AZALEAS - Spring blooming. Grow in acid soil with good drainage in shade or morning sun with afternoon shade.

Girard Hybrids - Very hardy, always reliable, with spectacular blooms; the best for southern Illinois: 'Crimson',  Dwarf Lavender', 'Fuchsia', 'Hot Shot' (scarlet red), 'Pleasant White', and 'Rose'.

Compact Poukhanense - Very hardy Korean Azalea with  beautiful lavender blooms for a naturalizing effect.  

Deciduous Azaleas - usually taller and wider with larger blooms, very hardy, more tolerant of sun. 'Rosy Lights',  'Orchid Lights', 'Mandarin Lights',  'Golden Lights', ‘Lemon Lights’, and ‘White Lights’.  

BUTTERFLY BUSH   Fragrant flower spikes bloom from July to September. Colors: purple, pink, red, white. Dwarf (3-5') or standard (6-8').  Cut back to 6 inches from the ground by March 1. Prefers a sunny location. Varieties include ‘Black Knight’ (deep purple), ‘Pink Delight’, ‘White Profusion’, ‘Petite Indigo’, ‘Petite Plum’, ‘Raspberry Eyes’, ‘Lavender Eyes’, and miniature Lo & Behold™ (24-30” tall).

CRAPEMYRTLE   Showy blossoms from July to September.  Colors: red, pink, white, purple. Dwarf (3-6'), semi-dwarf (6-8'), standard (8' and up).  Grow as a shrub in our area (Zone 6) or a few hardy varieties can be grown in tree form.  It has beautiful bark as it ages if tree grown.  If a shrub form is desired, trim back by March 1. Crapemyrtles prefer a sunny location.

LILACS   Very fragrant lavender blooms in spring.  Prefers alkaline soil so sprinkle lime around the base of the plant each year for a higher pH soil.  Prune after blooming to thin out older stems. Plant in a sunny location.

Old Fashioned Lilac needs plenty of space (8'). Spray leaves in summer to control powdery mildew.  

Dwarf Korean Lilac grows 4-5' tall and wide with no powdery mildew problem. 

NEW Bloomerang® Lilac blooms in the spring and reblooms in fall. Grows just 3’ tall and wide.

HIBISCUS (Rose of Sharon or Althea)   Summer blooming from July-September on tall (8-10') vase-shaped plants.  Large single flowers in white, pink, lavender, or red, some with contrasting eye.  Blooms on new wood so prune back hard by March. Plant in a sunny location.

NEW Lil’ Kim™ dwarf Althea blooms white with a red eye and grows 3-4’ tall and 4-5’ wide.

VIBURNUMS   Spring blooming white flowers, red to blue to black berries, enjoyed by the birds, but not messy. Excellent screening plants for a large hedge or shrub border. Can be quite a specimen in full bloom. Sun to part sun.
  Blue Muffin® - white flowers with clusters of blue berries; a favorite of birds.  5-7’ tall by 4-6’ wide

 'Cayuga' - fragrant white flowers, pink in bud, grows 8' x 8'

 'Winterthur' - spectacular red fall color, white flowers, grows 6' x 6'
  Prague - evergreen leaves with white snowball flowers in spring.  Makes a great screen 8-10’ tall and wide.
  Leatherleaf - Semi-evergreen leaves in winter; grows 8-10’ tall and wide.

HYDRANGEAS    A lovely group of shrubs, mostly for shade, hydrangeas are enjoying a resurgence of popularity. Two types of flowers are available,  mophead (snowball) or lacecap, in blue, pink, red, or white. White blooming 'Tardiva' and PeeGee have coneshaped blooms and grow in sun. Oakleaf hydrangeas are lovely in shade with white coneshaped blooms and oak shaped leaves.  Fall color is red.

Endless Summer™Hydrangea Blue (or pink) flowers are produced on new or old wood so it doesn't matter if you prune at the wrong time of year or if the winter kills back the stems.  Add lime to turn the flowers pink, aluminum sulfate to keep them blue.  

See the listings below for the hydrangea we have in stock.

Left, Oakleaf Hydrangea
Above, Endless Summer Hydrangea

Flowering Shrubs

   Most shrubs flower during spring or summer, some blooming for a short period of time, and a few delighting us with colorful flowers from July to September.  A few even rebloom in the fall.  We have a great selection of Flowering Shrubs for sun or shade.