Shrubs For Color- Northern Climes

Shrubs For Color- Northern Climes

Weekend gardeners in zones 6 and north can only look in envy at most winter-blooming shrubs--- witch hazel is about all they get. But winter color is surely possible in colder areas; you just have to find it in stems instead of flowers.

Two groups that offer a good range of colors are the shrubby dogwoods and the willows. Among the dogwoods, stem colors include charttreuese (Cornus stolonifera) orange (C. sanguinea), and bright red (C. stolonifera 'Cardinal') Willows offer an even wider variety of stem colors, including a warm orange-red (Salix alba 'Chermesina'), purplish (S. purpurea), and wine black (S. melanostachys).