Gardening Trees, Shrubs & Vines Shrubs 14 Eye-Catching Shrubs to Add Interest to Your Winter Landscape By Sheryl Geerts Sheryl Geerts Sheryl Geerts is an editor and author who has nearly three decades of writing and editing experience. She enjoys writing about garden, food, and home topics. Her bylines have appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Allrecipes, Martha Stewart Living, and several other publications. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on October 25, 2021 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Kevin Miyazaki Winter has a beauty all its own, especially when you include plants with eye-catching features during the colder months. These shrubs offer outstanding interest with their fragrant blooms, bright berries, colorful foliage, and unusual bark. 01 of 14 Winterberry Cynthia Haynes Bright red berries make winterberry, or deciduous holly, a stunner, especially in a snowy landscape. Unlike the evergreen holly that keeps its glossy green foliage year-round, winterberry sheds its leaves each autumn. Look for a female cultivar, such as 'Sparkleberry' or 'Winter Red,' but you'll also need to plant a male pollinator nearby, such as 'Apollo' or 'Southern Gentleman.' Name: Ilex verticillata Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, acidic soil Size: To 12 feet tall Zones: 3–9 Buy It: Southern Gentleman Winterberry ($20, The Home Depot) 02 of 14 Firethorn Edward Gohlich Add some color to your winter garden with firethorn's bright orange-red berries. This evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub can be planted as a hedge, espaliered against a wall, or trained on a trellis. Just watch out for its thorns. Look for hardy cultivars to buy, such as 'Lalandei,' 'Mohave,' and Yukon Belle. Name: Pyracantha coccinea Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil Size: Up to 10 feet tall Zones: 6–9 Buy It: Scarlet Firethorn Seeds ($14, Amazon) 03 of 14 'Sky Pencil' Holly David Goldberg Pump up the winter garden's vertical structure with 'Sky Pencil' holly. This Japanese shrub has a tall, narrow form that easily fits into small spaces. Unlike most hollies, its leaves don't have sharp points, so it works well near walkways or other areas where people may brush against it. It also makes for an easy-care hedge. Buy both a male and a female plant, so the female can be pollinated and produce round, black fruit in the fall. Name: Ilex crenata Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 10 feet tall Zones: 6–8 Buy It: Holly Sky Pencil Shrub ($94, The Home Depot) 04 of 14 Paperbush Denny Schrock The strong fragrance of paperbush evokes springtime in the depths of winter. This deciduous, multibranched shrub drops its leaves in mid-December to reveal a bare silhouette of beautiful bark and flower buds. The white and yellow clusters bloom in late winter to early spring. Look for 'Snow Cream,' 'Gold Rush,' and 'John Bryant' varieties. Name: Edgeworthia chrysantha Growing Conditions: Part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 6 feet tall Zones: 7–10 Buy It: Paperbush Edgeworthia ($60, Amazon) 05 of 14 Witch Hazel Jack Jennings The lovely fragrance of witch hazel is a pleasant surprise in the depths of winter. This deciduous shrub is desired for its delicate, threadlike petals that bloom from late fall to early spring. The flowers, which curl up at night, but unfurl on a sunny day, range from yellow to red, depending on the cultivar. Name: Hamamelis virginiana Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 20 feet tall Zones: 3–8 Buy It: Hamamelis X int. 'Arnold Promise' Shrub ($37, Amazon) 06 of 14 Winter Daphne Janet Mesic-Mackie The stunning appearance and sweet fragrance of winter Daphne can snap you out of the doldrums. This rounded evergreen shrub with variegated leaves blooms in late winter to early spring. Plant it close to an entry or patio so you can enjoy the rosy pinkish purple buds that open to light pink or white star-shape flowers. Name: Daphne odora Growing Conditions: Part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 4 feet tall Zones: 7–9 Buy It: Variegated Pink Winter Daphne (Wilson Bros Gardens) 07 of 14 Camellia Robert Cardillo You'll do a double take when you see the stunning white or pink blooms of a camellia appear in winter. It's a beloved plant in the South, but breeders have created hardier varieties that extend the areas where this shrub can be grown. If you live in a colder region, look for 'Polar Ice,' 'Snow Flurry,' 'Winter's