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Native Plants for Georgia |
Characteristics: Bottlebrush Buckeye is a graceful, deciduous shrub. Leaves are palmate with five to seven leaflets. Many small, white flowers are borne in May and June on upright, cylindrical inflorescences, eight to 12 inches long. They give the appearance of white "bottlebrushes" hovering above the plant. Fall color typically is yellow under the right environmental conditions. Fruit are capsules approximately 1½ inches long. As plants age, new plants arise from the roots and the plants spread outward.
Landscape Uses: Bottlebrush Buckeye is a flowering shrub useful as a single specimen or in shrub borders. It is a broad, spreading, multi-stemmed plant with many upright shoots, so it requires plenty of room in the landscape. It prefers fertile, acid, moist soils and partial shade, and it does not like hot, dry locations. Rejuvenate with heavy pruning in late winter.
Size: 8 to 12 feet tall with a spread of 8 to 15 feet
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b (with partial shade in 8b)
Habitat: An understory plant in moist locations in hardwood forests, often in association with streams
Native To: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida
Comments: Seeds are valued by wildlife, particularly squirrels, chipmunks, deer and turkeys.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Red Buckeye is a clump-forming, round-topped, deciduous flowering shrub or small tree. The lustrous, dark green, palmate leaves have five leaflets. Scarlet flowers are borne in panicles four to eight inches long and two to three inches wide in March and April. Fruit are capsules approximately two inches long, bearing one or two lustrous brown seeds.
Landscape Uses: Red Buckeye is an attractive spring-flowering shrub useful in woodland settings where it gets filtered shade and moist conditions. It flowers well in dense shade. It loses its leaves early, often by late September. Scarlet, tubular flowers with protruding stamens are pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds.
Size: 12 to 15 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Swampy, marshy areas to fertile, moist, well-drained lower forest slopes
Native To: Virginia to Florida, west to Texas
Comments: Supports hummingbird spring migration. There are selections of this plant, but they are not readily available.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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Characteristics: Painted Buckeye is a large shrub or small tree. The leaves emerge early, in March, and vary from green to reddish-purple. Leaves are palmate, with five leaflets, each four to six inches long. The flowers (male and bisexual) occur together in four- to eight-inch panicles from March to May. Flower color is extremely variable and ranges from yellow-green to creamy yellow or varying shades of pink. The smooth, leathery capsule contains one to three shiny, dark-brown seeds. Fruit set is normally minimal.
Landscape Uses: Painted Buckeye prefers rich, moist soil in partial shade. It can be used as a specimen or in a grouping for naturalizing in moist woods.
Size: 6 to 20 feet tall
Zones: 7b, 8a
Habitat: Rich woods and bottomlands of the Piedmont. Found on gentle slopes under oak, hickory and maple trees.
Native To: Virginia to Georgia, west to Tennessee and Alabama
Comments: Hummingbirds use Painted Buckeye heavily as they move north during spring migration.
 Photo: Cynthia Taylor |
- |  Photo: Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org |
Characteristics: Fetterbush is a tall, multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with arching branches and bright green leaves. Flowers are small, fragrant, cream-colored, and urn-shaped, appearing in May and June. They are clustered in loose racemes arising from the leaf axils of the previous season’s growth. Fruit is a dry brown capsule.
Landscape Uses: Fetterbush can be used as a specimen plant, to screen patios or yards, or to soften the corners of structures. Its arching habit and evergreen foliage add a wonderful year-round texture to the landscape. It can be pruned into a tree form or shaped as a hedge. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil in dappled shade or morning sun, but it tolerates full shade. For best appearance, remove old stems with regular pruning.
Size: 6 to 15 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Along Coastal Plain streambanks and at the edges of swamps and hammocks
Native To: South Carolina southward into peninsular Florida
Comments: This plant was once known as Florida Leucothoe (Leucothoe populifolia).
 Photo: J.S. Peterson, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database |
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 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
- |  Photo: Guy Anglin |
Characteristics: Devil’s Walkingstick is a deciduous, tall, erect, single-stemmed shrub. Leaves are alternate, bipinnately compound, and three to four feet long. Stems are thorny. White flowers in July and August are arranged in terminal panicles and give the plant a lacy appearance. It seldom branches but forms colonies from root suckers. Fruits turn pinkish-purple and are showy for several months in late summer and fall. Fall leaf color is variable, from yellow to maroon or purple.
Landscape Uses: Devil’s Walkingstick is a large, bold plant best used as a specimen or accent plant in the landscape. It grows best in moist, high organic soils in full sun to light shade. It is easy to transplant when young.
Size: 10 to 15 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 10 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Fertile woodland soils with high organic matter
Native To: Southern Pennsylvania, southern Indiana and eastern Iowa, south to Florida and west to eastern Texas
Comments: Suckers arising from the roots can be a maintenance problem if roots are disturbed. Fruit are a favorite food for migrating birds in fall.
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
- |  Photo: Theresa Schrum |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Groundsel Bush is an evergreen to semi-evergreen flowering shrub. It spreads via suckers arising from the roots. It has an irregular oval form with upright branching. Flowers are indistinct, but seeds look like tiny white paint brushes and are quite showy in late summer.
Landscape Uses: Use Groundsel Bush as a specimen plant or in a shrub border. It is tolerant of a wide variety of sites and is salt tolerant.
Size: 8 to 12 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 10 feet
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Waste areas and beaches in the lower Coastal Plain; also found on drier upland sites
Native To: Coastal areas from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Texas
Comments: Seeds have traveled north on car tires. It can be invasive.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Todd Hurt |
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Characteristics: American Beautyberry is a deciduous shrub with coarse texture and medium to fast growth rate. It has an irregular, spreading, loosely branched, upright growth habit. Light pink to lavender flowers borne from June to August are not showy, but the intense color of the purple fruit clustered around the stems in fall makes a dramatic display.
Landscape Uses: American Beautyberry is a great accent in the shrub border. It will grow in most soils and prefers full sun for best fruit production. It is adaptable to a wide variety of sites. The coarse-textured leaves and showy fruit make this species desirable for naturalistic settings or mixed shrub borders. Plant in groups of three, five or seven for a dramatic statement.
Size: 4 to 8 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: A variety of sites from wet to dry, sun to shade
Native To: Maryland, south to Florida, west to Texas and Oklahoma
Comments: A white-berried form is available.
- Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Sweetshrub is a deciduous, flowering shrub with medium texture, medium growth rate and an upright oval to mounding form. It tends to form colonies by spreading outward from the mother plant. Foliage is aromatic when crushed. Flowers, borne in April and May, are highly fragrant, with a clove-like aroma. Fall color is yellow.
