Spring-blooming shrubs are the perfect way to welcome the season with vibrant color and fragrance. Planting them early ensures they are ready to burst into bloom as soon as the spring weather settles in. Choose hardy varieties like Camellias, Azaleas, or Forsythia, and plant them in well-drained soil with plenty of sunlight. By getting them in your containers or flowerbeds ahead of time, you’ll enjoy a beautiful display of blossoms that brighten up your garden and mark the start of a new season.
Designing a Spring Garden with Flowering Shrubs
Planting early blooming spring shrubs is a fantastic way to bring life to your Texas garden. They help welcome the season with hope for spring blooms. Gardeners love spring shrubs because the blooms arrive early in the season, creating the vibrant flower power that we crave after the long days of winter. Explore our top shrub picks from our experts for must-have floral flair this spring!
FLOWERING QUINCE
For unique spring blooms, try Flowering Quince! A member of the rose family, Flowering Quince is one of the oldest landscape plants to date, as they have been cultivated for thousands of years in Asia. This multi-stemmed deciduous shrub is prized for its dynamic growth and adaptability. It can thrive in a wide range of climates with proper sun exposure and soil conditions.
If you are looking for effortless spring blooms, try the Double Take® Peach Quince from Proven Winners®! The Double Take® collection is unbeatable. Unlike older varieties, these plants are thornless, making them ideal for cutting and creating floral arrangements. They add large peach blooms to your Texas landscape and are drought-tolerant. Looking for a broader color palette? This beauty also comes in Scarlet and Eternal White.
AZALEAS
Create an early spring show of blooms and great texture with Azaleas! A popular flowering shrub in the south, Azaleas are extremely versatile showstoppers, available in a variety of colors and styles. Azaleas are low-maintenance once established, requiring only regular watering and occasional pruning to maintain their shape.
Grow a stunning display of vibrant colors with the Encore® Azalea collection! Try Autumn Embers™ for its striking hues and bold blooms. It is a dwarf variety, ideal for smaller gardens. This captivating, compact evergreen shrub is bathed in clusters of beautiful reddish-orange blooms that will emerge all season.
For soft pink color, Encore® Azalea Autumn Chiffon™ is a unique and beautiful variety to plant now in your Texas garden. The clusters of blooms have unique dark pink blotched centers through the spring with additional, lighter flushes in summer and fall.
SPIREA
Spirea is one of the most commonly used landscape plants as it can thrive in just about any garden. This spring-blooming shrub is hardy in zones 4-8 and adaptable to a variety of conditions This beautiful plant is easy to maintain, needing only occasional pruning to promote new growth. A light trim after blooming helps maintain its shape and encourages more vibrant flowers next season. Spirea is a fast-growing deciduous shrub, smothered in double white flowers along the wiry branches throughout the spring.
Ready to grow? Try the Double Bridal Wreath Spirea! This medium-sized spring flowering shrub has an upright arching habit with cascading double-white blooms. The unique foliage of oval green leaves transitions to attractive orange and purple hues in the fall, providing your garden with year-round color. It performs best in full sun.
FORSYTHIA
Add the striking color of early spring blooms to your Texas garden with Forsythia! The easy elegance of its dynamic, arching form and golden yellow blooms will provide a cheerful backdrop to your landscape. Forsythia is a deciduous shrub, derived from the olive family. Low-maintenance and fast-growing, this plant is famous for its early spring color as the long branches quickly fill with bright yellow blooms.
Magical® Gold Forsythia from Monrovia® will easily become an excellent focal point in your landscape design with their early spring flowers.
This smaller variety is ideal for limited gardening space, and it is easy to grow. Plant in full sun for the best flowers and water deeply and regularly during the first growing season to establish a strong root system. Forsythia is deer-resistant, tolerant of coastal climates and conditions, and a pollinator magnet. Bees and Butterflies love Forsythia!
CAMELLIA
Fill in the partial-shade areas of your Texas garden with delightful Camellias! They have long-blooming periods with vibrant spring flowers that will dazzle among the brilliant green foliage. These gorgeous blooms are easy to care for and thrive with minimal effort. Simply water regularly, especially during dry spells, and prune after blooming to maintain their shape. A light spring fertilizing keeps them healthy and vibrant!
Camellia varieties differ in blooming times allowing you to enjoy them at different times of the year so check your plant tag for this detail. Our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals are happy to help with your selections. Yuletide Camellias or Kanjiro Camellias produce vibrant fall blooms while Camellia japonica varieties bloom in the spring. Spring-blooming Camellias such as Victory White, Dr JC Raulston, and Nuccio’s Cameo are dense shrubs with upright growth. They will grow to be about 8-10 ft tall with a formal floral flair.
FRINGE FLOWER
Create garden drama with the exciting addition of Fringe Flowers! Give your home an easy curb appeal boost with the unique spring blooms and vibrant colors. The evergreen foliage changes colors throughout the year with fragrant accents of showy flowers that emerge every spring.
Choose an exciting specimen with burgundy hues and interesting blooms such as Purple Diamond® Fringe Flower. This low-maintenance shrub is fast-growing with pink spider-like flowers. Purple Diamond® is a semi-dwarf and it matures to the ideal size for any landscape, growing only 4-6 feet tall and wide. It is a reblooming variety with blooms that will enchant you.
CAROLINA JESSAMINE
Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is an evergreen, fast-growing vine celebrated for its vibrant yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in early spring. Its cheerful color and sweet fragrance make it a standout addition to any garden or landscape. Thriving in full sun to partial shade, it’s ideal for trellises, fences, or as ground cover. With its hardy, low-maintenance nature, Carolina Jessamine is a favorite among gardeners seeking to enhance their outdoor spaces with beauty and ease.
VIBURNUM
If you are wanting to add a pollinator paradise to your Texas garden, plant Viburnum! Bees love the large clusters of spring blooms. In fact, this spring flowering shrub is one of the most popular choices for landscapes. It is low-maintenance and thrives in full sun or planted as a partial shade delight.
Shades of Pink Viburnum will add vibrant bloom power with its bright pink buds that open to blush pink flowers. It is ideal for using as a hedge. Viburnum performs best in well-draining soils and regular waterings.
Shop with Ease
At Calloway’s and Cornelius, we are here to help you get ready to celebrate the beauty of spring! Visit us today and explore our stunning collection of vibrant blooms, stately trees and shrubs, stylish pottery, lush indoor plants, and so much more! Shop any of our 29 neighborhood stores, where we have served our loyal customers for over 35 years.
Have questions? Ask our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals; they are here to help!