Large-Growing Shrubs

Big shrubs (growing 6’-15’ tall) provide the privacy you need to create a personal oasis right in your own backyard. Tall hedges can screen unsightly views, reduce noise pollution from roads, and help define an outdoor room in your landscape. Be sure to plant these shrubs where they have plenty of room to grow. Hedges should be pruned at least once per year to maintain their size and health.

PIneapple Guava

Rounded, silvery-gray leaves create a lovely contrast when planted behind green shrubs or purple loropetalums. These fast-growing evergreen shrubs grow well in blazing full sun, and even tolerate poor sandy soil like what you find at the beach. Unpruned plants can produce small edible fruits in the fall if we have warm winters.

Podocarpus

Also called Japanese Yew, the dark, evergreen foliage produces a fine-textured living wall when regularly pruned. Plants that are allowed to grow freely will slowly form tall, narrow trees that perfectly fit in the right spaces found around some structures. Super-durable plants tolerate sun or shade and are drought tolerant.

Ocala Anise

The best choice for a screening plant in the shade. This native evergreen shrub can stay full, even when planted under the shady canopy of mature trees. Ocala Anise grows fastest and fullest in rich moist soil. Try raking the fallen leaves in your yard around these large-growing plants to enrich their soil and maintain moisture.

Tea Olive

Fragrance is a necessary component of any good garden, and Tea Olives will give you more of it than any other plant. The relatively narrow, upright growing evergreens bloom from fall through spring, producing small white flowers with a rich sweet aroma that can permeate a whole garden. Tea Olive makes a great anchor on the corner of your home.

Ruby Loropetalum

A fast and large-growing loropetalum that can be used to create a privacy hedge or small tree. New growth emerges purple and the evergreen leaves retain a rich color from spring-fall. The clouds of frilly pink flowers each spring are so impressive, they rival even the showiest azaleas in town.

Spring Bouquet Viburnum

Massive clusters of pink buds open in spring to reveal delicate white flowers that shine against the lovely dark green leaves. Plants grow tight & in an upright habit, great for tight spaces.

Clumping Bamboo

You need not fear the bamboo! Clump forming bamboo plants stay right where you plant them, never running or popping up in other parts of the yard. The tall canes make a fast barrier to unwanted sights and sounds. We carry a wide variety of cold-hardy, clumping bamboo varieties at Tallahassee Nurseries.

Recurve Ligustrum

Dark green, glossy leaves are a staple in old southern gardens. Versatile plants can be shaped into formal hedges or trimmed up into a small manageable tree. White flowers in spring.

Red Cluster Bottlebrush

This showy evergreen produces intensely red blooms in spring and summer that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. The strong plants thrive in hot sun and even tolerate sandy soils like at the beach. Makes a lovely hedge or small tree.

Dwarf Japanese Maple

Ann and Jane are two of the most productive Japanese Magnolias you can find. These large shrubs bloom profusely every year, despite unpredictable winters. Plant the deciduous shrubs in the shade of large oak or pine trees.

Nellie R. Stevens Holly

A time-tested, large-growing holly that grows well in full sun or bright shade. She produces bright red berries in the fall amidst the glossy evergreen leaves. This durable plant makes a lovely screen or small tree.

Oakleaf Holly

One of the best hollies to shape into a tall narrow pyramid shape. The classic, glossy, scalloped leaves growth thick and full. Oakleaf Holly is heat and drought tolerant, thriving in hot sunny locations. Plant in a large container near the front door to create a formal entrance.

Needle Palm

A great native palm that offers lush tropical foliage without forming a huge trunk. These slow-growing palms form a mass of fronds from 6’-8’ tall and wide when mature. They grow well in sun or shade and require almost no attention or maintenance. Plant as a single focal point, mixed into a natural border, or in mass under large oak trees.

Sweet Viburnum

Our fastest-growing evergreen hedge plant, hands down. If you keep these plants well watered, and fertilize with slow release fertilizer (like Osmocote or Dynamite) in spring and fall, you can expect 3’-5’ of growth per year! Unpruned plants can reach 15’-20’ tall or more, so don’t skip your yearly trimming on these big guys. ‘Sugar Cookie’ is a compact form of Sweet Viburnum that offers the same vigor, but grows to roughly half the size.

Indica Azalea

You can find this collection of large-growing azaleas all over Tallahassee. They are the most common (but by no means ordinary) azaleas in our region. These are some of the strongest flowering shrubs you can plant, blooming heavily each spring in sun or shade.