Lots of Dwarf Evergreen Low Maintenance Shrubs for Foundation Planting

I have an area that hardly gets sun if any, the area is 11’ x 8’, what plants would you recommend? I don’t want anything higher than 4’ but I would like perennials with color. I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

I love the softness of the Cryptomeria and have a "Black Dragpm", while a dwarf is not the very short foundation plant that the "Dragon Prince" is. I want a Mugo "Sherwood Compact" and an Abies concolor "Pigglemee". I am leaning toward putting a short ornamental grass in front of or between the dwarf evergreens.

Obsession nandina

Great info on dwarfs, thanks Jim!

Great topic. So glad I found your videos. Am eager to watch more.

Ya I need to redo my garden everything bc dies in the winter because we don’t have evergreen. Well I have the one the bloom white but they die in the winter

Most of these plants are for warmer climates. I'm in Zone 4-5 and would have been helpful to know this.

Very helpful, Jim. No favorite yet, will have to make a decision for my foundation plants❣️

I need a tall shrub that can be put in a container. My husband worries about roots hurting our concrete foundation.

Any suggestions for us living in cold 5b zone?😅

I love the colorful nandinas but I’ve never had one that hasn’t been invasive despite the claims otherwise! Are these truly, TRULY non-invasive? I just can’t go after all those runners again! 😂

My go to shrubs are pittosporum and lorapetalum. They’ve never had disease or pests. I can always count on them.

ahh! just what I needed and was looking for! great video! Loves these!

Great video. I really like the Kaleidoscope Abelia because I have so much green, purple and yellow with Sunshine Ligustrum, Lorapetalen, boxwoods that’s the orange color provides something different. I was NOT a gardening person and dug out and planted all new shrubs during Covid based on your videos. Now, I’m adding final touches. Gonna give the Obsession Nandina and Rose Creek Abelia a shot. Thanks Jim!

Jim I live in zone 9b, I am looking for a dwarf shrub or an ornamental grass for a very narrow walkways on either side of a concrete rectangular steps concrete walkway in front of a front door. The house is contemporary style.

Lost a lot of evergreens here in zone 7B this past winter. I always knew it could happen with more marginal evergreens(camellia japonica) but my taxus, chamaecyparis, and mahonia bit the dust. Meant to add loropetalum!

mugo Pine

Such beautiful plants thanks for all the info

Great video and useful information!

Not for me,zone 5

Really nice list, thanks.

I have a problem finding the plants you show. Any nurseries in the Triangle area I can visit and find them?

The hex midget average ID is a great small globe Evergreen shrub and the tater. Tot is the same just a little bit smaller and then. You have the Anna's magic ball which. Is? Yellow. What else? And then there's some small compact juniper's like the blue star juniper. Blue star juniper has that nice blue green color and then if you want something a little bit larger. There's the globe type Colorado blue spruce. It grows into a small globe. And then you have the small false gold mop cypress which which are also very pretty and have a pretty golden color.

Big omission, and I don't know why: skimmia japonica. Beautiful very low-growing, reliable shrub with lovely berries the birds won't eat, but decorate the plant all winter. ?

Thanks for this very informative video. Great suggestions!

Hi Jim. Out of all your videos I have watched this is the best 👌. I recently brought some blue evergreen plants like the first ones in your video but some are now losing their blueness and looking a little brown. I have also bought some Chinese Holly to use instead of box wood. This is because in the south of England we have box blite and box caterpillar.

Really helpful as I have 3 large deck containers to plant up. What is the plant with similar coloration to the left of the Purple Daydream Loropetalum? Great echo!

HELLO Jim! I have a good many Japanese Cleyera I planted years ago, that have grown very tall as a planted hedge on a slope near my property line here in Georgia 30078. I haven't trimmed them yet. They are looking bad, thinned out, and some have died.
What do you recommend to restore my Cleyera hedge as it is late February here in 2023? Thanks.

Not to happy as zone5 is not a choice for your plants.

‘Shishi Gashira’ camellia

‘Spiders Web’ fatsia, ‘Jubilation’ gardenia, ‘Yewtopia’ yew

Thank you, I’ve been looking for a dwarf purple shrub and when you showed the Purple Dream drawf Loropetalum, I knew it was the one.

Do the cryptomeria shrubs bronze in the winter? I have cryptomeria and they yellow and bronze in the summer winter.

Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Nana'

Illicium floridanum 'Red Dwarf'

Illicium floridanum 'Swamp hobbitf'

Morella cerifera var. pumila

Morella cerifera 'Don's Dwarf'

I've got three goshiki osmanthus planted in my front yard with red mulch to contrast. They're small and compact right now and I just love the color contrast of the green and cream color with a touch of rust (new foliage) and the red mulch. I planted a bouquet of mums to go with them. I couldn't be any happier!

I’ve planted both Obsession & lemon lime Nandina last year. I can’t believe how easy they are to grow & just love their texture & color. So I’m going to try the blush pink next.

Wish I lived 3 hrs south so I could hire you.

Hi Jim, thank you for the great info. My favorite small shrub is the golf ball pithosporum.

Great information! TY!

Love your channel Jim! I hope mine will be half as successful as yours one day!!🌺

Liked the Encore azelas

My dog broke my mahonia by scratching her belly on it! I hope it comes back!

love this list! Thanks Jim!

Im hoping to see some Pancake arborvitae :)

Lots of evergreens for zones 6 and above but what about those of us in zone 5b? We have lots of clay soil here in Indiana so I've learned a lot from watching your video's on how to plant in this heavy soil of ours.

I forgot to mention I’m in zone 8 or 8b

I need something to replace my junipers in a zigzags planting that can be maintained to 12” to 18” ut will not show woody stems when pruned, pls respond thank you so much nice video