Shrub Club

Allison Westbrook

1 Illicium BananAppeal (Bailey Nurseries)
This compact illicium has golden yellow foliage and a mounded form. Unlike other illicium, it doesn’t send out long, gangly shoots and leaves don’t bleach out in summer. It retains its small stature and yellow-gold foliage as a perfect accent plant in shade gardens, and is also deer resistant.

2 Potentilla Bella Bellissima and Bella Sol (Van Belle Nursery)
These compact potentillas are loaded with large pink flowers (Bellissima, pictured) or orange flowers (Sol) that deepen as they age. Part of the Bloomin’ Easy Collection.

3 Diervilla Firefly Nightglow (Van Belle Nursery)
Bright yellow flowers accompany foliage that starts off with a dark red color and intensifies from spring to fall. Part of the Bloomin’ Easy Collection.

4 Spiraea Poprocks Rainbow Fizz (Van Belle Nursery)
This striking spiraea has foliage that begins copper, changes to lemon-gold and then fades to copper-red in fall. Part of the Bloomin’ Easy Collection.



5 Ceanothus Highlights (Southern Living/Sunset Western Garden)
This versatile California native selection is drought tolerant and its blue flowers are a great food source for pollinators. Deep green, glossy foliage with a bright chartreuse edge provides year-round interest and color. Naturally compact, they’re useful as groundcovers and in containers. Hardy in Zones 8b to 10.

6 Viburnum Doublefile Opening Day (Bailey Nurseries)
Perfectly round, baseball-sized flowers bloom in April, which open with a tinge of green and quickly mature to pure white. Compact plants are tight in habit, with deeply corrugated foliage that turns into shades of cabernet in the fall.

7 Hydrangea paniculata First Editions Diamond Rouge (Bailey Nurseries)
New Diamond Rouge is the reddest paniculata on the market. Long-lasting flowers on strong stems start white and progress to pink, raspberry red and finally wine red. Flowers start blooming in July and take on red coloration earlier in the season than other pink paniculatas. It’s slightly bigger than Strawberry Sundae and colors up earlier in the season.

8 Cephalanthus Fiber Optics Buttonbush (Bailey Nurseries)
A compact buttonbush that grows 5- to 6-ft. tall and wide. Good for moist conditions and ideal for wetland and restoration work, while also growing well in drier conditions. The ball-shaped, creamy white flowers are ideal for hummingbirds. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9; full sun.



9 Azalea Evermore Orange (Bailey Nurseries)
This new reblooming azalea has clusters of bright orange flowers and blooms from spring to fall in full sun to part shade. Dark foliage is resistant to insect and disease. Their foliage is mounded and needs little pruning to maintain its shape. 

10 Spirea Double Play Candy Corn (Proven Winners)
This spirea’s new growth emerges bright candy apple red in early spring. As it matures, foliage turns pineapple yellow and then the new growth continues to emerge bright orange all season. Top it off with dark purple flowers in late spring/early summer and you've got a display you really have to see to believe.

11 Encore Azalea Autumn Fire (Southern Living/Sunset Western Garden)
Autumn Fire is the latest introduction by renowned re-blooming azalea breeder Buddy Lee. Gorgeous deep red, semi-double blooms cover these compact shrubs multiple times a year. Compact, 2.5-ft. tall plants have a naturally mounding habit and require little to no pruning. Hardy in Zones 6a to 10.

12 Rose Oso Easy Urban Legend (Proven Winners)
This bright red rose with non-stop blooms is the newest disease-resistant landscape rose in this best-selling series. True red, semi-double flowers bloom in early summer and continue through the first hard frost. A crown of lush yellow stamens in the center adds interest and contrast. Dark green, glossy foliage resists powdery mildew and black spot.



13 Hydrangea Incrediball Blush (Proven Winners)
Incrediball hydrangeas are beloved for their stout stems and massive blooms and Incrediball Blush adds a new color to the series. This native beauty has big blush-pink blooms that change to an attractive green color as they age. The sturdy stems hold the large flowers up even after heavy rains, making this a great choice for a cut flower plant.

14 Weigela Date Night Strobelight (Van Belle Nursery)
Bright pink flowers contrast with foliage that starts green and bronze, changes to orange and finally crimson red. Part of the Bloomin’ Easy Collection.

15 Ligustrum Straight Talk Privet (Bailey Nurseries)
This tightly upright privet is only 2-ft. wide, and doesn’t split open. Cold hardy and drought tolerant, it grows in a wide range of soils and is tolerant of urban conditions. Flowers are white and followed by black fruit, with minimal seed production. Full sun to part shade, it thrives in Zones 4 to 8.

16 Hydrangea Lavalamp Series (Van Belle Nursery)
There are three new paniculata varieties that will be part of the Bloomin’ Easy Collection. Lavalamp Candlelight (pictured) has an incredible upright candelabra form with flowers that start out white and turn to a deep pink. The blooms on Lavalamp Flare turn brighter red than on other compact Hydrangea paniculata. On Lavalamp Sublime, creamy blooms emerge with a strong lime center that lasts through summer.

17 Lagerstroemia Sunset Magic (Bailey Nurseries)
This compact crapemyrtle has large, almost true red inflorescences covering dark foliage. Deep black-purple leaves hold their color into late summer. Cercospora resistant and a problem-free replacement for purple leaf plums. GT