Landscape Uses: Use Sweetshrub as a specimen plant or in groups within a shrub border or woodland setting. It is a nice choice for a fragrance garden. It prefers moist, fertile soils in full sun to partial shade, but it is moderately tolerant of adverse conditions.
Size: 8 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Found in fertile woodlands along sandy streams and hillsides. Grows in acid soils in the Southeast, predominantly in the Piedmont and mountains.
Native To: Virginia to Florida
Comments: A yellow-flowered cultivar is available in the nursery trade.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Button Bush is a deciduous, flowering shrub with medium texture and a medium growth rate. It has an open, rounded form with spreading branches. The flowers are round, one to two inches in diameter, and are fragrant. The flowers look like creamy-white balls covered with fiber optic tubes. They appear from June to August. Fruit are hard, round, reddish-brown capsules containing two to four nutlets. This is an unusual-looking plant in flower and fruit.
Landscape Uses: Use Buttonbush as a specimen plant or in group plantings adjacent to ponds and streams, or in other moist areas. It prefers full sun and moist to wet soils. Cut the plant back heavily every few years to rejuvenate because young stems are the most attractive.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 10 to 15 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Sunny, wet, marshy areas; shrubby swamps and pond edges
Native To: New Brunswick to Florida, west to Southern Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arizona. Also found in southern New Mexico and southern California.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Ted Bodner, Bugwood.org |
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Characteristics: Summersweet Clethra is a deciduous, colony-forming shrub. Leaves are alternate, oblong, two to four inches long and one to two inches wide, and sharply serrated along the margins. Flowers are fragrant, white to whitish-pink, and are borne in erect terminal clusters from late June through August. Fruit are small, brown capsules.
Landscape Uses: Summersweet Clethra is an excellent plant for moist areas and almost any soil type. It will grow in full sun to partial shade. Avoid planting it in drought-prone sites.
Size: 6 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 5 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Thickets in low, wet areas; bays, bogs, streams and wet pine savannahs in the Coastal Plain
Native To: Maine to Florida, west to coastal Texas
Comments: Attracts butterflies. Several cultivars are available.
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
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Characteristics: Black Titi, or Buckwheat Tree, is an evergreen, multi-stemmed, flowering shrub or small tree with medium-fine texture and a medium-slow growth rate. Its form is oval to round. Leaves are leathery, thick and glossy, dark green above and a pale, chalky green below. The bark is dark and scaly. Fragrant white to whitish-pink flowers are borne in early March in terminal clusters three inches long. Fruit is a winged, corky drupe, closely resembling buckwheat. The foliage turns reddish-scarlet in winter.
Landscape Uses: Use Black Titi for screening or as a specimen flowering plant. Because it is attractive to bees when flowering, it may be best to plant it away from the public. It prefers moist, acid soils high in organic matter and full sun to light shade.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 8 to 12 feet
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Occurs in areas that are wet during winter months. It is usually found growing with members of the heath family (ericaceous plants).
Native To: Georgia to Florida, west to Louisiana
Comments: Flowers are an important nectar source for honey bees.
 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 CE.jpg) Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
 Photo: Walter Hodge |
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Characteristics: Red Basil is a small, semi-evergreen shrub with aromatic leaves. Flowers are tubular, brilliant scarlet, and are borne from late summer into fall. It is a striking plant in bloom. Habit is loose, open and erect.
Landscape Uses: Red Basil should be planted on sandhills or sand ridges of the Coastal Plain. It prefers dry sites.
Size: Up to 2½ feet high with a spread of 2 feet
Zones: 8a, 8b
Habitat: Thrives in dry pine barrens, and on sandhills and ridges of the Coastal Plain.
Native To: Georgia to Mississippi
Comments: Deer shun Red Basil’s aromatic foliage. Hummingbirds love its flowers.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Shirley Denton |
Characteristics: Georgia Basil is a low, loosely sprawling, freely branched, semi-evergreen shrub. The leaves are opposite and aromatic. Tubular pink to lavender flowers are borne from August to October.
Landscape Uses: Georgia Basil is a good landscape plant for dry soils in full sun. It also naturalizes in deciduous woods as a ground cover in rocky, shaded areas. It often is found growing naturally where little else can survive. Shows potential for naturalizing on harsh, dry sites.
Size: Up to 2 feet tall and the same width
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Dry, rocky woods and bluffs, and land adjacent to rock outcrops
Native To: North Carolina to Florida and west to Mississippi
Comments: It tends to naturalize in situations that suit it, and it reseeds prolifically. It can easily be pruned back to about half its size. Deer shun its aromatic foliage.
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
- |  Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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Characteristics: Littlehip Hawthorn is a large shrub or small, deciduous tree. White flowers in a flat cluster emerge from the leaf axils in spring. Individual fruit are ½ inch in size, dull red, and borne in showy clusters. Bark exfoliates with age, exposing an orange-gray-brown inner bark.
Landscape Uses: Use it in a shrub border or for wildlife food along the woodland edge.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall by 10 to 12 feet wide
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Wet or moist soils, streambanks, swamps and borders of woods
Native To: Virginia, south to Florida, west to Texas and Missouri
Comments: A good wildlife plant, especially for birds
 Photo: Ron Lance |
- |  Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Ron Lance |
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Characteristics: Red Titi is a large shrub or small tree with medium texture and medium growth rate. Form is rounded and low-branching. Foliage is medium-green. It is evergreen in south Georgia and deciduous in northern Georgia. Fall color ranges from orange to scarlet. Fragrant, white flowers are borne in summer on slender three- to six-inch-long spikes. They are arranged in a drooping whorl at the base of the current season’s growth. Twigs and young stems are angled and slightly winged.
Landscape Uses: Use Red Titi as a flowering specimen plant. It is attractive to bees, so use it away from public areas. It prefers moist soils with good organic content and full sun to light shade. It is not drought tolerant.
Size: 10 to 25 feet tall with a spread of 10 to 20 feet
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Wet, swampy areas of the Coastal Plain
Native To: Virginia to Florida, west to Texas
Comments: Attractive to bees
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Hugh Nourse |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Strawberry-Bush is a deciduous shrub having medium texture and medium growth rate. Form is upright with irregular branching. Stems are green. Flowers, borne in May and June, are green and indistinct. Fruit is a warty, dark pink capsule about one inch wide, splitting to reveal scarlet-colored seeds in September and October. It is also commonly called “Hearts-a-Bustin” to describe the colorful, heart-shaped fruit that appears to be exploding from the capsule.
Landscape Uses: Use in group plantings in forested settings or adjacent to water. Moist, well-drained soils and partial shade are preferred. Not for full sun or stressful environments.
