Low growing shrubs can add versatility to your garden as you can grow them under windows where they won't block your view or under trees where they make excellent undergrowth shrubs. Some are perfect for small front yards where you don't want to clutter up the space with a 20-foot-tall serviceberry.
Luckily, Ontario has some amazing low-growing native shrubs that are less than 1.8 m or 6 feet tall. Of course, you can choose boxwood or spirea, but these exotic ornamental plants are only grown for appearance and are not compatible with the wildlife we share our backyards with.
In this article, we talk about our favorite low growing Ontario native shrubs and how you can use them in your garden.
Low native shrubs
New-Jersey-Tee (Ceanothus americanus)
Leitpflanze (Amorpha canescens)
Strauch Madressilva (Diervilla lonicera)
Johanniskraut (Hypericum kalmianum)
Mädesüß (Spiraea alba)
Zartrosa (Zartrosa)
purple flowering raspberry
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Duftender Sumach (Rhus aromatica)
Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa)
New-Jersey-Tee (Ceanothus americanus)
Exhibition:Sun - light shade
Height:90 cm, 3 pegs
Flores:white summer
Solo:sand, sandy loam
Humidity:dry, medium It must be well drained.
It's hard not to fall in love with these! New Jersey tea, known asat the gymPer Anishinaabe it is a hardy, compact shrub that occurs naturally in open meadows and woodland where there is plenty of sun and the soil is sandy and dry. In your garden, it adapts to sandy or loamy soil, but needs to be well-drained or the roots will rot.
New Jersey tea has a thick, deep taproot that makes it able to tolerate severe drought, fire, and even herbivores (which is good because deer and rabbits love it). It also means that it is very difficult to transplant successfully. It maintains a bushy shape, so pruning is not usually necessary.
It is also an excellent choice for boulevard gardens as it is compact, salt tolerant and drought tolerant. The seed heads provide garden interest well into winter. Hence the name, the leaves make a pleasant tea.
New Jersey Tea is a host plant for Spring Azure, Summer Azure, and Mottled Duskywing caterpillars. The flowers are very popular with pollinators, including native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds, including songbirds and turkeys, eat the seed heads in winter.
Leitpflanze (Amorpha canescens)
Exhibition:Sun - light shade
Height:90 cm, 3 pegs
Flores:purple Summer
Solo:sand, loam, clay
Humidity:dry, medium
Lead plant, known aswe'abonag'kakof the Anishinaabe, it is a small shrub that occurs naturally in grasslands, open forests, and savannas. Not very picky about soil type but likes medium to dry conditions in full sun.
Its deep taproot makes it very drought tolerant and hardy. In fact, the early settlers had a hard time plowing the land on which Leadplant grew.
Lead plant is prized in gardens for its grey-green foliage covered with showy purple flowers in early summer. As a nitrogen fixer, it grows well in poor soil. A deep taproot makes it very drought and herbivorous tolerant once established. It can be late for surfing, so bear with it.
Bees, butterflies, moths and other pollinators feed on pollen and nectar.
Strauch Madressilva (Diervilla lonicera)
Exhibition:Sun, partial sun, shade
Height:90 cm, 3 pegs
Flores:yellow summer
Solo:sand, clay, rock
Humidity:dry, medium
Bush Honeysuckle is a low-growing, adaptable shrub that often grows along the edges of woods, fields, and open woods. I've even found it growing in crevices along the Niagara Escarpment, so you know it's tough! In your garden, she can be easily grown in dry to moderately humid conditions, in full sun or partial shade, and even thrives in rocky soil.
The sucking nature of this shrub makes it useful for collecting and covering large areas. It maintains a uniform height, so pruning is not usually required to maintain its shape. If you don't want it to spread, simply prune back the shoots. It does very well when collected under trees or used as a base plant under window sills.
The yellow, trumpet-like flowers bloom from late spring through summer. The fall foliage is an amazing red/brown colour.
The flowers are an excellent source of nectar for bees and hummingbirds. Bush honeysuckle is the larval host of the fawn sphinx moth (Esfinge kalmiae🇧🇷 Its beauty and adaptability will quickly make it a favorite in your garden.
Johanniskraut (Hypericum kalmianum)
Exhibition:Only partial sun
Height:90 cm, 3 pegs
Flores:yellow summer
Solo:sand, clay, rock
Humidity:moist, medium
St. John's Wort is a compact shrub that is about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It is native to the Great Lakes region, where it is generally found in dry, open forests to wet lakeshore areas. In your garden, it thrives in sandy or loamy soil with good drainage, in moist to dry conditions, in full sun to part shade.
Showy, profuse yellow flowers appear in mid-summer and are particularly beautiful when the bushes are crammed together. She maintains a bushy shape and does not require pruning to maintain an attractive shape. St. John's Wort is a good, low-maintenance alternative to overused boxwood mulch that provides very little benefit to wildlife.
Expect great fall color with individual plants that are often green, yellow and red at the same time (see photo).
The showy flowers are visited by native bees, mainly drones and metallic green sweat bees.
Mädesüß (Spiraea alba)
Exhibition:half-shady sun
Height:1.5m, 5 pins
Flores:white summer
Solo:sand, loam, clay. It prefers soils with plenty of organic matter.
Humidity:medium wet.
