Evergreen Shrubs for the Front of the House

The best evergreen shrubs for the front of a house are ones that stay at the size you need without constant shearing. That means picking by mature size first, then by sun exposure, then by zone. Under windows, choose dwarf varieties that top out at 2 to 4 feet, such as dwarf yaupon holly, Green Velvet boxwood or dwarf Japanese garden juniper. At corners, use taller, narrower plants like Sky Pencil holly or an upright arborvitae. For shady north-facing foundations, rely on Japanese pieris, skimmia, Otto Luyken cherry laurel or leucothoe. This guide groups proven low-maintenance evergreens by size and sun, flags which ones flower, and covers the spacing mistakes that make foundation plantings swallow a house within a decade.

Part of our Trees & Shrubs guide →

In this guide

1. How to Plan a Foundation Planting
2. Dwarf Evergreens Under 4 Feet
3. Medium Evergreens, 4 to 8 Feet
4. Flowering Evergreen Shrubs
5. Best Choices by Exposure
6. Deer, Disease and Regional Notes
7. Spacing and Planting
8. Low-Maintenance Care
9. Sample Front-of-House Combinations
10. Frequently Asked Questions

How to Plan a Foundation Planting

Foundation plantings exist to soften the line where the house meets the ground and to frame the entry. They should not hide windows, block walkways or rub against siding. Start with these rules of thumb:

• Under windows: shrubs should mature below the sill, usually 2 to 4 feet.
• At corners: taller or upright shrubs, 5 to 10 feet, anchor the house and soften vertical lines.
• At the entry: something special, often a pair of formal shrubs or a flowering evergreen to draw the eye to the door.
• Depth: beds at least 4 to 6 feet deep from the wall give room for layers and avoid a single row of shrubs lined up against the siding.
• Repetition: repeating two or three key shrubs across the facade looks more cohesive than one of everything.

For the broader picture on choosing and placing woody plants, see our trees and shrubs guide.

Dwarf Evergreens Under 4 Feet

These stay low under windows and in front of taller shrubs with little or no pruning.

Shrub	Mature size	Sun	Zones	Notes
Boxwood, Green Velvet or Green Mountain	3 to 5 ft	Sun to part shade	5 to 8	Classic, clips well; watch for boxwood blight
Dwarf yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria Nana)	3 to 5 ft	Sun to part shade	7 to 10	Native, heat and drought tolerant; boxwood alternative in the South
Inkberry holly, dwarf types (Gem Box, Shamrock)	2 to 5 ft	Sun to part shade	4 to 9	Native; tolerates wet soil
Dwarf Japanese garden juniper	1 to 2 ft tall, spreading	Full sun	4 to 9	Groundcover-like; good on slopes
Dwarf mugo pine	2 to 4 ft	Full sun	3 to 7	Very cold hardy; dislikes hot, humid summers
Dwarf Hinoki cypress (Nana Gracilis)	3 to 6 ft over many years	Sun to part shade	5 to 8	Slow, sculptural; protect from drying wind
Otto Luyken cherry laurel	3 to 4 ft tall, 6 to 8 ft wide	Part shade to shade	6 to 8	Glossy leaves, white spring flowers

Medium Evergreens, 4 to 8 Feet

Use these at corners of single-story homes, beside entries and as the backbone of deeper beds.

Shrub	Mature size	Sun	Zones	Notes
Sky Pencil holly	6 to 10 ft tall, 1 to 3 ft wide	Sun to part shade	5 to 9	Narrow columns for tight spaces beside doors
Emerald Green arborvitae	10 to 15 ft tall, 3 to 4 ft wide	Full sun to light shade	3 to 7	Narrow and dense; deer browse it
Dwarf Burford holly	5 to 8 ft	Sun to part shade	7 to 9	Glossy leaves, red berries
Japanese plum yew (Cephalotaxus)	2 to 10 ft by cultivar	Part shade to shade	6 to 9	Yew look that handles heat and shade; often deer resistant
Yew, Hicks or Densiformis	3 to 10 ft by cultivar	Sun to shade	4 to 7	Very shade tolerant; heavily browsed by deer; toxic to pets
Dwarf wax myrtle	3 to 6 ft	Sun to part shade	7 to 10	Native, fragrant foliage, salt tolerant

Flowering Evergreen Shrubs

A few flowering evergreens add seasonal interest while keeping the bed green all year.

