be closely sheared to form shaped hedges.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Color Varieties: White insignificant flowersSun Exposure: Prefers full sun but tolerates shadeSoil Needs: Well-draining soil; will tolerate clay
Unlike some hollies, this one does not require much pruning, but if you do choose to trim it, do so in winter, when the shrub is dormant.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Color Varieties: Greenish white and smallSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Needs: Well-drained acidic soil
In the northern end of the hardiness range, hemlocks appreciate a thick layer of much over their roots in winter.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7Color Varieties: Small, non-ornamental, yellow to light greenSun Exposure: Partial sun to partial shadeSoil Needs: Rich, acidic, and moist
Yews should be trimmed in early summer to keep the shape attractive.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Sun Exposure: Sun, partial shade, or full shadeSoil Needs: Well-draining soil
Feeding is best done with an acid fertilizer, such as that used for azaleas.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Color Varieties: WhiteSun Exposure: Full sun to part shade; flowering is reduced in shady conditionsSoil Needs: Moist, well-drained soil; prefers slightly acidic soil
The plant can become straggly unless pruned to maintain an attractive shape.
USDA Growing Zones: 9 to 11Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Moist, well-drained
Alder-leaved serviceberry has clusters of flowers in spring and produces edible purple-blue fruit. They offer four-season interest with their beautiful blossoms, pome fruits, autumn leaf colors, and bark color in winter. Alder-leaved serviceberry can be prone to rust and powdery mildew fungus; maintain good air circulation to minimize these problems.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9Color Varieties: WhiteSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Moist, but well-drained, soil
These shrubs are easy to maintain for shape, as they can be pruned at any time.
USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 7Color Varieties: Greenish yellow flowers and red berriesSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Prefers moist well-draining soil but is tolerant of drier conditions
These shrubs should be fertilized once a year as new growth appears, using an acid-based fertilizer.
USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 9Color Varieties: Reddish-purpleSun Exposure: Part shade to full shadeSoil Needs: Moist, organically rich, well-drained soil
Unless your soil is already heavily acidic, fertilize yearly with an acid-enhanced fertilizer in late winter or early spring.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9 depending on the varietyColor Varieties: White, pink, yellow, purple, redSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Acidic soil
Pruning is best done by removing old, overgrown stems all the way to ground level, rather than by pruning the tips of branches.
USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 9Color Varieties: Deep redSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Moist soil; won’t tolerate drought
A slow-growing plant, it needs little if any pruning and only light fertilizing.
USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 9Color Varieties: White or pinkSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Rich, acidic, well drained loam
Bunchberry is an ideal choice for cold, damp areas where other shrubs may struggle to survive. Mulching with peat moss will help provide the acidity this plant craves.
USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 6Color Varieties: White with red berriesSun Exposure: ShadeSoil Needs: Moist, acidic soil
Prune in winter or early spring, before new growth begins.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8Color Varieties: White or pale pinkSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Low nutrient and good drainage
Mulch the soil heavily to keep it moist.
USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 9 Color Varieties: White, yellow, or red flowers Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade Soil Needs: Rich, acidic, well-drained loam
Before planting, dig in a good amount of peat moss to a depth of 18 inches, which will provide acidity and improve moisture retention.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9 Color Varieties: White flowers Sun Exposure: Partial to full shade Soil Needs: Acidic soil
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Needs: Well-drained soil
You can make extracts from the witch hazel shrub to harness the plant’s astringent properties.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8 Color Varieties: Yellow Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade Soil Needs: Well-drained, acidic soil amended with compost
In the colder hardiness zones, this plant may need to be wrapped with burlap in the winter to prevent windburn.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8Color Varieties: WhiteSun Exposure: Full sun to full shadeSoil Needs: Moderately moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil
Red buckeye can be grown with multiple or single trunks.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: Orange, Red/BurgundySun Exposure: Full sun or partial shade (stays more shrub-like in shade)Soil Needs: moist, well-drained, rich soil that is slightly alkaline
It is an excellent low-maintenance shrub for hedges and privacy screens, and can also be shaped as a small specimen tree.
USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 11Color Varieties: White (grown for foliage)Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Needs: Well-drained, sandy, or loamy
While pruning isn’t essential, a light pruning during the dormant season can keep the plant neat.
USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 8Color Varieties: White flowers, red fruitsSun Exposure: Partial shadeSoil Needs: Moist and rich with a slightly acidic pH
USDA Growing Zones: 9 to 11Color Varieties: WhiteSun Exposure: Full sun to light shadeSoil Needs: Well-draining soil
Tree peonies have modest water needs and react badly if they are overwatered.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8 Color Varieties: White to pink, red, or purple flowers Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade Soil Needs: Fertile, well draining loam
These flowering shrubs bloom with clusters of flowers in spring, and they produce both red fall foliage and blue berries in fall. They can grow up to 10 feet and are equally as wide. Viburnum shrubs will spread by suckers unless you remove them.
USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 8Color Varieties: WhiteSun Exposure: Full to partial sunSoil Needs: Tolerant of many soil types including wet soil
