Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 15 feet tall wide, depending on type Zones: 2-9, depending on species Test Garden Tip: Attract birds to your yard in summer with varieties like American cranberry viburnum, arrowwood, and doublefile viburnum. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 15 feet tall and wide, depending on species Zones: 3-9, depending on species Test Garden Tip: Short on space? Look for dwarf selections such as ‘Miniature Snowflake’, which stays less than three feet tall and wide. Name: Kalmia latifolia selections Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil with an acidic pH Size: To 10 feet tall wide Test Garden Tip: As beautiful as mountain laurel is, all parts of the plant are poisonous, so keep children and pets away from the plant. Growing Conditions: Full sun or light shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 10 feet tall wide, depending on type Zones: 5-8, depending on type Test Garden Tip: ‘Chardonnay Pearls’ is a lovely, easy-to-grow selection with fragrant white flowers and golden-green foliage. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To six feet tall and wide Test Garden Tip: Bridalwreath spirea is drought tolerant, making it a good choice for low-water gardens. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 10 inches tall and two feet wide Test Garden Tip: Plant heath in a sheltered spot to prevent drying winter winds from turning the foliage brown. Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained acidic soil Size: To 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide Zones: 6-9, depending on type Test Garden Tip: Look for the Ice Angels series of camellias if you live in Zone 6; these are the hardiest varieties. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 10 feet tall and wide, depending on type Zones: 4-9, depending on type Test Garden Tip: Add interest after forsythia blooms fade with varieties like ‘Citrus Swizzle’, ‘Fiesta’,’ or ‘Kumson’, which all have variegated foliage. Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To six feet tall wide, depending on type Zones: 5-9, depending on type Test Garden Tip: ‘Blue Shadow’ looks extra pretty in the garden because it has silvery-blue foliage that holds its striking color into fall. Name: Hamamelis vernalis selections Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 15 feet tall wide Test Garden Tip: Its fragrant flowers make witch hazel a particularly good choice for forcing branches indoors for winter color. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 20 feet tall wide Zones: 3-8, depending on type Test Garden Tip: Look for reblooming varieties such as ‘Bloomerang’, ‘Josee’, and littleleaf lilac to extend the season into summer and fall. Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil Size: To six feet tall wide Test Garden Tip: Varieties with burgundy foliage look stunning alongside silver-leafed plants like Russian sage. Growing Conditions: Sun or shade, depending on type, and moist, well-drained soil Size: To 15 feet or more tall and wide, depending on type Zones: 4-10, depending on type Test Garden Tip: Grow plants from the Lights series if you need a cold-hardy azalea; grow the Encore series if you want an extra-long bloom season. Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil Size: To six feet tall wide Test Garden Tip: Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens) is a groundcover version hardy to Zone 5. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 12 feet tall wide, depending on type Here’s a hint: Ninebark is one of the toughest shrubs around; it tolerates heat and drought like a champ. Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil, depending on type Size: To 15 feet tall wide, depending on type Zones: 4-9, depending on type Test Garden Tip: Enjoy rhododendron flowers for months by growing early, mid-, and late-season varieties in your garden. Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil Size: To 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide Test Garden Tip: Beautybush holds up well to drought and is deer resistant. Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To six feet tall wide, depending on type Zones: 4-9, depending on type Test Garden Tip: ‘My Monet’, ‘Wine and Roses’, and ‘Eyecatcher’ are three outstanding newer varieties with gorgeous foliage from spring to fall.
