Shrubs come and shrubs go, except for the hardy ones. Hardy bushes are amazing landscaping elements for most homes in Kansas City since many of them are evergreen. Others present different visual elements throughout the year, transitioning from lively shrubs to colorful blooms. If you’re considering adding some hardy bushes to your landscaping, here are our top 8 favorites to choose from.

What are Hardy Bushes

Most hardy shrubs are perennials, but not all perennials are equally hardy. Hardy bushes are known for their resilience against temperature and weather conditions, and are generally low-maintenance.

Kansas City’s weather has two extremes: high temperatures during the summer, accompanied by excessive storms, and low temperatures during the winter, with or without snow. This type of weather poses significant threats to your plants.

With hardy bushes, you can ensure your landscape is never completely bare and lifeless, even during the highest heat or the freezing winter.

How to Choose Hardy Bushes for Landscaping

Hardy bushes come in various sizes, shapes and colors. Some are early blooming perennials, others may change color drastically throughout the year. To choose the best species for hardy bush landscaping, consider the following elements:

• Mature size: Some hardy bushes can expand rapidly, making them less suitable for those with a small backyard.
• Height and shape: The bush’s height and shape determine where it fits best in your landscape. Taller bushes can be used as edging or separators, and lower bushes can be used as accents under larger trees or along water features.
• Texture: Some hardy bushes have a rigid, hard texture, whereas others may look smoother.
• Growth Habits: Some bushes may take a longer time to mature. They also have specific temperature requirements to reach their prime.
• Colors: Some bushes change colors throughout the year, while others may remain green. You should also be mindful of their flower color to create the most harmonious landscaping in your yard.

What is Kansas City’s Hardiness Zone?

The USDA Hardiness Zone System categorizes different regions according to their average annual minimum temperatures. This zoning helps you identify what plants will thrive in your area.

Kansas City is in hardiness zone 6a, with an annual minimum average of -10°F to -5°F. In the zoning system, the smaller the number, the harsher the condition. Therefore, any plants that can survive a hardy zone of 6 or below will do well in Kansas City.

Boxwoods  

Boxwoods are a staple in the landscaping industry and are the number one selling plant for landscapes. Originally from Europe and Asia, many varieties of these shrubs are available. They are all evergreen and grow into a dense, thick shrubs. Our favorite varieties are Green Velvet and Graham Blandy. Both are very hardy, especially when established. The first winter is the most challenging, so make sure they are watered correctly. As a bonus, they are deer resistant.  

Green Velvet  

Green velvet boxwoods are low, round shrubs great for small hedges. The dark green leaves hold their color all year. In the spring, light green foliage and white flowers make an appearance. These naturally rounded shrubs can be pruned into any shape you want.  

Graham Blandy  

Graham Blandy boxwoods are tall, skinny-shaped evergreen shrubs that are great for flanking entryways or for screening air conditioners and meters. They are a wonderful accent shrub in the landscape to create some height in tight spaces. 

Fine Line Buckthorn  

Fine Line Buckthorn is a great woody shrub for entryways and screening meters or air conditioners or even summer privacy around the pool. It is deciduous, so it will lose its leaves in the fall. However, buckthorns have a light, airy texture and are a little bit softer than boxwood. They are also less maintenance than tall boxwoods. The leaves become yellow in the fall before dropping off for the winter.  

Spirea  

These super-hardy shrubs are great for bringing interest to a spot in your landscape. They are rounded and have very nice flowers. Spirea is deciduous, so it will lose its leaves in the fall. Their flowers attract bees and butterflies. Our two favorite varieties are the Double Play Doozie and the Gold Flame.

Double Play Doozie

This modern cultivation is a showstopper at all seasons and can thrive from Zone 3 to 8. Its deep red foliage emerges in early spring, and flowers begin to form in late spring. The flowers vary from deep red, bright magenta, to violet-pink and glowing purple. Since the Double Play Doozie is seedless, all its energy is directed towards flowering throughout the year. 