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall with a spread of 2 to 3 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist, fertile soils in woodlands, along streams and on bluffs
Native To: New York south to Florida, west to Texas
Comments: Provides food for variety of wildlife.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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Characteristics: Dwarf Fothergilla is a deciduous flowering shrub with medium-coarse texture, slow growth rate and rounded to spreading habit. White, honey-scented flowers appear in April before the foliage. Blue-green, pest-free foliage turns brilliant orange-scarlet in fall.
Landscape Uses: Dwarf Fothergilla is a good plant for foundation planting or a perennial border. It looks particularly nice in mass plantings or in conjunction with rhododendrons and azaleas. It requires acid soils high in organic matter, good drainage and adequate moisture. It does well in full sun to partial shade. Foliage remains relatively pest free in north Georgia, but in south Georgia a fungal disease may defoliate the plant.
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall with a spread of 2 to 3 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: The Coastal Plain on the banks of low, water-filled depressions (pocosins); pine savannahs and around ponds
Native To: North Carolina to the Florida panhandle; southern Alabama
Comments: Several cultivars are available.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Theresa Schrum |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: J.S. Peterson, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database |
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Characteristics: Common Witchhazel is a deciduous shrub or small tree with medium texture and a medium growth rate. Yellow, fragrant flowers are borne in November and have four strap-shaped petals. Fruit are capsules having four sharp-curved points on their ends. Seeds are not released until 12 months after flowering. Fall color is usually bright yellow. Stems are smooth gray to grayish-brown.
Landscape Uses: Use Common Witchhazel as a specimen plant in the shrub border. Establish as small plants or as container-grown specimens because of the sparse root system. It prefers moist soils in sun to shade and is not drought tolerant.
Size: 20 to 30 feet tall and 20 to 25 feet wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a
Habitat: Moist soils in the understory of hardwood forests and sandhills
Native To: Nova Scotia to Ontario, south to Florida, west to Texas
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  CE.jpg) Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Ted Bodner, Bugwood.org |
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Characteristics: Oakleaf Hydrangea is a deciduous flowering shrub with coarse texture and a medium to fast growth rate. Its form is round with many upright branches. Large, fragrant, white, terminal flower clusters (panicles) up to 12 inches in length are borne in May and June on the previous season’s growth. Flowers fade to pinkish-white, then light brown. Fall color is excellent and varies from red to purple. Bark on older plants exfoliates. The plant is stoloniferous and spreads outward over time.
Landscape Uses: Use Oakleaf Hydrangea as a specimen plant or in groupings. Plant in moist, well-drained soils and partial shade. Avoid planting in hot, dry sites. Prune after flowering.
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 8 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist, well-drained, acid soils; usually along streams. Found predominantly in the Piedmont.
Native To: Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana
Comments: Several cultivars are available.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Gallberry, or Inkberry, is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with medium-fine texture, medium growth rate and an upright-oval form. It spreads by stolons that root at their nodes and form new shoots. Flowers are small and indistinct. Fruit are dark berries, appearing in fall.
Landscape Uses: Use Gallberry in mass plantings or as a single specimen. It is often used as a wildlife plant. Plant in sun to shade and moist soils. It will not tolerate drought.
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Pine flatwoods, bogs, bays and pocosins
Native To: Nova Scotia to Florida; west to Missouri, Mississippi and Texas
Comments: Gallberry is an excellent source of nectar for both native and honey bees. Its abundant fruit is an important food for wildlife. Many cultivars are available.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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Characteristics: Winterberry is a deciduous shrub prized for its colorful red berries. Flowers are borne on short stalks arising at the leaf axils in April and May. Female and male flowers are borne on separate plants, so both sexes are required to form berries on female plants. Bark is gray and attractive.
Landscape Uses: Use Winterberry as a specimen plant, for screening, hedges or in mixed borders. The showy fruit are striking in the winter landscape and are attractive to birds.
Size: 8 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a
Habitat: Wet woods, bogs, stream banks and springheads of the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont
Native To: Nova Scotia south to Florida, west to eastern Texas, north to Minnesota and Western Ontario
Comments: There are many cultivars in the trade. It provides an excellent food source for wildlife.
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Florida Anise-Tree is a broadleaf, evergreen shrub. It has a variable habit, generally upright and compact, with many branches. Leaves are elliptical, four to six inches long and one to two inches wide. Flowers appear in April and May and are dark red with 20 to 30 petals. Foliage is aromatic when crushed. Fruit are one to 1½ inches wide and star-like in appearance. Young fruit are green, fade to yellow, then to brown. They contain shiny, BB-like brown seeds.
Landscape Uses: Use Florida Anise-Tree as a specimen shrub in shaded, moist areas. It will require pruning to maintain its shape.
Size: 9 to 12 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 5 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Swamps and low hammocks in the Coastal Plain
Native To: Florida to Louisiana
Comments: Several cultivars are available.
- Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Fred Mileshko |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
Characteristics: Small Anise-Tree is a large evergreen shrub or small tree with medium texture and a medium-fast growth rate. Form is upright and pyramidal. The rich, light green aromatic foliage has a pungent scent when crushed. Yellow-green flowers, ½-inch wide, are borne in June and are often hidden among the foliage. Fruit are star-shaped with many points.
Landscape Uses: Use Small Anise-Tree as a specimen plant and for screening or hedges. Some pruning will be necessary. It establishes easily in moist soils in full sun to light shade. Growth is more dense in the sun, and loose and open in the shade.
Size: 8 to 15 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 10 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Sandy, wet areas along streams, bays and hammocks
Native To: Southern Georgia and Florida
Comments: This is one of the most rugged of all the Illicium species, according to Michael Dirr.
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Virginia Sweetspire, a deciduous, flowering shrub with medium texture and medium growth rate, has a spreading habit with erect, clustered branches. White, fragrant, spike-like flowers are borne in April and May on the previous year’s growth. Fall color is spectacular crimson-red.
Landscape Uses: Virginia Sweetspire is attractive when used in mass plantings or as a specimen plant. It prefers moist, fertile soils and full sun to light shade. Areas adjacent to streams or ponds are ideal. It is a vigorous grower when provided good conditions, but its performance will be disappointing on poor sites. It spreads outward by root suckers to form colonies.
Size: 4 to 6 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 8 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Wet, boggy areas and along wooded streams
Native To: New Jersey to Florida; west to Missouri, Louisiana and East Texas
Comments: Many cultivars are available.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Mountain Laurel is an evergreen flowering shrub having a medium texture and a slow growth rate. More upright when young, mature specimens have a picturesque, broad-spreading form with irregular branches. Delicate white- to rose-colored, cup-shaped blooms with purple markings on the petals appear in April. The flowers are one inch across and borne in terminal clusters. Bark on old plants is smooth and red-brown.
