The Best New Compact Shrubs for the Northern Plains

These cold-hardy, low-maintenance introductions shine in tight and hard-to-fill spots

If you are like me , you are always looking to see what the late and greatest shrubs are to add to the landscape . I look for shrubs that are not just dusty tolerant but that stay small-scale without much drive while providing a “ wow ” factor . Thankfully , there are family out there constantly solve on new introductions to keep us wanting more . Here are a few of the newfangled succinct shrubs for 2020 to look at summate to your Northern Plains landscape painting .

Pinktini™ Preston lilac

Syringa×prestoniae‘Jeftin ’ , Zones 2–7

breed from the popular ‘ Miss Canada ’ Preston lilac ( Syringa×prestoniae‘Miss Canada ’ , Zones 2–7 ) , which reach 10 ft marvelous and 8 feet all-inclusive , Pinktini ™ Preston lilac reaches a height and spread of only 4 to 5 feet , make it the perfect little shrub . It is nonsuckering and hardy down to Zone 2 . What this lilac lacks in size of it it more than make up for with fragrant bright pinkish peak in late springiness and dusty loss to majestic foliage in the fall . Add this bush to your foundation planting , or pick up a few and create a humble screen where you could savor their heavenly perfume .

Iceberg Alley®sageleaf willow

Salix candida‘Jefberg ’ , zone 2–6

I am excited to see how people use this Modern sageleaf willow in their landscapes . This little aboriginal shrub grows only 3 to 6 foot wide of the mark and just as tall . It offers powdery , argent foliage that creates excellent contrast and grain . In spring , silver ament that are highlighted with red stamens grace the branches . This bush respond marvelously to pruning , and the catkins make great weakened flowers .

Ground Hog™ aronia

Aronia melanocarpa‘UCONNAM012′ , Zones 3–9

Ground Hog ™ aronia is a practiced shrub to use for a dense background cover in those difficult - to - maintain areas . As a native bush , this industrial plant can resist our rugged wintertime , occasional droughts , and wide range of soils . Individual plants get to a height of 8 to 14 inches marvelous and a paste of 36 inches . They are extend with glossy green foliage and blanched flowers in outpouring , followed by morose violet berries in crepuscule — which birds thoroughly enjoy — nestled among ruby gloam leafage . This is a perfect pick to naturalise and stabilize a hillside , but it can also be tucked into a manicured landscape .

These humble , well - behaved bush are exactly what you may be reckon for . They are thick and dauntless plants that need lilliputian sustainment but offer multiseason involvement , making any one of them a capital addition to your garden .

— Chris Schlenker is the head nurseryman of McCrory Gardens at South Dakota State University in Brookings , South Dakota .

o.k. Gardening Recommended merchandise

ARS telescope Long Reach Pruner

okay Gardening receive a commission for item purchased through links on this internet site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertizement programs .

Pruning simplify : A Step - by - Step Guide to 50 Popular Trees and Shrubs

Scotts Cordless Grass - Shear / Shrub - Trimmer Combo

Get our modish peak , how - to clause , and instructional videos send to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Compact Conifers for the Northern Plains

McCrory Gardens: A Hidden Gem in the Northern Plains

Plants for Compact Spaces, Part I: Small Perennials and Shrubs for the Midwest

Drought-Tolerant Trees for the Northern Plains

unite Fine horticulture for a free engaging live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned industrial plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals expert manager …

When I spy a exceptional sand dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delicious colouring material blueprint …

When we only prioritise plants we desire over plant our landscape painting needs , each time of year is filled with a never - ending list of chores : pruning , pinching , watering , treating , amend , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to trigger off on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a span …

4 Midsummer Favorites From a Plant Breeder’s Garden

Episode 181: Plants You Can’t Kill

Episode 180: Plants with Big, Bold Foliage

4 Steps to Remove Invasive Plants in Your Yard

All Access member get more

get going Free Trial

Get complete land site access to expert advice , regional content , and more , plus the photographic print magazine .

protrude your FREE trial

Already a member?enter

Ground Hog aronia

Ground Hog™ aronia spreads over the ground like a groundhog spreads under it, providing year-round interest with flowers, berries, and fall foliage.Photo: courtesy of provenwinners.com

Pinktini Preston lilac

Pinktini™ Preston lilac bursts with large panicles of fragrant pink.Photo: courtesy of Jeffries Nurseries

Iceberg Alley sageleaf willow

Iceberg Alley®sageleaf willow has silvery foliage that will contrast with your darker shrubs and perennials.Photo: courtesy of First Editions Shrub and Trees