Gold Flame  

The leaves of gold flame spirea are bronze-tipped in the spring, then turn yellow-green, and then turn red in the fall. Clusters of red flowers appear in the summer. Gold flame is a super hardy shrub.   

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bush is a deciduous shrub with long, narrow, sage-green leaves and numerous flowers. The colorful, cone-shaped flowers bloom in the summer, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in swarms. Butterfly bushes come in many colors, from pinks and purples to dark purple.

Our two favorite variations are:

• Pugster Butterfly Bush: known as the bluest blue of all butterfly bushes and comes with a honey-like scent; suitable for hardiness zone 5-9.  
• Miss Molly: the closest to red of any butterfly bush; a fun summer shrub that looks good in any landscape.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea comes in various sizes and styles and is loved by many for its wide variety and rich, abundant appearance. Most hydrangeas can thrive in hardy zones 5 and 6, with some varieties that can survive temperatures as low as zone 3. Hydrangea flower’s colors vary depending on the soil’s acidic level.

Hydrangea macrophylla Let’s Dance Blue Jangles

Let’s Dance Blue Jangles is a medium-sized shrub. The color of the flowers can go from solid green to fuchsia to pink-lime to violet blue. When people mention hydrangeas, this is usually the type they are referring to. These yield lasting summer blooms and rich foliage.

Hydrangea quercifolia Alice

Hydrangea quercifolia, commonly called oakleaf hydrangea, features an upright form with broad-rounded, suckering, and multi-stemmed shrubs. They typically grow between 4 and 6 feet tall, although some may grow up to 8 feet tall under the right conditions. Most Alice varieties grow around 5 to 6 feet and bloom white flowers in summer.

Hydrangea paniculata QuickFire

Paniculata hydrangeas are the hardiest and can thrive even in hardy zone 3. These hydrangeas have arching upright branches topped with large, cone-shaped flower heads. Paniculata hydrangeas like full sun, well-draining soil, and are very low maintenance. The blooms start off creamy white in early summer and gradually turn into different shades of pink or pomegranate red.

Dogwood

Dogwood is generally hardy and the many species of dogwood’s hardiness varies from zone 2 to zone 10.

Flowering Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is one of the most common flowering trees in Kansas City. They are typically between 15 and 30 feet tall with pointy petals that are white or pink. Flowering dogwood thrives in zone 5 or higher.

Red Twig Dogwood

Officially known as “Cornus Arctic Fire,” the red twig dogwood is one of the hardiest dogwood variants and can thrive in hardiness zones 3 and above. Red Twig Dogwood is loved for its dark red stems, which truly look like burning flames, especially one your yard is covered with snow.

Crape Myrtle  

Crape myrtles come in various heights. In the south, they can grow even bigger, as you see in the image above. In Kansas City, they tend to stay under 8’-10’ because of our colder climate. Crape myrtles leaf out in late May or June and have bright flowers in pinks, purples, and reds. They shed their thin gray bark, which adds texture and interest to your landscape. Crape myrtles often have multiple trunks.

Do not give up on your crape myrtle plants in early spring, as they often don’t come out until late.  Water them deep in the fall and protect them in the winter, and they will be a hardy showstopper in your garden. They are also great substitutions for roses if your roses tend to suffer from pests and diseases. 

Ninebark  

Ninebark has a nice, rounded form with small white flowers that appear in clusters in the late spring. After the flowers, red capsules appear, which turn brown in the fall and remain throughout the winter. Ninebarks have green leaves with red highlights. The leaves turn yellow in the fall. The bark of the ninebark peels off, showing layers of bark that are reddish to light brown, increasing the shrub’s interest. Our favorite varieties are Amber Jubilee and Coppertina.  

Amber Jubilee  

The leaves are red to purple when they grow in the spring. In the fall, the leaves turn yellow, orange, purple, or red before falling off for the winter. The flowers are white with yellow centers. Amber Jubilee was named to honor Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.   

Coppertina   

Coppertina has copper-orange leaves with soft pink flowers. This shrub makes a dramatic specimen or an excellent hedge. Coppertina is drought-resistant once established. This is a good shrub for problematic areas in the landscape..