So you’ve decided to start a garden. Or perhaps you already have a garden and want to spruce it up with some new plants. However, you’re not all that into maintaining your plants, you just want them to do what plants do best, sit there and grow. The point is this– there is some gardening you want to be done, and you just want it done after you finish.
Well, that’s where the low-maintenance shrub comes in. But there are many reasons as to why one would choose a low maintenance shrub for their garden, and today we’re going to discuss all of them.
What are low-maintenance shrubs?
We can know what the benefits of low-maintenance shrubs are without having an idea of what they are in general. Here are a couple that you can choose for your garden, and the benefits of each:
Weigela
This Chinese bush is one of the prettiest you can get for your garden. It has a beautiful bloom and will actually attract hummingbirds to your backyard. They love to have as much sun as possible, but they can tolerate some shade if need be. The pruning is fairly easy as well, just prune once the flowers have finished blooming on the branches. They can tolerate some pretty nasty weather as well, surviving in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Benefits:
- A generally pink, beautiful bloom
- Will bring wildlife to your backyard such as hummingbirds
- Easy to prune, only done once after blooming.
- Can live in most climates around the world, especially cold ones.
Dwarf Korean Lilac
Hummingbirds and butterflies will be attracted to the faint, but beautiful smell of these shrubs’ flowers, turning your backyard into a veritable Garden of Eden. The best flowers will come out if the Dwarf Korean lilac has full sun, however like many others on this list this laid-back plant can tolerate a bit of shade. There is little to no pruning involved with these shrubs, one may have to prune right after flowering but there’s a low chance of that. They are also very resilient and can be hardy in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Farenheit.
Benefits:
- Easy to prune (as in there’s no pruning involved at all)
- Only the most beautiful of animals are attracted to their flowers
- Resilient, will be good in most climates.
- The flowers have a beautiful smell.
Japanese spirea
There are a couple of different types of people who own gardens– there are those who like gardens because they make their yard pretty, and then there are those who like to keep gardens to help promote growth on the planet. With the Japanese spirea, you can be both! Not only do these have gorgeous flat-topped pink cluster blooms, but they also attract pollinators (something of which this world is in desperate need). Even those who are dying for a bigger yield of these dazzling flowers are in luck– a quick and easy trim will show a veritable explosion of flowers if done right after they bloom. Pruning, if one is to look at it from a maintenace perspective, is also fairly easy. Yearly touch-ups are to be done, and once every couple of years the shrub should be totally cut down to the ground to maintain form.
Benefits:
- Will be helping the planet, these shrubs are super attractive to polinators
- Pruning yields bigger clusters of flowers
- Easy to prune maintenance-wise, quick touch-ups here and there, and a full cut to maintain form.
Oakleaf hydrangea
This is one of the easiest shrubs that a gardener can add to their collection. For starters– this plant does not have to be pruned. You can pretty much just plant it and voila! You’ve got yourself one of the prettiest plants in the neighborhood. And these plants turn out gorgeous– they start out white and fade to pink. And it’s not just the flowers that will become beautiful, the leaves will turn red, orange and yellow in the autumn! And best of all– the Oakleaf hydrangea is one of the most reliable bloomers on the planet. Nothing short of extreme weather will stop this shrub from becoming beautiful.
Benefits:
– Pruning is practically non-existent, may have to do ONE after the bloom.
– The flowers and leaves will equally become stunning, meaning the whole plant is gorgeous for most of the year.
– Will most likely bloom in the area you live.
Shrub roses
A lot of people hear “roses” and immediately think that they will be a whole lot of work, but there are plenty of shrub roses out there that are very low maintenance. Most shrub roses, such as rugosa roses, are going to be hardy, they are going to bloom fairly reliably, and they are going to need very little care. There are some species that only need 3 to 4 hours of sun, which means they can be planted pretty much anywhere! For those gardeners out there who are worried about their plants getting some horrible disease and dying, here’s the good news: a lot of the species in the shrub roses category are disease-free in the summers! So no more fretting about that with these plants!
Benefits:
- The beauty of roses without all the fuss.
- These are some of the most resilient shrubs on the market, they will last in almost every garden.
- They are also going to bloom most of the time with little care involved.
- There are some species that can be planted pretty much wherever the gardener desires.
- Pretty much disease free in the summer.
These are some of the best low-maintenance shrubs, and why they would be good for your garden. Putting aside all the beautiful smells, the attracting of pretty creatures, the resilience in climates, the gorgeous flowers that will make you the envy of the neighborhood– these shrubs are great for above all one reason. They’re low maintenance! Just kick back, plant these things once (maybe prune once a year), and enjoy your new garden!
