Home » Misc » Perennial bushes with white flowers

Perennial bushes with white flowers


10 Great Shrubs That Bloom With White Flowers

By

David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu is a landscaping expert and plant photographer, with 20 years of experience. He was in the nursery business for over a decade, working with a large variety of plants. David has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and national U.S. magazines, such as Woman's World and American Way.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 04/05/22

Reviewed by

Kathleen Miller

Reviewed by Kathleen Miller

Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column. She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

The Spruce

Shrubs with white flowers are great for brightening dark areas of the landscape, and many are known for their fragrant blooms. As a design element, shrubs with white flowers convey a sense of purity. They are often used as the foundation for moon gardens, designed to be enjoyed in the evening. Some white-flowering shrubs are valued primarily for the spring color they bestow to the garden, while others save a bit of their beauty for autumn when fall foliage becomes the star of the show.

Here are 10 great choices if you are considering white shrubs for your landscape.

Design Tip

Unless you are designing a moon garden designed to be enjoyed primarily in the evening, an all-white garden can be glaring to look at. It's a better strategy to mix in white flowers and shrubs to help "cool" a garden with bright, hot colors. And remember that many white flowers have subtle hints of other colors—a hint of buttery yellow or a touch of lavender or pink.

Designing a White Flower Garden

Watch Now: 7 Tips for Every Gardener

Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Weber B, Sinz C, Bauer WM, et al. Euphorbia myrsinites Sap-Induced Phytodermatitis: A Prototype of Irritant Contact Dermatitis? Dermatitis. 2019;30(2):155-161. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000454

31 White Flower Bushes For Your Garden

So you’ve already added some white flowers to your raised garden bed. But once you’ve realized how subtle they can be, you start to realize that you need some white flowering shrubs around the exterior of your garden space, or lining the path of the walkway into your home. But where do you start? Which white flower bushes are the right choice?

The good news is that there are many different white flowering shrubs, that grow across a variety of different hardiness zones. Finding the perfect match for your your gardening needs will come down to looks, and likely where you live. Do you go with the classic hydrangeas? Perhaps some beautiful azaleas?

If your green thumb is new or if you are an experienced horticulturalist looking for a challenge, you have plenty of different choices to choose from. The contrast of elegant white flower bushes next to deep green leaves can be refreshing. Regardless of where you plan to grow them, here’s some of our favorite flowering shrubs with white blooms for your home or garden space!

Contents

Azaleas

Azaleas prefer cool temps with high humidity.
Scientific Name:
Rhododendron Spp.
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: China and Japan
  • Plant Size: 1-85 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 3-9, depending on the variety

There’s so much to be said about azaleas! Whether you live in a warm or cooler climate, you can probably find an azalea for your garden. There are hundreds of types of azaleas, including both evergreen and deciduous varieties. They tend to have funnel- or tube-shaped flower heads that come in many single- or double-layer combinations.

Choose from several breathtaking solid-white Azaleas, like “Weston’s Innocence” or Alabama Azaleas. Depending on the type of Azalea, they bloom from late winter, all summer, or even into fall. These perennial shrubs have delicate roots that prefer loose sandy soil that’s moist and well-drained.

Button Bush

Button Bush grows in swamps, mangrove forests and river banks.
Scientific Name:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North and Central America, Cuba
  • Plant Size: 5-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-11

If you’re looking for white flowering shrubs that will work as a loose, casual hedge, check out Buttonbush. Also called Honey Balls, it has spherical clusters of tiny white tubular flowers with long stamens that make the clusters look fuzzy! The flowers have a sweet fragrance that attracts all kinds of pollinators! The white misty-looking balls are offset by long glossy green leaves.

You’ll have blooms all summer into fall when the leaves turn reddish-brown into winter. This shrub loves wet, loamy soil – the wetter the better. It’s even known to grow in a few feet of standing water! Plant it as a hedge along a pond, river, or areas of your property with poor drainage.

Chokeberry

Chokeberry is a fruit tree or shrub from the Rosaceae family.
Scientific Name:
Aronia arbutifolia
  • Plant Type: Semi-deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Eastern United States, Eastern Europe, and Russia
  • Plant Size: 5-10 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 4-9

Chokeberry offers interest to your yard all year round! From spring through summer, enjoy clusters of fragrant white 5-petal flowers. Next, groups of glossy red berries show late summer through winter! But don’t worry: these white flowering shrubs are safe for pets and children. The berries are edible, and Chokeberry gets its name from the sour taste of the fruit!

Its green leaves turn bright red in the fall. Chokeberry isn’t picky about soil but thrives in moist and loamy soil. It attracts all kinds of pollinators in the spring and summer. Migrating birds eat the berries in the fall and winter.

Common Myrtle

Common Myrtle is an evergreen tree or shrub, up to 3 meters high.
Scientific Name:
Myrtus communis
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub or small tree
  • Geographic Origin: North Africa and the Mediterranean
  • Plant Size: 3-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Plant Zone: 8-11

You’ll find several white flowering bushes that are evergreen in tropical zones. This includes the Common Myrtle, a popular choice for its beautiful spring and summer blooms. Enjoy the fancy little white blooms among glossy dark green leaves. They eventually give way to clusters of deep purple berries.

Keep soil loamy, moist, and well-drained. Don’t overwater or let the soil get too acidic, or Common Myrtle can get sick. You can get creative with pruning this shrub: It naturally grows loose and tall like a tree but accepts shaping well.

