When people start planning a yard, trees are the bones of the landscape, but shrubs are what give it shape, depth, and character.
They fill the spaces between trees and perennials, define garden rooms, create privacy, soften hard edges, and add color and texture at nearly every level of the landscape. A well-chosen shrub isn’t just something that fills an empty space; it can become one of the most important elements in how your landscape looks and functions.
And shrubs don’t have to be limited to one season of interest. Flowering shrubs can bring color and pollinators from spring through fall, while evergreen varieties provide structure and screening through Utah’s winters. With the right selection, shrubs can solve landscape challenges while making your yard more beautiful, functional, and inviting for years to come.
The right varieties can handle alkaline soils and dry heat without much fuss. Glover Nursery carries shrubs for Utah selected specifically for Northern Utah conditions.
Ready to find some shrubs to take home?
Feel free to head on over to Glover Nursery or call us at (801) 562-5496 to check what’s currently in stock.
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The Best Shrubs for Utah: In Stock at Glover Nursery
We’ve spent generations learning what grows well along the Wasatch Front – and what doesn’t. The shrubs below are varieties we carry because they’ve proven themselves in local soils, local water, local winters and yes, even local summers.
Whether you’re looking for seasonal color, year-round structure, privacy or something tough enough for a full-sun slope, you’ll find the right shrubs for Utah here.
Flowering Shrubs
Flowering shrubs earn their place in the landscape by bringing color, texture, and seasonal interest year after year. They’re a great way to introduce a little drama to the yard without asking for constant attention.
Once established, many of the varieties we carry are remarkably low-maintenance, needing little more than occasional pruning and the right amount of water. From spring blooms to late-summer color, these shrubs can thrive in our clay soils and summer heat while providing reliable beauty for years (and often decades) to come.
Here are a few of the best flowering shrubs for Utah gardens:
Lilacs
A Wasatch Front staple for good reason. They’re cold-hardy, drought-tolerant once established, and the spring bloom fills an entire yard with fragrance. We carry several varieties suited to our climate.
Forsythia
One of the first shrubs to bloom each spring, pushing out bright yellow flowers before the leaves even appear. It’s fast-growing, easy to maintain, and handles our winters well. Prune it right after the blooms fade, since it flowers on old wood from the previous year’s growth.
Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas do better in Utah than most people expect. Panicle and smooth varieties are the best options for most conditions here. They tolerate more sun than other hydrangea species and handle our soils without much trouble. For detailed pruning timing by variety, check out our hydrangea pruning guide.
Roses
Roses are another category worth considering. Knock Out roses grow 3 to 4 feet tall, are disease resistant, heat tolerant, and self-cleaning, so deadheading isn’t required. Iceberg roses bloom continuously from spring through winter and come in floribunda, climbing, or shrub forms. Both varieties make a strong visual impact along fence lines and garden borders.
Viburnum
One of the more versatile flowering shrubs we carry. Burkwood Viburnum grows 8 to 10 feet tall with fragrant white spring flowers. Arrowwood Viburnum produces white flowers in spring, blue-black berries in fall, and puts on fall color ranging from yellow to red. Both perform well at higher elevations and tolerate less-than-ideal yard conditions.
Spirea and Potentilla
Spirea and Potentilla round out the summer-blooming options. Both flower on new wood, so you can prune them in late winter or early spring without losing blooms. Potentilla is especially useful in hot, dry spots.
It’s also deer-resistant, salt-tolerant, and native to the region. It will need a lot of extra water during the first 2 years after planting, but once the root system is established, it can easily handle drought conditions.
For more guidance on when and how to prune your flowering shrubs, check out our pruning guide for flowering shrubs. It covers which varieties bloom on old wood versus new wood.
Evergreen (Perennial) Shrubs
Many people come into the nursery asking for “perennial shrubs.” But what we’ve learned is that when people ask for this what they are really looking for is a shrub that is evergreen. Perennial means that a plant lives for more than 2 years. Any shrub we sell that is appropriate for our climate is a perennial shrub. So for those of you who are looking for a shrub that stays green all year, year after year we have a list of our favorite evergreen shrubs.
Evergreen shrubs hold their shape through winter and offer winter interest when deciduous plants drop their leaves. They give a yard color, texture, and structure that doesn’t disappear once the cold sets in.
Here are some of the best evergreen shrubs for Utah and our most reliable picks for year-round performance:
Boxwood
One of the most dependable evergreen shrubs you can plant along the Wasatch Front. It holds its shape well, responds reliably to shearing, and grows slowly enough to keep maintenance manageable. It works in full sun to partial shade with well-draining soil. You’ll see boxwood used in formal hedges and foundation plantings across the Salt Lake Valley.
