Shrubs to Consider for Fall Planting
Anna Montgomery
Summersweet – Clethra alnifolia
- A compact shrub with beautiful, spicy-smelling flower spikes
- Blooms in late summer when little else is blooming
- Can handle shade, wet soils, and a range of soil types.
- The only thing it doesn’t like is drought, so water generously.
- Put this native shrub where you can enjoy its fragrance on hot summer days.
- When fully grown, will typically measure 3’-6’ H x 4’-6’ W
- Prefers full sun to shade, medium to wet soils, and is a deciduous shrub
Spicebush – Lindera benzoin
- Preferred host plant of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly; look for bright green caterpillars (with giant eye spots!) wrapped in a curled leaf
- Spicebush is beautiful in its own right, featuring clusters of small green flowers before the foliage emerges
- Leaves are fragrant when crushed
- Berries (on the female plants) provide winter interest
- Typically measure 6’-12’ H x 6’-12’ W
- Prefers full sun to part shade (but will tolerate shade), medium to wet soils, and is deciduous
Capitata Yew – Taxus cuspidata 'Capitata'
- A pyramidal shrub/tree from Asia with gorgeous emerald green foliage
- Grows into a small- to medium-sized tree that can be used as a foundation or hedge plant
- Female plants will produce brilliantly red berries
- Will typically reach 15’-20’ H x 5’-10’ W,
- Prefers full sun to part shade, medium to drier soils, and is evergreen
Virginia Sweetspire – Itea virginica
- A very versatile native with erect, rounded, broad-spreading shrub with arching branches
- Features beautiful pendulous racemes of white fragrant flowers typically occurring in mid- to-late spring
- Outstanding fall color when the leaves turn a mix of burgundy, red, orange, and yellow that often persist into early winter
- Can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, but prefers fertile, moist, well drained acidic soils
- Species can reach upwards of 8’ tall, but typically ranges from 3-6’ tall and wide
- Check out ‘Little Henry’ or ‘Short and Sweet’, both great dwarf selections for smaller garden spaces!
- Prefers full sun to part shade and is deciduous