Queen of the Meadows, known asDemagene-minof the Anishinaabe, it is an upright, bushy shrub commonly found in wetlands, swamps, shorelines, and ditches. It adapts to most garden soils as long as they don't dry out.
This shrub is prized in gardens for its cone-shaped white flowers that bloom in summer. Meadowsweet can be a good alternative to the non-native and ecologically dysfunctional Japanese Spireas used in traditional gardening. The brown seed pods add interest to the conservatory.
The flowers support a variety of pollinators and other beneficial insects with their nectar and pollen. Host plant for Spring Azure caterpillars. The seeds are eaten by small songbirds.
Zartrosa (Mixture of roses)
Exhibition:half-shady sun
Height:1.5m, 5 pins
Flores:pink, summer
Solo:sand, loam, clay
Humidity:seco
Smooth Rose is an almost thornless rose with a dense, hilly shape and a runner-like habit. It is usually found in open forests, grasslands, and other open, dry areas. It adapts to most well-drained garden soils.
It is valued in gardens for its showy, fragrant pink flowers and lack of thorns on new shoots. The flowers turn into red rose bushes in late summer. An excellent alternative to the ecologically dysfunctional exotic roses used in traditional gardening.
The flowers support many pollinators, especially bees. Rose hips are eaten by wild animals. Host plant for the larval stage of the codling moth. deer festival
purple flowering raspberry
Exhibition:Full sun to part shade
Height:1.8 m, 6-pole
Flores:pink, summer
Solo:sand, loam, clay
Humidity:medium dry. well drained
The purple flowering raspberry is a very showy plant with sturdy maple-like leaves and large purple-pink flowers. It is commonly found as an undergrowth shrub in forests and forest edges. In your garden, it thrives best in partial sun with medium humidity. Tolerates full sun (with sufficient moisture) and full shade (with reduced flowering).
The large pink flowers bloom throughout summer, making them a great alternative to non-native rose bushes. The ripe fruit is edible with a strong raspberry flavor when ripe (many sources describe the fruit as being tasteless, but I digress). During the winter months, the peeled bark has an interesting texture to add to gardens.
The purple flowering raspberry is probably the tallest shrub on this list, but it can be pruned to keep it shorter. Expect it to smell, which is fine if you're trying to fill a large area; Otherwise, suckers can easily be removed (and passed on to friends!) to control spread.
The showy pink flowers attract bees like no other! During the flowering period, the bushes are literally teeming with bees. Like other raspberries, this one has hollow stems that serve as a habitat for hollow-nesting bees.
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Exhibition:sun, penumbra
Height:1.8 m, 6-pole
Flores:Pink, early summer
Solo:Sandy, loamy, rocky, poor soil
Humidity:Average
Snowberry is a bushy, adaptable shrub found in forest edges, clearings and open slopes. It grows easily in medium moisture with full sun to part shade and thrives in poor soil.
Snowberry makes an excellent hedge and can even be trimmed to under 6 feet or in a formal boxwood-like appearance. It is also excellent for naturalization. It's a suckering shrub that can reach 4 to 6 feet in diameter, so keep that in mind if you're planning a hedge. Small pinkish-white flowers bloom in summer, although they are not very showy. The flowers develop into white, fleshy berries that persist through the winter to add interest to the garden.
Though unremarkable, the flowers attract hummingbirds and various native bees. Snowberry is a host plant for the snowberry clearwing moth. The hollow stems provide nesting sites for the small bees that nest in the cavities.
Duftender Sumach (Rhus aromatica)
Exhibition:Only partial sun
Height:1.8 m, 6-pole
Flores:yellow spring
Solo:sand, loam, clay
Humidity:semi dry
The fragrant sumac, known asbaakwaanibagfrom Anishinaabe, it is a sprawling shrub commonly found in dry, open woodland, glades and grasslands. It tolerates a wide range of soils as long as they are well drained. It propagates by suckers and can spread up to 8 feet, making it an excellent groundcover shrub that requires no pruning.
The yellowish, catkin-like flowers bloom in summer and develop into red berries that persist into the winter months. Only the female plants form flowers and fruits. Fragrant sumac is great for mass or forcing planting. Its ability to tolerate drought and juglona makes it very versatile. Expect stunning fall foliage (see photo) as the leaves turn a brilliant red.
The flowers support native bees and the berries provide food for small birds and mammals. deer festival
Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa)
Exhibition:half-shady sun
Height:1.8 m, 6-pole
Flores:white spring
Solo:sand, loam, clay
Humidity:wet to medium
Chokeberry is a sucking shrub with a mature spread of 6 feet and a mound shape. It is usually found in swamps, bogs, and scrubland. Despite her affinity for wetlands, she adapts to most gardens as long as the soil doesn't dry out.
It is prized in gardens for its showy white spring flowers. The flowers give way to dark purple/black berries. Autumn coloring is excellent, often showing shades of red. The berries (photo) are edible, but very acidic, so they are more suitable for jams, jellies and juices.
Chokeberry produces suckers that can be cut off if they spread too far. You will also benefit from taper pruning if you want to increase berry production. Cut in late winter.
The flowers support early pollinators at a time when flowers can be in short supply. The berries are loved by birds. Chokeberry is a host plant for Coral Hairstreak and is excellent for creating wild hedges.