Hicks Yew
A strong pick for homeowners who want a low-maintenance evergreen in a columnar form. It grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. That makes it one of the best hedges for Utah yards, especially as a privacy screen between neighbors. It also works well as a foundation plant since it adapts to sun or shade and handles our local conditions without much attention.
Red Tip Photinia
A fast-growing evergreen shrub with an upright habit and bright red new growth in spring. It does best with some afternoon shade and adds a punch of color that most evergreens don’t offer.
Dogwood shrubs
A winter star for your garden. Ivory Halo is a dwarf variety with red stems that stand out against snow. During the growing season, it puts on white and green variegated foliage. It tolerates both sun and shade and takes to hedging easily. Redtwig dogwood is another solid option if you want that same winter stem color on a slightly larger plant.
Peking Cotoneaster
Grows 6 to 10 feet in both height and width. This makes it a natural, informal screen rather than a clipped hedge. The foliage turns brilliant orange-red in fall while black fruit ripens at the same time. It handles salt, heat, and drought well once established.
Privet
Lodense Privet and New Mexico Privet are two more options worth looking at. Lodense is a dense, dwarf deciduous shrub that works as a low formal hedge. Left unpruned, it produces lightly scented white flowers in early summer. New Mexico Privet is a multi-stemmed shrub with ornamental white bark and bright yellow fall foliage.
Emerald Green Arborvitae *
One of the most popular hedging shrubs we sell. Nurseries and gardeners across Northern Utah use it for privacy screens and windbreaks.
* Note About Arborvitae: While this is a very popular pick for evergreen shrubs it can be difficult for it to flourish here in Utah under certain conditions. For tips on keeping yours healthy, and to help you decide if this is the shrub for you, check out our arborvitae care guide.
One thing to keep in mind: If you’re on secondary water from Utah Lake, the higher salt content can stress certain shrub species. Cotoneaster, privet, and yew tend to handle it better than most. You can also check our list of plants that tolerate alkaline and secondary water to help narrow things down. Our staff can help you match the right Utah shrubs to your specific water source.
Full-Sun Shrubs for Hot, Dry Spots in Your Yard
Every yard has that one stretch that bakes all day. A south-facing slope, a strip along the driveway, a bed against a west wall.
Most plants struggle in those spots, but some of the best Utah shrubs actually prefer them! They’re drought-tolerant once established and built for the kind of heat and direct sun that Northern Utah summers are known for.
Potentilla
Potentilla is one of our go-to recommendations for full-sun locations. It blooms from late spring through mid-autumn with minimal watering once it’s rooted in. Katherine Dykes is one of our favorite varieties, with canary yellow flowers on a compact form. It’s also deer resistant, salt tolerant, and native to the region. As we mentioned above, while these are drought and heat tolerant once the roots have establish, prepare to give them a lot of extra water the first 2 growing seasons.
Juniper
Juniper varieties are some of the toughest shrubs you can plant in Utah. They handle full sun, poor soil, wind, and drought without complaint. We carry several species suited to different uses, from low-growing ground covers to upright screening varieties. Spartan and Taylor junipers are popular choices for structure and privacy. If you’d like to see our other juniper varieties, feel free to head over to the store. Our staff can help you figure out which one would be right for your yard.
Barberry
A low-maintenance shrub that thrives in hot, exposed locations. It comes in several foliage colors, from deep red to gold, and adds contrast to a planting bed without needing much water or attention. It’s also one of the more reliable deer-resistant options we carry.
Apache Plume
A Utah native that’s perfectly adapted to our conditions. It produces white flowers followed by feathery seed heads that catch the light. It stays relatively compact and does well in rocky or sandy soils where other shrubs give up.
Ninebark
Ninebark has become a popular pick in recent years for good reason. It offers interesting bark texture, colorful foliage in shades of burgundy or gold, and clusters of small white flowers in late spring. It’s cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, and doesn’t need pampering.
Rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush rounds out the full-sun category. It’s a Utah native that blooms bright yellow in late summer when most other plants are winding down. It needs very little water and naturalizes well in waterwise landscapes. USU also maintains a useful list of water-wise plants for Utah if you’re looking for more low-water options.
Deer-Resistant Shrubs
If you’re a gardener living near the foothills or anywhere with regular deer traffic, you already know how troublesome they can be. A yard you spent months building can take serious damage overnight, which is why deer-resistant planting options exist.
No plant is completely deer-proof, though. Deer will eat just about anything when their usual food sources run short. But some shrubs are far less appealing to them, and planting those is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect your landscape long-term.
Juniper
Juniper is at the top of the list. Deer tend to leave most juniper species alone. The exception is some Utah native varieties like Common Juniper and Rocky Mountain Juniper, which they may browse occasionally.
