That doesn’t have to be the case, though.
Gardeners who plan ahead and plant evergreens can have gorgeous, verdant gardens year-round.
Plant them asfoundation plants, in borders, or anywhere you want to add curb appeal.
Credit: Getty/Picture by Tambako the Jaguar
Most evergreens are pretty easy to care for once established.
Some of these shrubs are prized for their foliage, while others have beautiful blooms or brilliant berries.
We’ve provided essential growing tips so that you’ll know how to help them succeed.
Credit: © Santiago Urquijo / Getty
Gardenia
Thisessential Southern planthas dark evergreen leaves, brilliant white blooms, and a heady fragrance.
These gorgeous plants are also hardy enough to withstand a Southern summerheat, humidity, and all.
In winter, the deep color of the leaves offers a jewel-like pop of color.
Credit: Getty/Kim Sayer
They appreciate well-draining, acidic soil, high humidity, and a break from afternoon sun.
Gardenias can be grown in all but the Upper South.
They can be grown in all but the Tropical South.
Credit: Getty/Diane Labombarbe
The richly colored evergreen shrub can grow up to 10 feet high, making it agood option for privacy.
The leaves offer a pop of color all year, but the mirror bush also produces flowers and berries.
This plant can be grown in any average, well-draining garden soil.
Credit: Getty/Catherine McQueen
Coprosma doesn’t like cold winters and can’t be grown north of zone 9.
The leaves have a lemony scent when bruised.
Its dense evergreen foliage can be used to create a year-roundprivacy hedgethat is both effective and attractive.
Credit: Getty/DigiPub
It can tolerate frost, clay, and sandy soils.
Bottlebrush can be grown in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8b and warmer.
While arborvitae does make an excellent privacy screen, there are smaller versions of this feathery evergreen available today.
Credit:Linda Vater; Courtesy Southern Living Plant Collection
‘Emerald Green’ has the classic pyramid shape but slowly grows to 15 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
The Southern Living Plant Collection offers small, mounded arborvitae likePancakeTMand the gold and orange-tingedFire ChiefTM.
Arborvitae prefers moist soil and a cooler climate but does well in the Upper and Middle South.
Credit: Steve Bender
Some cultivars can be grown in zone 8 as well.
sasanqua, which blooms in late fall, orC.
Both do best with protection from the hot afternoon sun.
azalea advice; whenever, Jerry dug up a bush to add to their yard’s collection, he was careful to use the spade to cut widely around the roots. “Don’t be shy about how big a root ball you want,” he says. If the bush is about 5 years old or 10 to 12 inches in diameter, you’ll want to have a root ball that’s the same size, he notes.Credit:HELEN NORMAN
They can be shaped by pruning or left to grow to the size of a small tree.
Plant in zones 7-9.
Azalea
HELEN NORMAN
When azaleas burst into flower, Southerners know spring has finally arrived.
Credit:Southern Living Plants
The most commonly grown azaleas areevergreen hybridswith pink or white trumpet-shaped flowers.
Some can bloom in three seasons, like Encore azaleas.
Plant your azaleas in acidic, well-drained, organically rich soil in partial or dappled shade.
Credit: undefined undefined / Getty Images
You’ll be rewarded each year when they are blanketed with flowers.
Two offerings from theSouthern Living Plant Collection, Romeo and Juliet, have green and white variegated leaves.
The waxy leaves make this mostly problem-free plant drought-tolerant, but cleyera appreciates protection from the afternoon sun.
Credit: Courtesy of the Southern Living Plant Collection
Many gardeners use it as a privacy screen or hedge that eventually grows to 10 or 15 feet.
Romeo and Juliet are more compact and grow to 6 or 8 feet.
Many cultivars can be grown anywhere in the South.
Credit:Daniela Duncan / Getty Images
The dense foliage, pretty pinkish flowers, and dark blue berries make it popular as well.
This 4-6 foot shrub can be grown in zones 8-10.
Its deep green, soft needles take many forms, from arching vase-shaped shrubs to upright columns.
Credit:PAVEL IARUNICHEV / Getty Images
Plum yew is also moretolerant of shadethan most needled evergreens.
