Growing Bushes in Zone 8
Zone 8 designates a climate that has mild winters with temperatures no lower than 10 to 20 degrees F. (-6 to 10 C.) and hot summers days with cooler nights. It’s a pleasant climate and one in which many plants thrive. Due to a longer growing season, there is a greater opportunity to enjoy flowering shrubs and to have color for a longer period of time. Many shrubs will do well in your zone 8 garden and while they need to be watered regularly until established, will generally thrive with just rainwater after that, making care easy.
Shrubs for Zone 8
With this easy growing climate, you have a lot of zone 8 bushes to choose from. Here are just a few of the many options you have for your garden: Butterfly bush – This bush is aptly named and will drive beautiful butterflies to your garden. The butterfly bush is drought-tolerant and likes full sun. It needs some regular pruning to avoid getting out of control, however. Bigleaf hydrangea – The big, round flower clusters of bigleaf hydrangea shrubs are showstoppers. The vibrant colors depend on the pH of your soil: alkaline soil produces pink blooms while more acidic soil will give you blue. Lavender – Zone 8 shrub varieties include some herbs, like lavender. Given the right conditions—plenty of sun and well-drained soil—lavender makes a great low hedge and adds a gorgeous fragrance to the garden. Forsythia – The bright and abundant yellow flowers of the forsythia bush are a herald of spring. The rest of the summer they provide pretty greenery in a shrub that can be planted singly, or as part of a trimmed, large hedge. Knock Out rose – This cultivar of rose has been extremely popular since it was developed, partly because it is so easy to grow and disease resistant. Knock out rose bushes thrive in zone 8 and produce fragrant blooms in a variety of colors. Wax myrtle – If you are looking for an ornamental shrub without flowers that can be trimmed into tight shapes, wax myrtle is a great choice. It is an evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves. It grows easily and quickly, even in poor soil and is drought tolerant. Growing bushes in zone 8 is easy thanks to the temperate climate and wide variety of options for planting. Choose the right varieties for your garden and you can enjoy beautiful shrubs and hedges without a lot of effort.
