Best Shrubs and Bushes for Minnesota Landscapes

Shrubs and Bushes Before you start landscaping your home or commercial property, you’ll need to consider which shrubs and bushes will add texture, depth, and color to your yard but you’ll also need to identify which varieties thrive best in the beautiful, yet unpredictable, Minnesota climate.

It is important to choose the best shrubs for Minnesota season changes and the best bushes for Minnesota temperatures to plant in your garden.

Shrubs and bushes are the cornerstone of landscaping design, so you can’t make the mistake of choosing a variety that won’t sustain well. Accentuating your overall landscaping aesthetics depends on the health and robust growth of these bushes and shrubs. Here are the varieties that thrive in a Minnesota environment the best:

The Brilliant Burning Bush

Known for its incredibly brilliant red leaves in the fall and deep greens throughout the spring and summer, you should check out Burning Bushes. They love full sunlight and are considered to be one of the best bushes for Minnesota seasons.

For a unique landscaping look, you can prune your burning bushes to take more tree-like forms, and even during the snowy Minnesota winters, the bark will catch snowflakes that radiate beautifully in the winter sun. However, if you’re in an area that is home to heavy rabbit populations, consider safeguarding your burning bushes, as young stems are often attractive meals for rodents.

Hardy Champlain Roses

It’s hard to imagine a rose bush as being hardy, but Champlain roses are perfect for the harsh Minnesotan climates. One of their main perks is the perennial nature of these robust bushes. Bring color to your landscaping project all summer and fall with these low-maintenance shrubs.

At their peak, they’ll grow to roughly three feet tall and can stand to be trimmed back once annually, and you won’t need to cover them during the frigid Minnesota winters because they can withstand the harsh temperatures.

The Tough Honeysuckle

If you have difficult spots throughout your landscape design, including slopes or tree-lined edges, the honeysuckle bush is a must have to populate these areas with. These tough shrubs are able to withstand the weather changes of Minnesota. Other benefits of these yellow flowering shrubs include their attractiveness to pollinators like butterflies and bees. While the yellow hues will frame color into your spring landscape, the honeysuckle’s deep shades of red leaves will delight you when they begin to change color in the fall.

The Compact Arctic Fire Dogwood

Dogwood varieties are always favorites among homeowners and property owners in Minnesota because they can uniquely offer winter delights, withstand the shade, and add height to your landscaping aesthetics. This breed of bushes is relatively new and more compact than their red-twigged dogwood cousins.

They reach five to six feet tall and roughly four feet around, which is much easier to incorporate into a smaller space. A semi-annual trimming will keep the arctic fire dogwood looking its healthiest, and you certainly won’t have to worry about them standing up to the harsh Minnesota winters.

The Dense & Beautiful Fothergilla

One of the best shrubs for your Minnesota yard is the Fothergilla. This dense shrub is hardy in both full sunlight and light shade. You’ll love the early blooming flowers that provide unique yard accents and incredible fragrances. The Blue Shadow variety of the fothergilla bush is a favorite for its blue leaves that transition to yellow-orange colors in the fall.

They don’t usually grow taller than three or four feet, and don’t  need pruning, unless you’d prefer to add shape. In Minnesota, you’ll see these shrubs lining front yards as great complements to foundations and structures throughout many neighborhoods.

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The Versatile Black Chokeberry

When you need a large shrub that can withstand both the Minnesota climate and wet soil, you need the versatile black Chokeberry. This incredible bush maintains green hues throughout most of the year, before changing color to crimson leaves in the fall. It blooms with charming white flowers that also turn into edible black berries for delicious summertime treats.

If you decide to not use the berries to make jams or syrups for yourself, then your backyard birds will love them as a healthy meal. The black Chokeberry is definitely one of the best shrubs to consider planting in your Minnesota yard.

The Ever-Blooming Hydrangea

If your landscape needs a brilliant bloomer to accent a wall or side of the house, the giant flowers of a Hydrangea will do the trick. These shrubs are ideal when curb appeal matters to you, too. White, blue, or purple flowers fully bloom luscious and billowing flowers in the spring and fall, enchanting every corner of your landscape. They can typically handle full shade and full sun, along with other types of weather, making them one of the best shrubs for the unpredictability of Minnesota’s seasons.

The Charming Daphne

This flowering gem is also one of the best bushes for Minnesota climate changes. It can bring depth and even delicate textures to your landscape, and with many different varieties to choose from, it’s easy to match the perfect daphne to your plan.

You’ll love the goldish and emerald leaf shades, with accents of tiny red, and inedible berries that act as jewels in the daphne’s crown. The shrub’s fragrance is also so potent that it is often noticeable to passers-by, setting it apart from other bushes like it.

The Ever-Changing Ninebark

Any Minnesota landscaping project needs its superstar, or a variety of bush that can infuse personality into the space, and the ninebark may just very well be that shrub. These bushes have showy clusters of white flowers that bloom from spring through summer, and their leaves transform from deep purples to eye-popping reds throughout the year.

The peeling look of the softly tanned bark also adds an incredible dimension to your yard, flowerbed, or the side of your house.

The Wonderful Boxwood

What some consider to be the “unsung hero” of stunning front yard landscaping essentials, the boxwood is likely the absolute best bush for any Minnesota landscape. It may not have the color of other varieties or beautiful flowers, but the boxwood is a must-have for their year long green hues, as the only deciduous landscaping gem. If you want your landscape to last all year due to its hardy nature, then the boxwood is a great addition to any outdoor layout.

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Choosing the Right Bushes for Your Landscape

Before you embark on your next landscaping project, consider these hearty varieties of shrubs and bushes to add to your garden that are able to withstand any weather in Minnesota. Each one brings character and charm to any layout, and you will have increased peace of mind knowing they’re some of the best shrubs for Minnesota climate shifts year-round.

However, if you are having trouble envisioning what your yard could potentially look like, we have an extensive gallery for you to look through to help you gather ideas for your own personal landscape. Then once you know exactly what you would like your new landscape to look like, contact us today to see how our professional landscapers at ALD can help you create a breathtaking view in the privacy of your own home.