Barberry
Barberry is another strong option. Its thorny branches make it naturally uninviting to deer, and it thrives in full sun with minimal water. You get deer resistance and low maintenance in the same plant.
Boxwood and Yew
Boxwood and Yew both hold up well against deer browsing. Since they’re also reliable evergreens for hedging and foundation plantings, they pull double duty in yards where deer are a concern.
Mahonia
Oregon Grape, also known as Mahonia, is a broadleaf evergreen that deer avoid. It produces yellow spring flowers followed by blue berries and does well at higher elevations. It’s a solid pick for gardeners in mountain communities.
Yucca
Yucca is about as deer-resistant as it gets. The stiff, pointed leaves discourage browsing entirely. Adam’s Needle and Soapweed are two varieties that grow well across Northern Utah.
One word of caution: Mugo Pine is a common landscaping shrub, but our experience shows it is not deer-resistant. If deer pressure is a factor in your yard, skip the mugo pine and go with one of the options above. For a full list of deer-resistant plants, check out our guide. You can also read our tips on protecting your plants from deer, which covers physical barriers and repellents.
Why Utah Homeowners Choose Glover Nursery for Shrubs
There’s a reason gardeners across the Salt Lake Valley trust Glover Nursery for their shrubs for Utah landscapes. We know the soil, the water, and the weather, and we’ll tell you straight if something won’t work in your yard.
Also, our team doesn’t just sell you a shrub and send you on your way. We’ll take the time to walk through your yard conditions with you, from soil and water source to sun exposure, and recommend what will actually thrive there. If anything comes up after planting, we’re here to help you through it.
Utah-tested varieties: Every shrub on our lot has been selected for Northern Utah conditions. If we stock it, it’s because it works here.
Expert staff: It doesn’t matter if you’re planting your first shrub or your fiftieth one; our staff will help you pick and nurture the right one for your specific yard.
Delivery across Northern Utah: Need your plants, hardgoods, and other materials delivered? We handle that across Northern Utah.
1,200+ Google reviews with a 4.5 star average: Our customers trust us with their landscapes and come back year after year.
Family owned and operated for over 130 years: The Glover family is in its sixth generation helping you grow.
10 acres of inventory: Glover Nursery has one of the largest selections of shrub varieties available in the Salt Lake Valley, all at our West Jordan location.
Looking to browse before you visit?
Our online catalog is a good starting point, but it doesn’t show everything. Our inventory rotates throughout the season, and there’s always more on the lot than what’s listed online. If you’re looking for a specific shrub, send us a general inquiry and we’ll let you know if we have it in the store for pick-up or delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shrubs
What are the best low-maintenance shrubs for Utah?
Potentilla, juniper, and barberry all thrive in Utah conditions with minimal care once established. Boxwood and Hicks Yew are also low-maintenance options that hold their shape without frequent pruning. But if you’d really like the best shrubs for Utah, the right choice depends on your sun exposure, soil type, and water source.
What evergreen shrubs grow well in Utah?
Boxwood, Hicks Yew, and Red Tip Photinia are among the best evergreen shrubs Utah gardeners can rely on. They hold their foliage through winter and provide year-round structure in a landscape.’
Emerald Green Arborvitae are a popular choice and, in the right conditions, can do very well. However, they are not the right choice for clay soil or the highly alkaline secondary water sourced from Utah Lake.
What shrubs look pretty all year round?
Dogwood varieties like Ivory Halo offer variegated foliage in summer and colorful red stems in winter. Viburnum gives you spring flowers, fall berries, and seasonal leaf color. Peking Cotoneaster turns brilliant orange-red in autumn while producing dark fruit. Combining a few of these in a bed gives you something worth looking at in every season.
Are there shrubs I should avoid planting in Utah?
Some shrubs sold at big-box stores aren’t suited to our soils, water, or climate. Bigleaf hydrangeas can do well on the benches, but do struggle with clay soil and high alkalinity. Mugo Pine is commonly planted but is not deer-resistant, despite what some sources suggest.
USU Extension’s guide on shrub selection for Utah landscapes covers what to look for when matching a shrub to your specific conditions. If you’re unsure whether a shrub will work in your yard, bring your questions to our staff before you buy.
What flowering shrubs do well in Utah?
Lilac, forsythia, hydrangea (panicle and smooth varieties), roses, viburnum, spirea, and potentilla all perform reliably along the Wasatch Front. Most are drought-tolerant once established and bloom for years with basic seasonal pruning.
When is the best time to plant shrubs in Utah?
Spring and fall are both good planting windows in Northern Utah. Fall planting gives roots time to establish before summer heat. Spring planting works well too, as long as you stay consistent with watering through that first season. Our seasonal plant care guide covers month-by-month tasks to help your new shrubs get established.
As we always say at Glover Nursery, if you can dig, you can plant!