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Plant Database
Landscape Shrubs M - P by Scientific Name

Printer Friendly Version (PDF)Printer Friendly Version - All Shrubs (PDF 761 KB)

Scientific Name Common Name Comments 
 
Mahonia aquifolium
Thumbnail picture closeup of Oregon Hollygrape (Mahonia aquifolium) bright blue fruit cluster.  Select for larger images and more information.  Partial sun icon - half yellow half black sun.
Oregon Hollygrape
  • Size: medium (5' tall by 7' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: sulfur yellow flowers in mid-March
  • Fruit: dramatic blue clusters of fruit ('grapes')
  • Fall color: broadleaf evergreen, however, in cooler climates develops nice burgundy winter color
  • Culture: partial shade; moist soil best
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: massed, foundation
Mahonia bealei
Thumbnail picture of Leatherleaf Mohonia (Mahonia bealei) shrub.  Select for larger images and more information.  Partial sun icon - half yellow half black sun.
Leatherleaf Mahonia
  • Size: medium (6' tall by 7' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: lemon yellow, terminal cluster late winter/early spring
  • Fruit: dramatic clusters of blue/purple fruits April - June
  • Fall/winter color: none/broadleaf evergreen
  • Culture: partial shade/shade in Arkansas, leaves yellow if too much sun; moist soil best
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: Evergreen leaves give plant a tropical look, Oriental gardens; More common than M. aquifolium (Oregon Hollygrape) in Arkansas
Nandina domestica
Thumbnail picture of Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) green shrub.  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Heavenly Bamboo
  • Size: medium (5' tall by 4' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: showy, white terminal panicles May
  • Fruit: spectacular clusters of red fruit
  • Fall/winter color: broadleaf evergreen, however, can take-on reddish/purple coloration in winter
  • Culture: sun to shade; very drought tolerant once established
  • Disease/insect: none
  • Use: tropical look; short hedge, foundation; Almost a weed in some wooded areas in Arkansas
  • Cultivars: many (most for smaller size: ‘Firepower’, Gulf Stream™ , ‘Moon Bay’, ‘Harbour Dwarf’
  • 'Bamboo-like' stems
Nandina domestica 'Atropurpurea Nana'
Thumbnail picture of Dwarf Nandina (Nandina domestica 'Atropurpurea Nana') shrub with red winter foliage.  Select for larger image and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Dwarf Nandina
  • Size: Small (18" tall by 18" wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Group of dwarf forms; most have intense reddish foliage in winter; most lack significant flowers/fruits
  • Includes selections such as Gulf Stream™, 'Harbour Dwarf', 'Moon Bay'
Nerium oleander
Thumbnail picture of Oleander (Nerium oleander) shrubs bearing white flowers  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Oleander
  • Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: dramatic summer flowering shrub; flower colors pink, white, red
  • Fruit: not significant
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
  • Culture: full sun; drought tolerant; reliably hardy in zone 8
  • Disease/insect: none
  • Use: hedge/screen
  • Common in California/Arizona/Florida landscapes
Philadelphus coronarius
Thumbnail picture closeup of Mockorange (Philadelphus coronarius) white flowers and leaves  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Mockorange
  • Size: large (10' tall by 8' wide) deciduous shrub
  • Flowers: very fragrant white flowers in May (after leaves)
  • Fruit: not significant (dry capsule)
  • Fall color: none
  • Culture: full sun; very tolerant of soils once established
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: shrub border
Photinia x fraseri
Thumbnail picture closeup of Fraser Photinia (Photinia x fraseri) foliage showing red leaf tips.  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Fraser Photinia; Redtip Photinia
  • Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: varies on significance; cream, flat topped clusters April
  • Fruit: ??
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; Brilliant red to new, emerging foliage
  • Culture: full sun; adaptable to soil type
  • Disease/insect: Very seriously affected by Entomosporium leaf spot (fungus) in Arkansas
  • Use: probably most common hedge/screen plant in Arkansas
Picea glauca 'Conica'
Thumbnail picture of several Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica') conical green forms.  Select for larger image and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce
  • Size: tight (appears sheared), pyramidal conifer; 7’ tall x 4’ wide
  • Culture: full sun; demands constant moisture in summer; Best in Northwest Arkansas (cooler)
Pinus mugo
Thumbnail picture of Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo) older shrub form  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Mugo Pine
  • Size: can be confusing; species is fairly large (12' tall by 15' wide); most in trade are dwarf forms (2' tall by 4' wide)
