What plants thrive the best in NYC?

Looking for some gardening tips?   Picking out the right plants to make your garden beautiful and sustainable in an urban environment can be a challenge!   

What plants can live in raised beds?   What if my soil is acidic?   Which plants thrive the best in NYC?   What if my garden has a lot of shade?   What if my garden is in full sun?

Below are our  “Top Ten Flowering Shrubs for New York City!”

1.  Aronia

These attractive ornamental plants are great understory and woodland edge plants. They are also known as red, black or purple chokeberries, but don’t let that turn you off.  They are drought, insect, pollution and disease resistant.  These plants are hardy and alluring.

2. Fothergilla

Otherwise known as witch alder, these low growing deciduous shrubs flourish with white spring flowers and in the fall change to a brilliant red and orange adding depth and beauty to your urban garden.

3. Hydrangea

These lovely wonders produce flowers from early spring until well into the fall adding a lasting display of delightful beauty to your garden.    They produce two types of flower arrangements.  Mopheads are large round unapologetic clusters that literally resemble the head of a mop.   Lacecap flowers are a little softer more elegant display of flat round petals.

4. Clethra

This hardy ornamental is commonly referred to as “summersweet” due to the intoxicating fragrance it exudes when fully in bloom.   The unique upright column shaped flowers certainly will add a bit of spice to your garden.    While the bloom time is fairly short, the seed head does keep well into the fall.   Varieties come in white or pink, like this Clethra 'Ruby spice'.   Clethra is also known to attract butterflies!

5. Rose

Perhaps the most famous of the flowering shrubs, how could we leave it out?  The fragrant elegance a rose bush can bring to your garden signifies strength and softness all rolled into one.  Many varieties now are disease resistant, long blooming and fragrant! 

6. Abelia

Glossy leaves and a generous amount of pink or white funnel shaped flowers, this plant blooms in the summer through late fall.   This is the type of plant that will keep your garden producing surprises year round.     

7. Deutzia

This is an amazing plant to position near a low wall or fence allowing it to cascade down the side like a waterfall of subtle purple or white flowers.   In addition to the spring blossoms, this plant will produce a deep red fall color adding stunning beauty as the months pass by.

8. Spirea

Spirea shrubs are very easy to grow and do well in most environments.   These shrubs can be divided into two categories, spring blooming or summer blooming.    Spring blooming spirea produces big clusters of white flowers along its branches whereas the summer blooming spirea will showcase pink, white or red flowers atop its branches.   This particular variety, Spirea shirobana, produces pink and white flowers all summer long.

9. Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bushes will do more to bring your garden to life than perhaps any other plant.   Hummingbirds and butterflies can’t resist the light blue, gold, pink, purple, white, reddish purple or bluish purple flowers that will be sure to compliment any theme in your garden.

10. Caryopteris

This plant is also known as the Blue Mist shrub as it producing these prolific blue blooms all summer long.  There are so few 'true blues' in the plant wold and this one is a show stopper.  Drought tolerant, maintenance free and the pollinators love it. A true blue winner.