Low Maintenance Shrubs

Low maintenance is not no maintenance. The shrubs need a bit of care during their first year. Make sure they have their fertilizer and their water. They do not need a good deal of pruning and the branches of a shrub are not as hard to prune as those of a tree. The evergreens do not even have to have their leaves picked up.

Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) is a member of the rose family. The shrub grows up to 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide with bright green, egg or lance-shaped leaves that turn to dark green and then chartreuse in the fall. Golden-yellow flowers bloom in April and May and are followed by brown fruits. Plant in full sun or partial shade and a soil that is rich, moist and well-drained. The only maintenance involves removing dead center stems in the spring that die back during the winter. This shrub is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9.

Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that is hardy in zones 5 to 8. The plant only grows up to 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide. Yellow flowers bloom in April. Plant in full sun or partial shade and a moist, rich, well-drained soil. The blue-green leaves resemble those of the holly family and turn purple in the fall. Deep yellow flowers grow in 3-inch long clusters in the spring and are followed by small clusters of dark, blue-purple berries. Keep the soil acidic to avoid chlorosis. Rusts, leaf spots and leaf scorch can occur, but leaf scorch can be avoided by planting in a protected area.

Rose-of-Sharon or shrub Althea (Hibiscus syriacus) is a member of the mallow family. This plant is a medium shrub or small tree that grows up to 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Plant in full sun or partial shade and a soil that is moist and well drained. Egg-shaped, medium-green leaves measure 3 inches long and turn chartreuse in the fall. White, red, purple, mauve, violet, blue, or bi-colored flowers measure 4 inches across and bloom from July through September. The flowers are followed by green fruits that turn to brown as they mature and stay on the shrub throughout the winter. The plant does suffer canker problems, but not until old age and then it is fatal. By this time, it would have produced enough offspring to take over. The shrub is hardy in zones 5 to 8.

Sources:

Do It Yourself