When considering the right shrub for your yard, you have many options. There are different species, some of which are fast-growing, while others are low-maintenance and come in a wide variety of colors. Choose a shrub that will survive New Jersey’s unique climate and will not require too much care. Listed below are some shrubs that are suitable for New Jersey homes. They are low-maintenance, fast-growing, and come in a variety of colors and sizes.
‘Sky Pencil’ holly
This columnar shrub has glossy, dark green foliage all year round. It is also attractive in containers, and it tends to fill out almost to the ground. The Sky Pencil is a beautiful choice for privacy screening or a vertical accent in your landscape. This cultivar needs a male plant to pollinate its berries, and will grow as small as six feet tall and two to three feet wide.
This dwarf holly is a dense, compact plant with glossy green leaves. It grows 3 to 4 feet high and wide and has white flowers in spring. It will tolerate dry conditions, but it will not grow well in full sun. It will benefit from mulch, and can tolerate light shade to full sun. It also takes pruning well. Despite the many advantages of this plant, it is best suited for gardens with partial shade.
If you are looking for a plant for your landscape, consider the Sky Pencil Holly. Its upright, columnar shape, smooth-edged foliage, and black berries make it a favorite with landscape designers. It will grow to about ten feet tall, and is an excellent choice for New Jersey gardens. While it does grow well in shade, it also prefers well-drained acid soil.
‘Coral Beauty’ cotoneaster
‘Coral Beauty’ is an outstanding groundcover with compact, tiers of glossy green leaves and red, pink, or purple fall foliage. Its glossy foliage and berries attract hummingbirds and other pollinators throughout the growing season. It’s low maintenance and drought-resistant. In addition, it will suppress weeds. It grows well in most soil types, from sandy to acidic.
Another great selection for gardens and landscapes is Coral Beauty Cotoneaster, a deciduous evergreen that features bright red berries in late spring and summer. This plant has attractive, arching branches and can grow up to eight feet tall. It can also grow in rocky areas, making it an ideal choice for rock gardens. Its upright growth is hardy in Zones 4-8.
Another choice for colder climates is Ilex aquifolium. This large, dense shrub can reach heights of 15 feet and is ideal for windbreaks and ground cover. Its bright red berries appear in clusters throughout the winter, and it’s deer resistant. The bearberry cotoneaster is a great choice for gardens because it will not only add character to your landscape, but also protect your soil.
‘Inkberry’ holly
The ‘Inkberry’ holly has attractive, evergreen foliage that’s hardy in zones 5-10. Its flowers are a bright, white color in the spring, followed by a cluster of blue-black drupes. Its rhizomes are heavy, and this plant is commonly propagated through suckering. The leaves are shiny green on top, but duller on the underside. The leaves are toothed near the top. Inkberry shrubs can reach mature heights and widths of five to 10 feet. Many cultivars are available. Suckering and stem cuttings are the most common ways to propagate inkberry.
‘Inkberry’ holly has red berries on its female plants. It is a good choice for hedges and mass planting. It is deer-resistant and can be pruned into a hedging shape. The plant’s natural pyramidal habit makes it an excellent choice for part-shade or shady sites.
Strongbox ‘Inkberry’ holly grows naturally as a broad mound. Its leaves hang close to the ground, so it’s a great choice for hedges and other plantings in New Jersey. It’s also faster-growing than boxwood, and it has good deer resistance. Inkberry holly is available in spring 2019 and can be transplanted in most gardens.
‘Northern Bayberry’
Native to the eastern United States, the Northern Bayberry is one of the best ever green plants for New Jersey. A densely branching shrub with a scented fruit, this plant can be planted in mass plantings or as a front yard accent. Crushed Northern Bayberry fruit is also used in candles. The plant can tolerate poor soil, but must be in a well-drained, moist area.
The bayberry is an excellent choice for areas that experience dry conditions. Its dark green leaves are highly resistant to deer and other pests, and it produces bright red berries in August and throughout the winter. A great groundcover plant, it grows six to 12 inches tall and can cover an area as large as 15 feet in diameter. The bayberry produces bright red berries and is eaten by birds. It is also a good stabilizer on sloping land, so it’s a great choice for those with slopes or difficult terrain.
Another popular choice is the arrowwood. It is a medium size shrub with aromatic leaves and berries. It is also salt tolerant, making it a useful shrub for coastal plantings and difficult sites. It requires minimal maintenance and only needs occasional rejuvenation pruning. You can even use it as a hedge. It also makes a good screening plant. And while the leaves are fragrant, they do not require much pruning.
‘American Holly’
The foliage of the American holly resembles a twisted twig with a sharp spine. This hardy tree has glossy, dark green leaves and blooms in early spring. The berries, which can be toxic to humans, are collected in fall. American holly has many uses, including providing habitat for birds and a refuge from hungry predators. In addition to aesthetic purposes, it makes a good choice for gardens, landscapes, and even landscaping projects.
The American holly is a broad-leafed evergreen with attractive glossy green leaves and a red berry cluster. Its characteristic shape is pyramidal, and it grows to a notable size in the wild. Its male and female plants are separate, and male pollen is required for female flowers to grow. Both sexes produce berries, making American holly an excellent choice for any landscape.
A popular cultivar of American holly is the ‘Jersey Knight’. Despite the number of male cultivars released each year, the Jersey Knight is still the only one mentioned consistently. The leaves are alternate, simple, and elliptic, and are 1.5 to 3.5 inches long. Their color varies considerably between trees. The shape of the tree is pyramidal in youth, but then opens out to a highly branching crown in the mature state.
‘Dwarf Norway Spruce’
This compact-growing evergreen shrub has silvery-gray foliage. It will grow to be about 4.5 feet tall at maturity, and is as wide as 3 feet at the base. Its maximum annual growth rate is six inches (15 cm).
This sturdy tree was a valuable resource in colonial times and is a popular choice for large-scale forests. The distinctive pyramidal to conical shape of its leaves is complemented by its red bark. Once established, this tree is extremely resistant to wind, making it a great choice for natural windbreaks. The foliage of the ‘Dwarf Norway Spruce’ is beautiful and evergreen, with the leaves spiraling upwards on the branches. The cones grow to about six inches long and are produced at the tip of the branches.
A native of Europe, the Norway spruce is popular as a landscape specimen tree. The tree’s dense branching pattern, ability to tolerate varying soil conditions, and formal dignity make it an ideal windbreak. Despite its small size, the Norway spruce can grow to 60 feet in a decade. In addition to its windbreak and privacy benefits, this evergreen shrub also thrives in areas of drought.
A good choice for smaller-scale gardens is the ‘Dwarf Norway Spruce,’ a dwarf form of the species. Its glossy green needles make it an attractive plant in a small garden, and its dense, mounded form is great for attracting birds. ‘Dwarf Norway Spruce’ is among the best evergreen shrubs for New Jersey