• Encore and other reblooming azaleas (zones 6 to 10): spring and fall flowers, 3 to 5 feet; need acidic soil and afternoon shade in hot climates.
• Loropetalum, dwarf types such as Purple Diamond (zones 7 to 10): purple foliage and pink fringe flowers, 3 to 5 feet.
• Gardenia, compact types (zones 7 to 10; some to zone 6): fragrant white flowers in early summer; needs acidic, moist soil.
• Mountain laurel, dwarf cultivars (zones 5 to 9): native, showy late-spring flowers; part shade.
• Camellia sasanqua (zones 7 to 9): fall and winter flowers when little else blooms.
• Japanese pieris (zones 5 to 8): chains of white or pink flowers in early spring and red new growth.
• Abelia (zones 6 to 9): semi-evergreen in colder areas, long summer bloom, pollinator favorite.
• Rhododendron, compact types such as PJM (zones 4 to 8): early spring color and good cold hardiness.

Best Choices by Exposure

South- and west-facing foundations (hot sun)

Reflected heat off walls and walkways is intense. Choose junipers, dwarf yaupon holly, wax myrtle, loropetalum, Indian hawthorn in the South, and dwarf mugo pine in cooler regions. Avoid azaleas, pieris and boxwood in full western exposure in hot climates, as they scorch.

East-facing (morning sun, afternoon shade)

The easiest exposure. Nearly every shrub on this list thrives here, including boxwood, hollies, azaleas, gardenias and Hinoki cypress.

North-facing (shade)

Use Otto Luyken or Schipka cherry laurel, Japanese plum yew, yews where deer are not an issue, Japanese pieris, leucothoe, skimmia, mountain laurel and rhododendron. Our guide to shrubs for shade lists more options for deep shade.

Deer, Disease and Regional Notes

If deer visit your yard, they will often strip arborvitae, yews and azaleas in winter. Boxwood, most hollies, Japanese plum yew, pieris, junipers and wax myrtle tend to be avoided. No plant is deer-proof when food is scarce, but choosing less palatable shrubs saves a lot of frustration. See our guide to deer-resistant shrubs for a fuller list.

Boxwood blight has spread across much of the East, and boxwood leafminer and box tree moth are problems in some regions. If you love the boxwood look, consider blight-resistant cultivars or substitutes such as dwarf yaupon, inkberry or Japanese plum yew. In the Southeast, Indian hawthorn and some hollies can get leaf spot in humid shade; give them sun and airflow.

Spacing and Planting

Space shrubs based on mature width. A boxwood expected to reach 4 feet wide should be planted about 4 feet on center from its neighbors, and at least 2 to 3 feet from the wall. It will look sparse for the first two or three years; fill gaps with perennials or annuals rather than adding more shrubs.

1. Plant in fall or spring when temperatures are mild.
2. Check soil near the foundation; it is often compacted fill and may be alkaline from concrete. Loosen a wide area and mix in compost.
3. Dig a hole two to three times as wide as the root ball and no deeper.
4. Loosen circling roots, set the shrub so the top of the root ball is level with or slightly above grade, and backfill.
5. Water deeply and mulch 2 to 3 inches deep, keeping mulch off stems and away from siding.
6. Water weekly through the first summer, more in heat. Check under roof overhangs, where rain often does not reach.

Low-Maintenance Care

• Pruning: if you chose the right size, light shaping once a year is enough. Prune broadleaf evergreens after spring growth; prune flowering evergreens right after they bloom. Our guide on how to prune evergreens covers timing by type.
• Feeding: a slow-release shrub or acid-loving fertilizer in spring if growth is weak; many established shrubs need none.
• Watering: deep, infrequent watering for the first two years; afterward, only in drought.
• Winter: water evergreens in late fall before the ground freezes to prevent winter burn. In cold, windy sites, burlap screens protect broadleaf evergreens.
• Gutters and downspouts: make sure roof runoff is not pouring onto or drowning the shrubs.

Sample Front-of-House Combinations

• Classic formal (zones 5 to 8): Sky Pencil holly on either side of the door, Green Velvet boxwood under windows, dwarf Hinoki cypress at corners, with hostas or liriope in front.
• Southern low-maintenance (zones 7 to 10): dwarf yaupon holly in a repeating row, loropetalum at corners, Encore azaleas near the entry, and mondo grass edging.
• Shady north side (zones 6 to 8): Otto Luyken cherry laurel as the base layer, Japanese pieris as accents, plum yew at corners, ferns in front.
• Cold climate (zones 3 to 6): dwarf mugo pine and dwarf Alberta spruce for structure, inkberry holly in front, PJM rhododendron near the door.

If your evergreens are already in place and browning, our guide on why evergreens turn brown helps diagnose winter burn, root problems and disease.