  • Needles: 2 needle pine
  • Culture: full sun; drought tolerant once established
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: groundcover
  • Cultivars: many dwarf ‘Mops’, ‘Gnom’
Platycladus orientalis (f. Thuja orientalis)
Thumbnail picture of Oriental Arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis [f. Thuja orientalis] ) showing decarative yellowish foliage and form  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Oriental Arborvitae
  • Still sold in trade under Thuja orientalis
  • Many options for size, shape and foliage color
  • Better suited for south (zones 7 thru 9) than Thuja occidentalis
  • Culture: tolerates full sun to shade (thins-out); adaptable to soil type
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Uses: hedge/screen; specimen
  • Cultivars: hundreds of selections
Podocarpus macrophyllus
Thumbnail picture of Chinese Podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus) showing strap-like leaves Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Chinese Podocarpus
  • Size: large (18' tall by 9' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: not significant
  • Fruit: not showy, but interesting to look at
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; Strap-like leaves
  • Culture: full sun; adaptable to soil type; Reliably cold hardy in zone 8
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: Good choice for hedge/screen in south Arkansas
Prunus caroliniana
Thumbnail picture closeup of Carolina Cherrylaurel (Prunus caroliniana) white flower racemes.  Select for larger images and more information.  Partial sun icon - half yellow half black sun.
Carolina Cherrylaurel
  • Size: large (20' tall by 15' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: showy, white racemes March
  • Fruit: not overly showy, black fruit
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen; leaves a dark, glossy green
  • Culture: sun or tolerates shade; adaptable to soil type; May have some winter dieback on zone 6
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: hedge or screen; Almost a weed in some woodland areas even though a native plant
Prunus x cistena
Thumbnail picture closeup of Purpleleaf Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena) purple colored foliage.  Select for larger images and more information.  Partial sun icon - half yellow half black sun.
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry
  • Size: medium (8' tall by 9' wide) deciduous shrub
  • Flowers: delicate pink flowers in April before or as leaves emerge
  • Fruit: not significant
  • Fall color: none; Dramatic purple leaves all growing season
  • Culture: full sun; provide constant moisture during summer months; Best suited to cooler Northwest corner of Arkansas
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: specimen
Prunus glandulosa
Thumbnail picture of Dwarf Flowering Almond (Prunus glandolusa) shrub covered with pink flowers  Select for larger images and more information.  Partial sun icon - half yellow half black sun.
Dwarf Flowering Almond
  • Size: small (3' tall by 5' wide) deciduous shrub
  • Flowers: dramatic early spring (late March/early April) flowers, double, pink ('Sinensis' or 'Rosea Plena')
  • Fruit: not significant
  • Fall color: none
  • Culture: full sun; provide adequate moisture in summer
  • Disease/insect: none serious
  • Use: middle of mixed shrub border; more common in older landscapes
Prunus laurocerasus
Thumbnail picture of Common Cherrylaurel (Prunus laurocerasus) green hedge.  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Common Cherrylaurel; English Laurel
  • Size: large (15' tall by 20' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: white, racemes, typically not as showy as other Prunus
  • Fruit: red changing black; not dramatic
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
  • Culture: sun to partial shade; adaptable to soil type
  • Disease/insect: ‘shotholes’ in leaves caused by fungus, aesthetic issue
  • Use: hedge or screen (but wide unless you shear/prune)
  • Cultivars: rarely see species in Arkansas. Cultivars more common in the trade are narrow leaf cultivars that are smaller in size: 'Otto Luyken', 'Schipkaensis', ‘Zabeliana'
Pyracantha coccinea
Thumbnail picture closeup of Pyacantha (Pyracantha coccinea) dense cluster of red berry-like fruit  Select for larger images and more information.  Full sun icon - yellow sun.
Pyracantha; Firethorn
  • Size: large (12' tall by 12' wide) broadleaf evergreen
  • Flowers: dramatic white flowers in May
  • Fruits: November thru January brilliant orange-red fruits
  • Fall color: none/broadleaf evergreen
  • Culture: full sun; drought tolerant once established
  • Disease/insect: susceptible to fireblight (bacteria)
  • Use: shrub, hedge, arbor
  • Cultivars: many
  • Misc: thorny

Shrubs R - S by Scientific Name
Back to Landscape Shrubs Index


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Last Date Modified 07/15/2008
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