Landscape Uses: Mountain Laurel can be used as a specimen plant, in mass plantings, or in shrub borders. Young plants transplant best. Plant in moist, well-drained soils with morning sun and afternoon shade. North- or east-facing slopes are preferred. Keep the roots cool by mulching, and protect the plants from afternoon sun.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 8 to10 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist, cool, well-drained stream banks. In mountain valley environments, it can form impenetrable thickets.
Native To: Quebec and New Brunswick, south to Florida, west to Indiana, south to Louisiana
Comments: Numerous cultivars are available in the nursery trade. Foliage is poisonous.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Hugh Nourse |
- |  Photo: Carol Nourse |
Characteristics: Drooping Leucothoe is an evergreen flowering shrub with medium texture and a medium to slow growth rate. It has arching branches and a vase-shaped habit. Fragrant, urn-shaped, creamy-white flowers are borne on spikes in April and May. The foliage is leathery and glossy green.
Landscape Uses: Nice for mass plantings. It produces a good evergreen backdrop for low-growing plants. To perform well, this plant must have moist soils high in organic matter and light to dense shade. It does not like hot, dry sites. It performs poorly in zone 8.
Size: 3 to 6 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 6 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist woodlands and streambanks
Native To: Virginia to Georgia, Kentucky to Alabama
Comments: Leafspot, mildew and root-rot can be serious problems. A similar species, Coast Leucothoe (Leucothoe axillaris), is found in south Georgia. Several cultivars of both Drooping Leucothoe and Coast Leucothoe are available.
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
Characteristics: Spice-Bush is a deciduous shrub having medium texture and slow to medium growth rate. Honey-scented, yellow flowers appear before the leaves in March. Fruit are shiny, crimson-colored drupes in September. Male and female flowers are borne on different plants (dioecious). The plant is stoloniferous and spreads via suckers arising from the roots. Fall color is golden yellow.
Landscape Uses: Ideal for streambank plantings in shaded areas. The flowers and fruit are somewhat showy.
Size: 3 to 9 feet tall with an equal spread
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist woods, streambanks and near springs. Likes basic (alkaline) soils.
Native To: Maine to Ontario and Kansas, south to Florida and Texas
Comments: Host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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Characteristics: Fetterbush is an evergreen flowering shrub with medium texture and slow growth rate. Habit is upright and spreading. Fragrant, pinkish-white, bell-shaped flowers are borne from April to May. Flower form is similar to Leucothoe and Vaccinium.
Landscape Uses: Fetterbush is best used in mass plantings and naturalized settings. It needs moist, well-drained soils and partial shade.
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 5 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a
Habitat: Typically found in wet, acidic soils of pine flatwoods, savannahs, bays and swampy streams. It also occasionally occurs in dry uplands.
Native To: Virginia to Florida and Louisiana
 Photo: Carol & Hugh Nourse |
- |  Photo: Carol & Hugh Nourse |
Characteristics: Southern Wax Myrtle is an upright, broadleaf evergreen shrub/small tree. It has a medium texture and medium growth rate. Form is variable but usually is broad-rounded at maturity. It also can be outstanding as a small, multi-stemmed tree. Bark is smooth and light gray. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The foliage and fruit are aromatic. It becomes stoloniferous and can form thickets.
Landscape Uses: Use Southern Wax Myrtle for screening or as a specimen tree or hedge. It is adaptable but prefers adequate moisture and full sun to light shade. It has few pests due to the pungent foliage. Ice storms can be a problem because the plant has weak wood that breaks easily.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 15 to 20 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Brackish coastal soils; wet depressions and bogs to fairly dry upland sands in pine or pine-oak forests
Native To: Coastal Plain from southern New Jersey to the Florida Keys, west to east Texas, southeast Oklahoma into Central America
Comments: Blue-gray berries on female plants were used by early settlers to make scented candles. Many cultivars are available. It attracts birds and bees.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Pinckneya — also called Fever Tree or Feverbark — is a deciduous, flowering small tree or large shrub with medium texture and medium to fast growth rate. Form is oval to round and commonly multi-stemmed. Large pink blooms (actually bracts) are borne in early June. Bloom color ranges from nearly pure white to pink, rose pink or red.
Landscape Uses: Plant Pinckneya as a flowering specimen plant. It prefers filtered shade and acidic, wet, sandy loam soils. Avoid planting in drought-prone sites. Pinckneya is not the easiest plant to grow, but it is well worth the effort.
Size: 12 to 15 feet tall with a spread of 8 to 12 feet
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Found mostly in low woods. It also grows in wet, acidic, sandy soils such as bogs and bays; blackwater seepage wetlands; and swampy thickets in the lower Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Native To: South Carolina to Florida
Comments: Seeds require no pretreatment, and cuttings root readily. It should be used more.
 Photo: Guy Anglin |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Tim Grissom |
 Photo: Tim Grissom |
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Characteristics: Hoptree is a deciduous shrub or small tree with medium-coarse texture and slow to medium growth rate. Habit is low-branched and rounded, and the tree has a suckering tendency. The foliage is mostly trifoliate. This plant’s claim to fame is the fruit, which superficially resembles hops. Flowers are fragrant but not conspicuous.
Landscape Uses: Use Hoptree as a specimen plant. It adapts to sun or dense shade and prefers moist, well-drained soils.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 5 to 15 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Found along streambanks in low areas and as an understory plant in hardwood forests. Typically found near granite outcrops in thin woods.
Native To: Ontario and New York to Florida; west to Minnesota
Comments: A host plant for butterflies
 CE.jpg) Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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Characteristics: Needle Palm is said to be the world’s most cold-hardy palm. It is an easy-to-grow, clump-forming palm adaptable to all areas of Georgia. Growth rate is slow, particularly when young. Attractive and hardy, it has been known to survive temperatures well below zero.
Landscape Uses: Use Needle Palm as a single specimen or in groups. It looks best when planted in light shade and in soils with adequate moisture. In zone 7 and north, it must have some sun every day to do well. It is a slow grower. Beware of its long, sharp spines along the inner trunk and foul-smelling fruit when deciding where to locate this palm in the landscape.
Size: 10 feet tall and wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: River flood plains and moist slopes; often grows under hardwood trees where the water does not flood too deeply in winter. Often grows over limestone. Prefers neutral pH soils.
Native To: South Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina
Comment: Rare in some parts of its range
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Deciduous azaleas are flowering shrubs with medium-fine texture and a slow rate of growth. Flowers are tubular, arranged in clusters, and are sometimes fragrant, depending on species. There are a wide range of bloom times and colors from which to choose. They begin flowering in March, with some species flowering as late as August.
Landscape Uses: Some deciduous azaleas grow in moist, acid soils high in organic matter, while others grow on upland sites. They bloom best if provided morning sun and afternoon shade. Use them as specimen plants or in flowering borders. They combine well with evergreens, dogwoods and other understory plants.
