Gardening Plants & Flowers Shrubs

11 Great Flowering Shrubs for Sunny Locations

By
David Beaulieu
David Beaulieu
David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu is a landscaping expert and plant photographer, with 20 years of experience.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 05/15/23
Flowering quince shrub with red flowers on branches

The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

Growing sun-loving shrubs with colorful flowers in that sunbaked spot in your yard is one of the best ways to make your landscape pop. The shrubs in this group have been selected for especially vibrant color; they all require at least partial sun. The selection covers a range of bloom times that helps you plan a complete sequence of blooms.

Here is a list of 11 recommended shrubs so you can have a blooming focal point in your yard from early spring to late summer and early fall.

30 Best Shrubs for Shade in Your Yard
  • 01 of 11

    Forsythia

    Forsythia
    Bulgac / Getty Images

    Forsythia is a great vase-shape flowering shrub for very early-season blooms in sunny locations. Flowering is best in full sun but that is usually easy to provide. Because forsythia blooms so early, nearby deciduous trees don't yet cast any shade on the shrub when the vivid yellow flowers burst out in profusion. For many northern gardeners, forsythia is the first shrub that blooms each spring.

    • Name: Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
    • Bloom Time: Early spring
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 2–10 ft. tall and wide
  • 02 of 11

    Flowering Quince

    Flowering quince with red flowers on branches closeup

    The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

    Flowering quince is another early bloomer for sunny locations. It usually blooms early enough to be in flower while forsythias are still blooming. If you grow these two shrubs next to each other, the yellow-orange combination makes for an eye-popping display. Flowering quince also comes in red varieties.

    • Name: Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9
    • Bloom Time: Early spring
    • Flower Color: White, orange, red, pink
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 3-10 ft. tall and wide
  • 03 of 11

    Mock Orange

    Mock orange shrub with white flowers in sunlight

    The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

    White flowers are especially desirable for those seeking to create moon gardens. But you don't have to be a "moonie" to admire mock orange. Mock orange blooms in May to June, taking over after the forsythias and flowering quince have ended their display. Many people grow this shrub because of the delightful citrus-like fragrance of its white flowers.

    • Name: Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
    • Bloom Time: Spring
    • Flower Color: White
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 10–12 ft. tall and wide
  • 04 of 11

    Weigela

    Weigela florida many flowers close up with green
    skymoon13 / Getty Images

    The straight species of weigela is an old-fashioned favorite, but there are plenty of new cultivars on the market. The popular 'Wine & Roses' excites people with its dark leaves, against which the rosy-pink flowers stand out sharply. Other types have variegated foliage or golden leaves. Weigela flowers from April to June. It is an excellent shrub for borders, screens, or foundation plantings.

    • Name: Weigela (Weigela florida)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
    • Bloom Time: Spring, early summer
    • Flower Color: Pink
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 6–10 ft. tall, 9–12 ft. wide
    Continue to 5 of 11 below
  • 05 of 11

    Doublefile Viburnum

    Viburnum plicatum Form tomentosum ' Shasta '
    TonyBaggett / Getty Images

    Doublefile vibernum is a particular genetic form of V. plicatum that features flat-topped flower clusters forming two rows across the tops of the branches. Its white blooms appear in April and May. This fast-growing shrub can grow to be rather large so give it a healthy pruning after flowering is over each spring to keep its size manageable. Its fall foliage and berries can be nice bonuses.

    • Name: Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Mariesii')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
    • Bloom Time: Spring
    • Flower Color: White
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 8-16 ft. tall, 12-15 ft. wide
  • 06 of 11

    Common Lilac

    blossoming branch of a pink lilac
    palinchakjr / Getty Images

    If you want a flowering shrub with an in-your-face fragrance, you can do no better than common lilac. Blooming in early to mid spring, a nearby lilac can often be identified by scent long before you see it. Lilac shrubs can quickly grow quite large and spread by suckers. Other lilac species are easier to control, such as 'Miss Kim', a popular dwarf lilac cultivar.