Hope,' 'Winter's Rose,' 'Winter's Star,' and 'Winter's Charm.' Name: Camellia japonica Growing Conditions: Part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 12 feet Zones: 7–9 Buy It: Snow Flurry Camellia ($77, Lots of Plants) 08 of 14 Red Twig Dogwood Kevin Miyazaki It's hard to miss the red stems of red twig dogwood in the winter landscape. Native to much of North America, in spring and summer this deciduous shrub has bright green bark and leaves that turn deep red to burgundy in the fall. To display the best stem color, prune in early spring to stimulate new growth. Some cultivars, such as 'Flaviramea' or 'White Gold,' display yellow stems rather than red, and are sometimes called golden-twig dogwood. Name: Cornus sericea Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade Size: Up to 9 feet tall Zones: 3–7 Buy It: Red Twig Dogwood Shrub ($37, The Home Depot) 09 of 14 Harry Lauder's Walking Stick Jay Wilde While its twisting, spiraling, corkscrew branches provide year-round interest, Harry Lauder's walking stick is best known for the visual interest it provides once it's shed its leaves to fully reveal the contorted branches. Place this tree-like, deciduous shrub where you can enjoy its distinctive architectural form all winter, and late in the season, look for the showy yellow catkins that hang from its branches. Name: Corylusavellana 'Contorta' Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well drained soil Size: Up to 10 feet tall Zones: 4–8 Buy It: Harry Lauder's Walking Stick ($146, Buck Jones Nursery) 10 of 14 Blue Holly Denny Schrock Sometimes referred to as Meserve holly, blue holly is one of the hardier types that will do well in northern climates. This evergreen hybrid has glossy, spiny, blue-green foliage and dark red berries that attract birds in winter. Look for female cultivars, such as 'China Girl' (shown here), 'Blue Girl,' and 'Blue Princess.' To produce berries, they'll need a male pollinator nearby, such as 'Blue Prince' or 'Blue Boy.' Name: Ilex x meserveae Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well drained soil Size: Up to 15 feet tall Zones: 4–7 Buy It: Castle Spire Blue Holly Shrub ($37, The Home Depot) 11 of 14 Inkberry Holly Denny Schrock Among the toughest hollies in cold conditions is inkberry holly. Named for its abundance of black berries during the winter, this evergreen shrub stays compact with deep green, glossy foliage. This smaller type of holly makes a dense hedge and doesn't require a lot of pruning. Cultivars to consider are 'Shamrock' and 'Compact.' Name: Ilex glabra Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade Size: Up to 8 feet tall Zones: 4–9 Buy It: Holly Inkberry Shamrock Shrub ($38, The Home Depot) 12 of 14 Japanese False Cypress Marty Baldwin An evergreen shrub with a fine, soft needle or threadlike appearance, 'Golden Mop' is a false cypress cultivar that adds a bright golden-green color to the landscape. It forms a ground-hugging mound and is actually shaggy or mop-like in appearance. Be careful to plant 'Golden Mop' or another of the dwarf cultivars, such as 'Dwarf Gold Thread' (shown here), or you could end up with a towering tree. Name: Chamaecyparis pisifera Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 70 feet high Zones: 4–8 Buy It: Gold Mop False Cypress Shrub ($15, The Home Depot) 13 of 14 Dwarf Arborvitae Dean Schoeppner A small to medium evergreen, dwarf arborvitae provides winter interest when used as foundation planting or as a hedge. Dwarf varieties work well in small gardens, containers, and window boxes. Gold foliage options are 'Filip's Magic Moment,' which grows to about 6–8 feet in an upright, conical shape. 'Teddy,' shown here, is a cute little ball of a plant with soft, feathery foliage that grows up to two feet tall over 10 years. Name: Thuja occidentalis Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil Size: Up to 7 feet Zones: 3–7 14 of 14 Snowberry Denny Schrock Native to eastern North America, snowberry always delivers a winter show with its berries. Its clusters of attractive fruit start out pale green, then ripen to pure white by late summer to early fall, and the fruit remains on bare branches throughout the winter. Snowberry's vigorous roots make it a good choice for stabilizing soil on slopes. Name: Symphoricarpos albus Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil Size: To 6 feet tall Zones: 3–7 Buy It: Snowberry ($32, Amazon) Was this page helpful? 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