Size: Up to 15 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 8 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist wooded areas and along streams
The following are descriptions of deciduous azalea species native to Georgia:
Rhododendron alabamense (Alabama Azalea) — Alabama Azalea grows along dry ridges, steep bluffs, and in flat, moist, sandy areas. Form varies from low-growing and stoloniferous to upright as high as 12 feet. The white flowers have a sweet or musky-sweet fragrance, sometimes with a distinct lemon overtone. Bloom time is from late April to early June.
 Photo: Ernest Koone |
- |  Photo: Ernest Koone |
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 Photo: Guy Anglin |
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Rhododendron arborescens (Sweet Azalea) — Sweet Azalea is found along streams in moist mountain coves and is stoloniferous, forming dense colonies of plants growing up to 15 feet tall. The fragrant white flowers sometimes have yellow blotches. Flowers are large, frequently exceeding two inches across, and typically have red pistils and filaments (a distinct characteristic of this species). Bloom time is from May to August.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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 Photo: Ernest Koone |
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
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Rhododendron atlanticum (Coastal Azalea) — Coastal Azalea grows in a wide range of latitudes and soil conditions, and up to 200 miles inland in sandy coastal plains, damp ditches, sandy swamp margins and dry pasture sites. In friable soil, the plant is stoloniferous and will form large colonies. Fragrant white flowers, often blushed pink, open in April and May.
Photo: Ernest Koone
Rhododendron austrinum (Florida Azalea) — Florida Azalea is early flowering and easy to grow, making it one of the most popular species. The fragrant yellow, gold or light orange flowers normally have pink to bright red center tubes and bloom in March and April.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Rhododendron calendulaceum (Flame Azalea) — Flame Azalea is a tall shrub, growing to 12 feet tall, and found from the woody hillsides of the Appalachians to the Piedmont region above the fall line. It is a tetraploid with larger flowers than other species. Flower color ranges from clear yellow to yellowish-orange, orange, reddish-orange or red. The flowers open with or after the leaves and are not fragrant. Plants are non-stoloniferous. Stems have short hairs, and buds are smooth.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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Rhododendron canescens (Piedmont Azalea) — Piedmont Azalea, the most common species of native azalea, is found growing in a wide variety of habitats, from damp swamp margins to dry upland ridges. It grows to a height of 15 feet. Flowers are pink, occasionally white, with pink center tubes and a sweet to musky-sweet fragrance. Bloom period is from March to early May.
 Photo: Ernest Koone |
- |  Photo: Ernest Koone |
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 Photo: Ernest Koone |
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
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Rhododendron flammeum, syn. R. speciosum (Oconee Azalea) — Oconee Azalea is a low to tall shrub found in open woods and slopes from the lower Piedmont region across central Georgia. Flowers, appearing from mid-April to early May, vary in color from yellow-orange to orange or red. They open with the leaves and are not fragrant. Winter buds are smooth and stems are covered with short hairs. The Oconee Azalea is a low elevation plant and is heat tolerant.
 Photo: Ernest Koone |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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Rhododendron prunifolium (Plumleaf Azalea) — Plumleaf Azalea is a medium to large shrub growing to 15 feet. It is found along shady ravines and stream banks in southwestern Georgia. Reddish-orange to red flowers open after the leaves are fully developed and are not fragrant. This species must be used in partial shade as the flowering period is from July to September. Winter flower buds are smooth and greenish to light brown in color.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
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Rhododendron serralatum (Hammock Sweet Azalea) — Hammock Sweet Azalea is a large shrub growing to 15 feet or more and found in wooded swamps and hammocks of Georgia’s Coastal Plain. It is not stoloniferous. White, occasionally pale pink flowers open in July and August after the leaves are fully developed and have a clove-like fragrance.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
Rhododendron viscosum (Swamp Azalea) — Swamp Azalea is a variable small to medium size shrub found from low, marshy areas and along stream banks to high, mixed-forest mountains. Flowers are white, sometimes with a pinkish tinge, appearing in May and June after the leaves have fully developed; they have a spicy fragrance. The Swamp Azalea is generally stoloniferous.
 Photo: Matthew Chappell |
- |  Photo: Matthew Chappell |
Characteristics: Evergreen Rhododendrons are flowering shrubs/small trees with dark green, leathery foliage. Three species are endemic to Georgia. Large, funnel-shaped flower clusters are borne at the branch tips from April through August, depending on the species and habitat. These species are a major component of the forest understory, especially in mountainous regions.
Landscape Uses: All evergreen Rhododendron species require moist, well-drained, acidic soil, high in organic matter. All flower best if provided with filtered morning sun and afternoon shade. Foliage will scorch if exposed to summer afternoon sun. Use them as specimen plants in shady flowering borders. Rhododendrons mix well with other evergreens, deciduous azaleas and dogwoods.
Size: 5 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 10 feet, depending on species
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b
Habitat: Moist wooded areas and along streams
The following are descriptions of evergreen species native to Georgia:
Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba Rosebay) — A shrub found at higher elevations on mountain ridges, heath balds and upland woods, it typically grows about six feet in height. Catawba Rosebay flowers from May to June, and the rose, lilac-purple, pink or white flowers are borne in terminal clusters having eight to 20 individual flowers. The leaves are three to six inches long, shiny, and olive-green above and lighter green below.
Photo: Ed McDowell
Rhododendron maximum (Great Laurel) — This shrub is mostly found in mountain valleys in wet, wooded areas and along shaded streams. It typically grows in dense thickets and can reach eight to10 feet in height. Great Laurel flowers from May to August, and coloration ranges from white to pink, light rose or purple. Flowers are borne in terminal clusters consisting of 12 to 30 individual flowers. The top sides of the four- to eight-inch leaves are shiny and dark or olive-green; the undersides have a thin layer of hairs. Leaves are slightly curled. During drought or extreme cold, they will roll into tight cylinders.
Photo: Ed McDowell
Rhododendron minus (Piedmont Rhododendron) — Piedmont Rhododendron is found along stream banks and wooded slopes in the lower mountains and Piedmont and the upper Coastal Plain. It is a compact plant, typically about six feet in height. Flowers occur from May to June, and range from pink to white. They are borne in terminal clusters of four to12 individual flowers. The top sides of the two- to four-inch-long leaves are dark or pale green, and the undersides are brown and scaly.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
Characteristics: Winged Sumac is a large, deciduous, flowering shrub with coarse texture and a fast growth rate. Form is upright with a flat crown. Suckers arising from the roots form dense thickets. Foliage is glossy green above and whitish below. The leaves are pinnately compound. Greenish-yellow flowers are borne in dense pyramidal clusters in June and July. Flowers are followed by showy red fruit. The plant’s best feature is its brilliant crimson red fall color.
