14 Beautiful Shrubs That Will Thrive in Shady Yards

Although it's considered a small tree, sumac has a compact, shrublike form that will fit into almost any size landscape. Sumac grows quickly and prefers rich, slightly moist soil and a partially shady location. Wild sumac can become invasive, but most new dwarf hybrids will stay within bounds, growing just 6 feet tall and wide. Some varieties prefer full sun, but 'Tiger Eyes' needs at least partial shade, and has a beautiful golden color to its leaves.

Light: Part shade or full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained, slightly moist soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Buy It: 'Tiger Eyes' Sumac, $79.95, Nature Hills

This eye-catching broadleaf evergreen gets its name from the lily-of-the-valleylike cascades of white or pink flowers it produces in spring. It's a slow-growing shrub, but if you can be patient, it'll eventually become the centerpiece of your garden. Because lily-of-the-valley shrub prefers partial shade and slightly moist, acid soil, it makes a great companion for azaleas and camellias.

Light: Partial shade

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: 5 feet tall, 8 feet wide

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: Interstella Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, $19.99, Proven Winners

One of the most versatile shrubs on the planet, yews come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and they can easily be sheared into hedges or screens. Yews prefer partial sunlight but will also thrive in the shade or full sun. Use spreading varieties along a foundation or path and line up upright forms to create privacy around a patio or spa. The plant's soft, dark green needles look terrific all year long.

Light: Part shade, full shade, or full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Can vary by variety; some reach 2 to 4 feet tall, others up to 30 feet

Zones: 4-7

Buy It: 1 Gallon Dense Spreading Yew Shrub, $30.00, The Home Depot

If you're looking for four-season interest, you can't go wrong with serviceberry, occasionally called shadblow. This amazing native tree has a shrublike form and produces masses of small white flowers in the early spring followed by edible blue-black berries in the summer. In fall, the foliage turns bright red and when winter arrives, the plant's bark adds textural interest to the otherwise dormant landscape. Use serviceberry singly as a specimen tree or cluster several along a lot line or fence.

Light: Partial shade or full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: varies by variety

Zones: 2-9

Buy It: Bareroot Serviceberry, $11.99, Arbor Day Foundation

Fragrance and color! That's what you'll get when you plant Clethra in your garden. Also called summersweet, this easy-care shrub bursts into bloom in the late summer, sporting spikes of richly scented white or pink flowers. Plus, in the fall, the leaves turn bright yellow. Clethra is a native shrub that tolerates wet acid soil and salt spray. Use it in a foundation planting or in a mixed border. Hummingbirds love this shrub, so if you plant it, you'll start seeing them flit around your yard.

Light: Part shade or full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained, consistently moist soil

Size: 4-6 feet tall, 4 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: 'Vanilla Spice' Summersweet, $19.99, Proven Winners

Celebrate the return of spring with a colorful collection of azaleas. These spectacular shrubs thrive in partially shady locations with rich, acidic soil. Azaleas, which are in the rhododendron family, come in a variety of colors and some newer varieties will even put on an extra flower show in the fall. Once established, azaleas will perform for decades, particularly in the southeastern part of the United States.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in slightly moist, well-drained soil

Size: 3-6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: 1 Gallon 'Autumn Sunburst' Azalea, $20.77, The Home Depot

In general, rhododendrons are a bit bigger and bolder than their close cousins the azaleas. These beauties develop softball-size flower heads perched atop leathery, dark evergreen leaves. Rhododendrons prefer slightly moist, acid soil and can grow up to 20 feet tall, although there are also ground-hugging varieties available. Colors include lavender, pink, white, purple, yellow, rose, and bicolor.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in slightly moist, well-drained soil

Size: 2-20 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Buy It: 1 Gallon Compact Rhododendron Shrub, $22.88, The Home Depot