    • Name: Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
    • Bloom Time: Spring
    • Flower Color: White, purple, burgundy, reddish-purple
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 12-16 ft. tall, 8-12 ft. wide
  • 07 of 11

    Candy Oh Rose

    Candy Oh! Vivid red rose flowers, in closeup.
    David Beaulieu

    The Candy Oh rose falls into the category known as landscape roses (also called shrub roses). This group is known for being low-maintenance, which makes it recommended for beginners who are intimidated by the reputation of roses as being temperamental. 'Candy Oh' does not have the great smell for which many roses are famous, but what it lacks in the smell department it more than makes up for visually. This prolific bloomer begins flowering in late spring and continues into fall.

    • Name: Candy Oh! (Rosa x 'ZLEMatinCipar')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
    • Bloom Time: Summer
    • Flower Color: Pinkish red
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 3-4 ft. tall and wide
  • 08 of 11

    Blue Chip Butterfly Bush

    Buddleja or Buddleia, common name is butterfly bush
    Zen Rial / Getty Images

    The traditional butterfly bush (Buddleia) is famous for drawing butterflies to your landscaping but infamous for being invasive in some regions. Enter the cultivar 'Blue Chip', a summertime bloomer that is sterile and thus non-invasive. It flowers continuously from June into September. 'Blue Chip' is also a nicely compact cultivar, topping out at about 2 feet tall. In some climates, this plant dies back to the ground in the winter, and is thus considered a herbaceous perennial.

    • Name: Blue Chip butterfly bush (Buddleia x 'Blue Chip')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9
    • Bloom Time: Summer
    • Flower Color: Blue, purple
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 24-36 in. tall, 24-36 in. wide
    Continue to 9 of 11 below
  • 09 of 11

    Hardy Hibiscus

    Red Hardy Hibiscus Blossom
    Deanna Kelly / Getty Images

    Hardy hibiscus is so-called because it is an unusual cold-hardy species in the tropical Hibiscus genus. Another common name pays tribute to the impressive size of its flowers (up to 10 inches across)—dinner-plate hibiscus. Both these facts make it unusual for northern gardens. It is also the unusual flowering shrub that blooms in late summer, thereby helping you plug a bloom sequence gap between the floral abundance of early summer and the onset of the fall foliage season. Hardy hibiscus is typically used in rain gardens and other moist areas of the landscape.

    • Name: Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
    • Bloom Time: Summer
    • Flower Color: White, red, pink, blue
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist
    • Mature Size: 3–7 ft. tall, 2–4 ft. wide
  • 10 of 11

    Rose of Sharon

    Syrian ketmia pink with red center rose of Sharon 'Hamabo' flower on a sunny day.
    matricul / Getty Images

    Another type of hibiscus that tolerates cold and blooms in late summer and fall is the rose of Sharon. Cultivars popular at garden centers include 'Sugar Tip' (light pink flowers, variegated leaves) and 'Blue Chiffon' (lavender-blue flowers). Rose of Sharon flowers from early summer through mid fall. It is typically used in informal hedges or screens, or in naturalized masses.

    • Name: Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-8
    • Bloom Time: Summer, fall
    • Flower Color: Pink, purple, lavender, red, blue, white; often with dark throats
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Soil Needs: Medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 8–12 ft. tall, 6–10 ft. wide
  • 11 of 11

    Blue Beard

    Closeup of a Caryopteris in Bloom
    egschiller / Getty Images

    Blue beard, also called blue mist or blue spirea, is another late bloomer, producing true blue flowers from midsummer into early fall. This rare shrub is a hybrid between two species native to Asia. It is sometimes planted as a low hedge, but also works well planted in groups or masses. In cooler climates, the shrub dies back to the ground each winter like a woody perennial.

    • Name: Blue beard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9
    • Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall
    • Flower Color: Blue
    • Light: Full sun
    • Soil Needs: Dry to medium moist, well-drained
    • Mature Size: 2–4 ft. tall and wide

Learn More

For shrubs to bloom to their fullest potential, they not only need to be planted in the right location, they also need routine care such as fertilizing, pruning, and mulching.