Landscape Uses: Winged Sumac is best used in mass plantings or roadside plantings. With training, it can be grown as a specimen tree. It is useful for stabilizing erodible soils. Full sun and well-drained soils are preferred. It is drought-tolerant and easy to transplant. Winged Sumac is a good shrub for highway medians.
Size: 8 to 20 feet tall with a spread of 5 to 15 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: A pioneer species in open fields and meadows; also grows well on dry, infertile soils
Native To: Maine to Ontario and Minnesota; south to Florida and west to Texas
Comments: Many birds eat the seeds. There are several other native sumacs.
 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
- |  Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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Characteristics: Dwarf Palmetto is an evergreen palm with large leaves and coarse texture. This palm is often confused with Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens). Unlike Saw Palmetto, the Dwarf Palmetto does not have spiny leaf-stems and does not spread over a large area. Leaves also differ from other native dwarf palms by having a split “V” in the middle. Sometimes described as a clumping palm, it is actually a single-trunk palm, but its trunk is either very short or below ground and it will seldom appear tree-like.
Landscape Uses: Dwarf Palmetto looks best in groups, but it also can be effective as a single specimen. It is a tough plant that lends a bold, tropical look to the landscape. It tolerates salt spray, so it would be a good choice for coastal areas. Moist, sunny locations along a creek or lake would be ideal planting sites. Growth and blue color are best in full sun. Dwarf Palmetto will grow in any soil, provided it is given adequate moisture.
Size: 4 to 5 feet tall with an equal spread
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Coastal Plain lowlands such as swamps, bottomlands, maritime forests, marsh borders, and moist or mesic hammocks
Native To: North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma
Comment: Much more numerous and widespread than needle palm
 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
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Characteristics: Saw Palmetto is a common understory plant, often found growing thicket-like in southern Georgia and the Florida peninsula. It is a low, spreading palm with stiff leaves and spiny leaf stems. A single plant may have several trunks that creep along the ground, rooting and branching as they grow. With age, it will sometimes form an upright trunk. In coastal regions, it is an aggressive spreader. It is the only native palm with spiny leaf stems.
Landscape Uses: Although it is often thought of as a spiny nuisance, scrub palm, and a habitat for rodents and snakes, Saw Palmetto can be an attractive groundcover and an effective hedge or barrier plant in the landscape. It is tolerant of salt spray and drought, and is an excellent choice for coastal landscapes. Full sun and well-drained soils are preferred.
Size: 5 feet tall and sprawling as it roots along its horizontal stems
Zones: 8a and 8b
Habitat: Dry upland sites to moist sites, including pine flatwoods, hammocks and coastal dunes. It usually grows on higher and drier sites than the Needle Palm and Dwarf Palmetto. Saw Palmetto thrives in areas subject to disturbances, such as areas that have been clear cut, burned by fire or subjected to salt spray.
Native To: Coastal areas of the Southeast and most of Florida
 Photo: Tom McClendon |
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-  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Bladdernut is a small deciduous tree or large shrub. Leaves have long petioles, are opposite and consist of three leaflets. Each compound leaf is six to nine inches long and pubescent underneath. The leaflets’ edges are finely serrated. The bark is smooth, gray and often white-striped when young. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, and held in drooping clusters. Bark and flowers are attractive, but it is the fruit capsule that makes this tree distinctive. The fruit capsules look like Japanese lanterns and are conspicuous all summer and into late fall.
Landscape Uses: For best effect, use Bladdernut at the edge of natural, moist woodland settings. It is easy to transplant.
Size: 20 to 25 feet tall and 10 to15 feet wide
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Rich, moist, deciduous bottomlands and mesic forests, shaded slopes and ravines, and over calcareous rocks
Native To: Minnesota to Georgia and Alabama; does not extend into the Coastal Plain
Comments: The hard seeds are a favorite food of woodland mice. It can be mistaken for Wafer Ash or Boxelder when young.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Troy Evans, Bugwood.org |
Characteristics: Mountain Stewartia is a large, deciduous, flowering shrub or small tree with medium texture and a slow growth rate. Habit is round and spreading, somewhat bushy in appearance. Glossy, dark green summer foliage turns orange to scarlet in fall. Attractive white flowers, three inches across, are borne in June and July. Bark is mottled and exfoliating.
Landscape Uses: Use Mountain Stewartia as a flowering or specimen plant. Plant it in moist, acid, high-organic soils, and full sun to partial shade. It should have protection and irrigation during hot, dry weather. It is a temperamental plant, somewhat difficult to grow.
Size: 10 to 15 feet tall and wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b
Habitat: Rich, moist ravines and slopes, mesic forests, and acidic forest understories in the Blue Ridge
Native To: North Carolina to Tennessee and Florida
Comments: There is a Coastal Plain Stewartia (Stewartia malacodendron), also called Silky Stewartia and Silky Camellia, that is equally beautiful.
Photo: Jack Johnston
Characteristics: American Snowbell is a deciduous flowering shrub or small tree with medium texture and a medium to fast growth rate. It has an upright form with loose, ascending branches. White, fragrant flowers are borne in April. The bark is dark and handsome.
Landscape Uses: Use American Snowbell as a specimen or patio tree. It is also nice when used as an understory plant. It prefers moist, acid, sandy soils and full sun to light shade. Adequate moisture is required during dry weather.
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Size: 6 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide
Habitat: Moist to wet acidic, sandy soils of floodplains
Native To: Missouri to Ohio, Virginia to Florida, west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma
Comments: American Snowbell is easy to root from cuttings taken in June and July. Another species, Bigleaf Snowbell (S. grandiflora), is a small tree commonly found growing as an understory plant in wooded upland sites.
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
- |  Photo: Steve Sanchez |
Characteristics: Horse-Sugar, or Sweetleaf, is a small, semi-evergreen shrub with medium texture and medium growth rate. It has glossy, evergreen foliage in the Deep South and is deciduous farther north. On open sites, it has a rounded, spreading form. In early spring, fragrant yellow blooms are borne in dense clusters along the stems. Fruit mature in early fall and are an orange-brown color.
Landscape Uses: Horse-Sugar can be used as a flowering or specimen shrub, for naturalizing on thin wooded bluffs, or in a mixed-shrub border. It prefers loose soils and sun to partial shade.
Size: 20 to 30 feet tall by 15 to 20 feet wide
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Found mostly in moist to wet soils. It also grows on dry uplands in the Appalachians.
Native To: Delaware to Florida and Louisiana.