The undisputed queen of the winter garden, camellias bloom nonstop from fall to late spring. These amazing plants come in an almost unlimited array of flower colors, including red, white, and pink, and some varieties are also fragrant. Camellias have a dense branching habit with shiny, bright green leaves so the plants look wonderful in the landscape even when not in bloom. Camellias are slow growers, but most varieties will eventually reach 12-20 feet tall. They prefer slightly sandy, acid soil.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: 2-20 feet tall, 5-7 feet wide

Zones: 6-10

Buy It: 1 Quart Lady Camellia Shrub, $41.99, The Home Depot

If someone held a popularity contest for shrubs (not likely, but you never know) mophead hydrangeas would be the uncontested winner. With their broad, bright green foliage and their pink or blue softball-size flowers, mophead hydrangeas are a pretty and versatile garden plant. You can even change the bloom color if the urge strikes by simply amending your soil. Use mophead hydrangeas to create a low hedge, perk up a mixed perennial border, or in large tubs to flank an entry. Mophead hydrangeas prefer rich, slightly moist soil and protection from the hot, afternoon sun. Newer varieties bloom on and off all summer.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: 3-8 feet tall and wide

Zones: 4-7

Buy It: Potted Blue Hydrangea, $16.49, Arbor Day Foundation

If you take a springtime drive through the Appalachian Mountains you may see wild mountain laurels in flower on hillsides and meadows. This spectacular native spring-flowering shrub makes a great landscape plant sporting large clusters of cup-shape rose or white flowers with purple markings. It prefers a rich, slightly acid soil and makes a wonderful companion for azaleas and rhododendrons. Mountain laurel is also rabbit- and deer-resistant.

Light: Part shade

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil

Size: 5-15 feet tall and wide

Zones: 4-9

Buy It: 2 Gallon Mountain Laurel, $40.00, Lauren's Garden Service

Ideal for cool moist climates, Daphne produces quantities of pale purple, intensely fragrant blooms every spring. It's a broadleaf evergreen that loves rich, slightly moist soil. Daphne does not like excessively hot summers or deeply cold winters, so it's best grown in temperate regions of the Pacific Northwest or South. Use Daphne as a low hedge, specimen plant, or as a foundation plant on a sheltered side of your home.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in slightly moist, well-drained soil

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 2-4 feet wide

Zones: 7-9

Buy It: 'Eternal Fragrance' Daphne, $19.99, Burgess Seed & Plant Co.

Talk about no fuss! Once planted, viburnums are about as low-maintenance as you can get. These tough and colorful shrubs thrive in sun or partial shade, aren't fussy about soil type, and have almost no insect or disease problems. They're pretty, too, with clusters of white flowers in the spring followed by blue-black or red berries in the summer, and bright yellow foliage in the fall. Viburnums come in a variety of shapes and sizes that fit almost any landscape situation. Two top picks for partial shade include Arrowwood and Judd.

Light: Part shade or full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained, dry soil

Size: 6-8 feet tall and wide

Zones: 2-9

Buy It: Bareroot Arrowwood Viburnum, $13.99, Arbor Day Foundation

For year-round color, you can't beat oakleaf hydrangea. This American native thrives in light shade and develops showy panicles of creamy white flowers in early summer. Then, in the fall its huge oak leaf-shape leaves turn spectacular shades of yellow, orange, and burgundy. And during the winter you can enjoy oakleaf hydrangea's papery, cinnamon-color bark. This amazing plant also can tolerate drier soils than other hydrangea species.

Light: Part shade

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: 6-8 feet tall, 4-6 feet wide

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: Oakleaf Hydrangea, $12.99, Tennesee Wholesale Nursery

One of the best flowering shrubs for shady spots, Kerria produces masses of bright yellow flowers in April and May. These easy-care plants are also tolerant of both dry and wet soils, heavy shade, and hungry deer. Kerria can spread by underground suckers, so check state regulations to find out if it's considered invasive in your region.

Light: Part shade or full shade

Water: Plant in moist soil (can tolerate poorly drained soil)

Size: 3-6 feet tall, 6-8 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Buy It: Double-Flowering Japanese Kerria, $9.99, High Country Gardens