Alphabetical Plant Listing

Great Shrubs for Gardeners in the Northern and Central Midwest Region

Regional Gardening, Best Shrubs, Midwest Gardening


Hardy shrubs are important elements in Midwestern gardens. They add depth and character to any garden and not only provide lovely blooms, but also attractive berries, showy fall color and food for the birds.

Selecting the right shrub variety might be challenging for Midwestern gardeners. If you are looking for beautiful, low-maintenance and hardy plants that thrive in the Midwest region, you may want to consider these top performing shrubs which all won the GreatPlants award, which is a joint effort between the Nebraska Nursery, Landscape Association and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. The GreatPlants award's goal is to identify superior ornamental landscape plants that meet the challenging growing conditions of the region. Each year, this program selects new plant winners in 4 categories: perennials, shrubs, ornamental grasses and trees.

Below is the list of the prestigious shrub winners. As you will note, some of them have also received the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society!

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 6
Heat Zones 1 - 8
Plant Type Shrubs
Exposure Full Sun, Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Winter
Maintenance Low, Average
Soil Type Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pH Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained
Characteristics Fragrant, Plant of Merit, Showy
Tolerance Clay Soil, Deer, Drought, Rabbit, Salt, Wet Soil
Attracts Birds, Butterflies
Landscaping Ideas Banks and Slopes, Beds and Borders, Hedges and Screens, Underplanting Roses and Shrubs
Midwest Plant Combination Ideas Midwest Guides

123RF Stock Photo

While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.

Guide Information

Hardiness 3 - 6
Heat Zones 1 - 8
Plant Type Shrubs
Exposure Full Sun, Partial Sun, Shade
Season of Interest Spring (Mid,Late)
Summer (Early,Mid,Late)
Fall
Winter
Maintenance Low, Average
Soil Type Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pH Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil Drainage Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained
Characteristics Fragrant, Plant of Merit, Showy
Tolerance Clay Soil, Deer, Drought, Rabbit, Salt, Wet Soil
Attracts Birds, Butterflies
Landscaping Ideas Banks and Slopes, Beds and Borders, Hedges and Screens, Underplanting Roses and Shrubs
Midwest Plant Combination Ideas Midwest Guides

Find your Hardiness Zone

Find your Climate Zone

Find your Heat Zone

Join Gardenia.net

Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device.

Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas.

Join now and start creating your dream garden!

Create a New Collection

Optional. For your reference.


Move Selected Plants to a Different Collection


Delete Collection

This field is required.

Rename Collection

This field is required.