Comments: Leaves are sweet to the taste and are eaten by wildlife. The bark and leaves yield a yellow dye. It is a butterfly larva host plant.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  CE.jpg) Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Shirley Denton |
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
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Vacciniums, or blueberries, are dominant shrubs statewide on the acidic soils of Georgia. The Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia are home to 20 species of Vaccinium and have a greater diversity of Vaccinium than any other comparably-sized area in North America, according to Alan Weakley, author of The Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia. Blueberries are an important food source for wildlife. Within these species, five are evergreen across their range; at least two more are partially evergreen in the southern part of their range. All are shrubs. The species with mature heights of about three feet or less are generally known as “lowbush blueberries.” Most of the taller ones are called “highbush blueberries.”
Characteristics: Sparkleberry, also called Farkleberry, is a semi-deciduous shrub with glossy green foliage, medium-fine texture, a slow growth rate and an oval-rounded form. Clusters of delicate, white bell-shaped flowers (¼-inch long) bloom in May. The black fruit are visible for an extended period in the fall and winter. Fall leaf color is deep red to maroon. Older plants have exfoliating bark that reveals an orange-brown inner bark. With age, the plant has a very picturesque branching habit.
Landscape Uses: Use Sparkleberry as a flowering or specimen shrub in full sun to partial shade. It adapts to both moist and dry soils. Drought tolerance is good once the plant is established. Small plants transplant best.
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall with a canopy spread of 12 to 15 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8
Habitat: Sandy and rocky dry uplands, in pine and hardwood forest understories, and in clearings
Native To: Kansas to Virginia, south to Florida, west to Texas
Comments: Vacciniums are one of the most common native shrubs.
 CE.jpg) Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
- |  Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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Characteristics: Rabbiteye Blueberry cultivars are similar in many ways to Highbush blueberries but are more adapted to cultivation in the southern states. They were developed from native southern Vaccinium species, mainly of the Coastal Plain. Many selections with superior fruiting characteristics have been made. The foliage is blue-green and attractive. They begin blooming in late March in the Piedmont but earlier in the Coastal Plain. They make outstanding landscape shrubs that produce delicious fruit. Their growth habit is similar to that of the Southern Highbush Blueberry (V. corymbosum), one of the species that went into their development.
Landscape Uses: Use Rabbiteye Blueberries as fruiting plants or in sunny shrub borders. Blueberries thrive in acidic, well-drained soils that have been enriched with organic matter. They prefer full sun to light shade.
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 5 wide, depending on whether or not root suckers are pruned
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Acid, well-drained soils
Native To: Georgia and the Southeast
Comments: Many cultivars are available. For good cross pollination, plant two or more cultivars. Check with Georgia Cooperative Extension for a list of the best plants for your area. The main pollinator for many native species is the Southeastern Blueberry Bee, which starts flying when the earliest native blueberries begin blooming.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Southern Highbush Blueberry is an upright, multi-stemmed shrub having a rounded, dense, compact form and a medium texture. Flowers are small, bell-shaped, white tinged with pink, and appear in March. Fruit are sweet tasting and dark blue with a white bloom. They ripen in June and July, and humans and wildlife relish them. The leaves are frequently blue-green, turning a brilliant fall color of yellow, bronze, orange, scarlet and crimson combinations.
Landscape Uses: Southern Highbush Blueberry is a good hedge plant for screening or for a mixed shrub border.
Size: 6 to 12 feet tall with a 6-foot canopy
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Open swamps, sandy lakeshores, upland woods and ravines
Native To: Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana
Comments: Southern Highbush Blueberry (V. corymbosum) was used in developing cultivars for berry production.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Betty Wargo |
 Photo: Walter Hodge |
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- Photo: Betty Wargo |
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Characteristics: Darrow’s Blueberry is a small evergreen shrub, rarely more than 24 inches tall. It is bushy with blue-green, slightly revolute (rolled back on the margins) foliage. Flowers are white to pink, and fruit are about ⅓-inch in diameter. Both leaves and fruit have a glaucous (grayish or whitish powdery-looking) appearance.
Landscape Uses: Use Darrow’s Blueberry as a foundation planting or groundcover on Coastal Plain flatwood sites with good drainage, sandy acid soils and shade to partial sun.
Size: Reaches up to 24 inches tall and wide
Zones: 8a, 8b
Habitat: Acid, sandy, seasonally wet to dry flatwoods, pinelands and scrub
Native To: The Coastal Plain from Georgia to Florida and west to Texas
Comments: A good wildlife plant; cultivars are available.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
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 Photo: Dennis Girard |
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Characteristics: Mayberry is the earliest blueberry to bloom in Georgia, often blooming in late February with white, bell-shaped flowers tinged with pink. Fruit are ½-inch in diameter, black and glossy. Growth habit is bushy, branched and six to eight feet tall. Foliage is glossy green. The green, zigzag twigs are a distinguishing feature of this plant. The leaves are semi-evergreen, and some plants have scarlet fall color.
Landscape Uses: Mayberry is useful for screening in partial shade. This shrub grows well and flowers in pine-oak forests; it is one of the most common shrubs on acidic pinelands in the Piedmont.
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide (can grow to 15 feet tall)
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Occurs in moist sand near riverbanks and on higher ground in swamps and floodplains as well as in sandy pinelands, thin hardwood forests or at forest edges.
Native To: Southeastern Virginia to north Florida, westward to east Texas and Arkansas
Comments: Not yet available in the nursery trade.
 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
 Photo: Chris Evans, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
Characteristics: Hillside Blueberry is a low-growing, deciduous shrub occurring in small to large open colonies. It spreads by rhizomes. Flowers bloom in March and are white to pink. Leaves are pale to dark blue-green and lighter underneath.
Landscape Uses: Use Hillside Blueberry as a hillside groundcover in dry, open, oak-pine woodlands.
Size: Up to 2 feet tall, with a spread of several feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a
Habitat: Acidic dry soil, oak-pine forests and, occasionally, on moister slopes in the interior of the Southeast
Native To: Minnesota to Maine, south to Florida; west to Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas
Comments: A common shrub in dry upland woods
 Photo: Steve Baskauf |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
Characteristics: Deerberry is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a fern-like branching pattern. It sometimes forms colonies from its suckering root system. Showy white, pendulous flowers have leafy bracts. The bracts are smaller than the leaves. Flowering occurs after the early-blooming blueberries and before Sparkleberry.
Landscape Uses: Use Deerberry in a mixed-shrub border with azaleas or along a woodland edge.
Size: 6 to 12 feet tall
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Occurs in a variety of habitats from high Appalachian elevations to dry or moist woodlands; extends into coastal forests.
Native To: New York to Missouri, south to Florida and west to Louisiana
Comments: Adapted to dry soils, Deerberry deserves to be grown in southern gardens and xeric landscapes. The highly glaucous forms have not yet been exploited by the nursery industry.