Though it prefers even moisture, this shrub can handle dry soil and clay.
Plum yew can be grown everywhere in the South except for frost-free climates.
Credit:Southern Living Plant Collection
The leaves are often in shades of plum or lime and can be variegated.
These arching, multi-stemmed shrubs bloom best in full sun but may appreciate shade in the afternoon.
Most cultivars grow to about 6 feet tall and wide.
Credit: Sachko / Getty Images
Gold-speckled cultivars light up dim areas, especially when female plants bear bright red berries in fall.
Aucuba can grow to 10 feet tall; prune it back if you’d like to keep it shorter.
This plant can be grown in all but the Upper South.
Credit: magicflute002 / Getty Images
Some are globe-shaped, likeDragon PrinceTMfrom the Southern Living Plant Collection.
Others are flat-topped and squat.
Though they are evergreen, some cultivars turn an attractive bronze or rust color in winter.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
Cryptomeria is adaptable to a wide range of conditions but requires acidic soil and prefers full sun.
It can be grown in all but the Tropical South.
Its relative, Chinese juniper (J. chinensis), prefers moderate moisture.
Credit:Diana Kirby
Chinese juniper is often sold as a sprawling, vase-shaped shrub with golden or bluish, scale-like leaves.
Of course, there are trees as well, some of which grow to 30 feet.
These plants are grown everywhere but in the Tropical South.
Credit: Holly Guerrio / Getty Images
Japanese Pieris
SomePierisspecies burn up in the hot South.
Not so with Japanese Andromeda, which can be grown in zones 6-8.
Plant it in rich, well-drained, acidic soil to keep it healthy.
Credit: Van Chaplin
Grow in zones 5-8.
Distylium
Drought and heat-tolerant, compact, disease-resistantwhat more could you want in an evergreen shrub?
You’ll find versions that grow small or tall and reddish-bronze or blue-green.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
They can handle many soil types but thrive in a moist, sandy loam.
Many require little pruning, though tip pruning makes them nice and bushy.
Grow in zones 7-9.
Credit: Masao Akiyama / Sebun Photo/Getty Images
Wax Myrtle
Diana Kirby
This familiarnative plantgrows in wet areas throughout the Southeast and west into Texas.
It can be grown in zones 7-11.
Yaupon Holly
Here’s another native tree or shrub that grows in coastal woodlands.
Credit:Southern Living/Vlasova Evgeniya
Yauponhollyis found from southern Virginia to central Texas.
The small, oval, densely packed leaves can be clipped into just about any shape you desire.
There are several compact cultivars of Yaupon holly with a mounded form that grow 3-5 feet tall.
Credit: Steve Bender
Viburnum
Viburnum is a shrub grown for its white flower clusters and slender glossy leaves.
They adapt to a range of soils and some can be trained as small trees.
Evergreen varieties grow in zones 6-10.
Abelia
Some abelia shrubs are evergreen or semi-evergreen, depending on where you live.
Abelias in colder climates will lose their leaves in winter.Sweetly scented flowersbloom from spring through fall.
Edward Goucher is compact with delicate purple flowers with orange centers.
Plant as a border or foundation plant in zones 4-11 shaded from hot afternoon sun.
Though they are drought-tolerant, they do need weekly watering during extended periods of high temperatures.
Avoid planting them in areas with soggy soil, which makes them prone to root rot.
Grow them in zones 8-11.
After clusters of yellow flowers bloom, red, blue, or blue-black berries emerge.
Similar to holly, the leaves are prickly and deer-resistant.
Plant as a hedge or foundation plant in well-draining soil with afternoon shade in hotter climates.
They grow in zones 6-11.
Privet
Typically grown as a hedge, privet can be pruned into any desired form.
Grown as foundation plants or in containers, they take to almost any kind of soil and are drought-tolerant.
Fragrant clusters of white flowers bloom in spring or summer, followed by blue-black berries.
Plant them in a sunny spot for the brightest leaf color.
Seedlings grow easily, so their spread may need to be controlled.
While they are evergreen, they do lose their leaves in colder climates.
Privets can be grown in zones 3-8.
