Best Small to Medium Shrubs for Texas

Shrubs are a diverse family of plants that range from two or three feet to large shrubs, that can be 20 to 25 feet tall. Some shrubs flower during the spring, others flower through summer and fall, and some do not have any flowers but have colorful berries or leaves. The two most important factors in selecting shrubs for your Texas landscape are temperature tolerance and the mature height. It is better to pick a shorter variety than it is to prune a shrub back continuously to make it fit.

Texas Growing Regions

Shrubs adapt best when planted in appropriate growing regions. Horticulturists describe six Texas growing regions including East, South, Central, North Central, Panhandle, and West Texas. The Sunset climate zones, often preferred for their inclusion of factors other than temperature, suggest seven Texas growing regions including Zone 10 for West and Texas Panhandles, and Zones 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, and 35 for other parts of the State.

Dwarf Shrubs for Texas

Dwarf shrubs are one to three feet tall and may be planted in rows, clumped together in a natural-looking arrangement, or planted in front of taller shrubs to offer contrast in size, color, and texture. Well-adapted dwarf shrubs across the State are Buford or Chinese hollies and dwarf nandinas. With the exception of the Texas Panhandle, rosemary may be grown as a dwarf shrub, although with care, it can reach small shrub size.

Small Shrubs for Texas

Small shrubs grow three to five feet tall. Flowering quince is a lovely small shrub for Texas that does not get as much exposure as it deserves. Flowering quince offers showy pink, red or white flowers in spring and foliage that begins in red-bronze and turns dark green in summer. This shrub tolerates some shade improving its flexibility for some areas of the landscape. Indian Hawthorne has pink spring flowers and remains green throughout the year. Boxwoods and compact nandinas are other good choices for small shrubs and are evergreen.

Medium Shrubs for Texas

If the growing area accommodates six to nine foot tall shrubs, a lovely flowering addition to the landscape in Texas is sage, except for the Panhandle and East Texas. The foliage is grey-green that contrast beautifully with darker greens in the landscape and it has lavender blooms several times during the summer. Sage blossoms are a bee favorite and the plants may have so many bees during flowering that a passerby can hear their humming.

Crepe Myrtles can be a medium-size shrub depending on variety. Always purchase the correct mature height for the landscape when choosing crepe myrtles rather than top them after they are growing. Topping damages the plant’s branching structure. Crepe Myrtles flower colors range from white to deep red. Buford holly, althea, and photinia are adapted throughout the State as medium sized shrubs. However, photinias can be injured in prolonged cold weather and are susceptible to several fungal diseases.

When selecting shrubs for the landscape, creating a long-range plan is essential. Most shrubs live for decades and can be difficult to transplant once they are established.