 Photo: James H. Miller, Bugwood.org |
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 Photo: Alan S. Heilman |
- |  Photo: Ed McDowell |
Characteristics: Mapleleaf Viburnum is an attractive, loosely branched, deciduous, low-growing shrub. Yellow-white flowers appear in a flat head in April. Leaves are palmate and three-lobed. Fruit are black. The plant is stoloniferous and forms colonies. Fall color is variable but usually colorful.
Landscape Uses: Mapleleaf Viburnum prefers dense shade and moist, well-drained soils. It develops large, loose colonies when planted in the understory.
Size: 6 feet tall and up to 10 feet wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: An understory plant of moist and rocky woodlands
Native To: New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Georgia
Comments: Migrating birds eat the fruit in the fall.
 Photo: Theresa Schrum |
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 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Steve Sanchez |
Characteristics: Arrowwood Viburnum is a deciduous flowering shrub with medium texture and medium growth rate. Upright branches form a spreading crown. Creamy-white flower clusters are borne in a flat head in May. Fall color ranges from yellow to red or purple. The leaves are a glossy, dark green.
Landscape Uses: Use Arrowwood Viburnum for hedges, group plantings or screening. It prefers moist, sandy-loam soils and full sun to partial shade. Shows good site tolerance and will grow in heavy soils. Fruit color, which changes as the season progresses, adds interest to the landscape.
Size: 6 to 15 feet tall and wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Typically grows in wet soils near water — in bottomlands, streambeds and bogs.
Native To: New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to Georgia
Comments: Fruit are attractive to birds.
 Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Ted Bodner |
- |  Photo: USDA |
Characteristics: Swamp-Haw is a deciduous shrub bearing white blooms in flat heads in May. Fruit color changes from green to pink to dark blue and are covered in a waxy bloom. Arching branches often take root and spread.
Landscape Uses: Use Swamp-Haw in groups for massing or in a shrub border. It prefers moist soils, but it may adapt to sun if irrigated. Fruit change color as the season progresses, which adds interest to the landscape.
Size: Up to 20 feet tall with variable spread
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: River bottoms, streambeds, bogs
Native To: Maine to Florida, west to Texas; north to Arkansas, Illinois, Wisconsin
Comments: Fruit are attractive to birds.
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
- |  Photo: Steve Sanchez |
Characteristics: Blackhaw Viburnum is a deciduous, multi-stemmed, flowering shrub or small tree with medium texture, slow to medium growth rate, and rounded form. Creamy-white flowers are borne in flat heads in May. Fruit are bluish-black drupes in fall. Dark green foliage in summer turns beautiful red-bronze in fall. The rigid horizontal branches and spur-like twigs give it the name Blackhaw.
Landscape Uses: Use Blackhaw Viburnum as a specimen tree. It is adaptable to many sites from sun to partial shade and shows good drought tolerance. It transplants easily.
Size: 12 to 20 feet tall and 8 to 15 feet wide
Zones: 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: A wide variety of woodlands and forest edges, roadsides and fencerows
Native To: Connecticut to Florida, west to Michigan and Texas
Comments: Birds enjoy the fruit.
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
- |  Photo: R.H. Mohlenbrock, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database |
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 Photo: Dow Gardens Archive, Bugwood.org |
 Photo: Dow Gardens Archive, Bugwood.org |
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Charcteristics: Rusty Blackhaw is a deciduous shrub with leathery, pubescent foliage. Flowers are creamy white and borne in flat heads in April and May. Fruit are dark blue and have a waxy bloom. The undersides of leaves and buds have short, dense, rusty-red hairs that are useful in identifying this species. Fall color is burgundy red.
Landscape Uses: Use Rusty Blackhaw as an understory plant in partial shade or as a specimen plant in full sun. It grows more densely when planted in full sun. It has excellent drought and cold tolerance.
Size: 6 to 10 feet tall with an equal spread
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: A variety of upland wooded habitats; most common in calcareous or dry habitats
Native To: Virginia to Florida, west to Illinois and Texas
Comments: Birds enjoy the fruit.
 Photo: Ed McDowell |
- |  Photo: Gil Nelson |
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 Photo: James H. Miller, Bugwood.org |
 Photo: Ted Bodner, Bugwood.org |
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Characteristics: Yellow-Root is a low-growing, erect shrub that spreads and forms colonies via root suckers. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, and consist of five leaflets. Flowers are brown-purple, less than ¼-inch across, and appear in early spring. The bark and roots are bitter and bright yellow, and yield a yellow dye.
Landscape Uses: Yellow-Root is not often seen in the landscape, except in natural settings and along stream banks. However, it would make a good ground cover plant along a shady foundation where there are no gutters. It also could be used on a pond or lake edge under deciduous trees and shrubs, or to hold a wet, shaded ditch area. Yellow-Root is an excellent choice for naturalizing in boggy soil.
Size: 1 to 2½ feet tall and spreading
Zone: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist soils along shaded streambanks or on wet, rocky ledges
Native To: New England to Florida, Ohio to Mississippi, and west to Texas
 Photo: Gary Wade |
- |  Photo: Gary Wade |
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 Photo: Gary Wade |
 Photo: Michael Strickland |
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 Photo: Hugh & Carol Nourse |
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Characteristics: Adam’s Needle, also called Beargrass, Spanish Bayonet and Curly Leaf Yucca, is an evergreen shrub with coarse texture and a medium growth rate. It usually grows as a multi-stemmed shrub with a bold, erect, upright appearance. White, showy flowers are borne in terminal clusters in May and June. Flowers are pollinated by only one insect — the yucca moth.
Landscape Uses: Use Adam’s Needle as an accent plant. The sharp, terminal spines are potentially dangerous. Avoid using the plant in pedestrian areas. This is a tough plant for hot, dry to moist sites in full sun. It does not tolerate shade or wet conditions.
Size: 4 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 15 feet wide
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Hot, dry, rocky areas in the lower south
Native To: South Carolina to Mississippi and Florida
 Photo: Steve Sanchez |
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 Photo: Bob Westerfield |
- |  Photo: Bob Westerfield |
Characteristics: Honeycup, or Zenobia, is a medium-size, stoloniferous shrub. Leaves are deciduous or semi-evergreen, alternate, leathery, pale green to bluish-white. The underside of the leaf is whitish and smooth. Flowers are white, showy, fragrant, nodding downward in clusters at leaf axils of the previous year’s growth. Fruit are globose, five-valved capsules with a white bloom.
Landscape Uses: Use Honeycup as a specimen plant or in a mixed foundation planting near a downspout. It is a showy shrub with handsome, fragrant flowers and bluish-white leaves. It requires moist, acid soil, good drainage and afternoon shade.
Size: 3 to 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide
Zones: 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Bogs, bays, wet savannahs and swamps in the Coastal Plain
Native To: Virginia to Georgia
Comment: This species is rare in Georgia.
Photo: Walter S. Judd, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Bulletin 987/May, 2008
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
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