Crape Myrtle ‘Natchez’

Crape Myrtle ‘Natchez’ is a shrub that produces showy flowers ranging from soft pink to deep purple to stunning red, depending on the variety.
Scientific Name:
Lagerstroemia x Natchez
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub or tree
  • Geographic Origin: Southern Asia
  • Plant Size: 4-20 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Plant Zone: 7-10

Common Crape Myrtles are shrubs with flowers only found in shades of pink. However, hybrids like Natchez have beautiful showy white blooms. There are a few white hybrids besides Nachez, like Early Bird White and Delta Moon.

Each hybrid variety has specific features, but all of them present decadent clusters of papery flowers and leaves that change colors in the fall. They also all have colorful tree bark that peels like birch bark.

You’ll especially love Natchez Crape Myrtle for its large flowers that bloom later in the summer. Give this shrub full sun and well-drained, loamy soil, and it will be happy. Pile on the mulch, but skip fertilizer.

Daphne

Daphne is a beautiful shrub with beautiful and fragrant flowers that will surely give you great pleasure.
Scientific Name:
Daphne spp.
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Europe, Asia, and Africa
  • Plant Size: 1-5 feet tall, depending on the variety
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
  • Plant Zone: 4-10

Evergreen in warmer climates, Daphne puts on a show all year. From spring through summer, you can enjoy rounded clusters of small, white 4-petal flowers surrounded by elongated glossy leaves. They give way to bunches of shiny red berries. In cooler climates, most varieties will lose their leaves by the first frost.

While Daphne takes several years to fully mature, it blooms pretty fast in the spring once it’s established. They don’t transplant well but are pretty low-maintenance to grow. Try planting them in a large planter with loamy, well-drained soil.

Deutzia

Deutzia has white blooms without any type of fragrance.
Scientific Name:
Deutzia spp.
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrubs, depending on the species
  • Geographic Origin: Europe, Asia, and Central America
  • Plant Size:1-13 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-8

Deutzia is an old garden favorite that’s starting to become popular again. Deutzia bushes have weeping branches with cascading groups of petite white or pink flowers. The flowers tend to be bell-shaped or open. It has bright green leaves that turn orange in the fall.

You’ll find a wide variety in Deutzia with over 50 species, ranging from ground cover to large mounding shrubs. There are both evergreen and deciduous varieties. Deutzia isn’t picky about soil, as long as it’s moist and well-draining. Prune the shrub once a year after the flowers fade.

Elderberry

In nature, Elderberry grows in North America, mainly in Canada.
Scientific Name:
Sambucus canadensis
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 5-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
  • Plant Zone: 1-9

Elderberry has become very popular in recent years for its edible and medicinal fruit. It has small white lemon-scented flowers that grow in large flat sprays. They grow wide, bright green leaves all summer long before giving way in the fall. Then, it’s time for the shrub’s dark purple berries to bring texture and beauty to this plant!

Among white flowering shrubs, Elderberry has an impressive zone range. You can grow it as far north as the Queen Elizabeth Islands in northern Canada! The shrub is pretty easy to grow, and it’s not picky about soil as long as it’s well-drained. Just make sure to water it regularly.

Hydrangea

In total, there are more than 80 different types of Hydrangea: from shrubs and vines to small trees.
Scientific Name:
Hydrangea spp.
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: The Americas, Asia
  • Plant Size: 1-15ft, depending on the species
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-9

Hydrangeas are versatile white flowering shrubs. You’ll love their petite flowers in large ornamental clusters among wide, flat green leaves. Some varieties produce blooms in shades of blue, purple, pink, white, and even green. Some species can have their color manipulated by changing the pH level of the soil. Most hydrangeas grow quickly, and with minimal maintenance outside of regular pruning.

There are several species of Hydrangeas. The most common is Hydrangea macrophylla – called bigleaf or mophead for the large size of its flower clusters and foliage. This shrub is pretty easygoing, adapting well to all kinds of conditions. Just make sure to fertilize them at the start of spring, and water them regularly.

Japanese Camellia

Japanese Camellia – each flower stays on the branch for almost a month.
Scientific Name:
Camellia japonica
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 3-20 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Partial sun or shade
  • Plant Zone: 6-10

For the fans of symmetry, this one’s for you! There are 250 species of the Camellia genus, but the showy Japanese Camellia is the most popular. The flowers look almost like peonies or roses. While it blooms fall through spring, the glossy, dark green leaves are evergreen. You can find several varieties in pure white, with blooms ranging from 2 to 5 inches wide.

Camellia shrubs are sensitive to the sun, preferring the shade. They take some time to establish themselves. Once they do, they grow slowly. Plant them in the spring or fall, when the weather is mild. They prefer moist and slightly acidic soil.

Japanese Pieris

Japanese Pieris have an exotic and attractive look.
Scientific Name:
Pieris japonica
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 5-8 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-8

A unique addition to my list of white flowering bushes, consider the Japanese Pieris. In late winter, dainty teardrop-shaped flowers make an appearance. Add it to your landscape for color and fill. This evergreen bush also has glossy green leaves that turn bronze for the fall and winter!

Go with Japanese Peiris if your area has mild weather conditions. Just be aware that it has a very strong fragrance that people either love or strongly dislike! Give it acidic, nutrient-rich, well-drained soil and deadhead flowers regularly for a healthy-looking plant.

Laurel Cherry

Laurel Cherry is a poisonous plant, except for the edible fruit pulp.
Scientific Name:
Prunus laurocerasus
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia
  • Plant Size: 15-30 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to full shade
  • Plant Zone: 4-10

Laurel Cherry offers an elegant display throughout all 4 seasons. All year round, this large shrub features large, deep green leaves. By midsummer, it explodes with flower stalks, or racemes, of tiny plum-scented flowers. Then, in the fall and winter, clusters of deep red cherry-like fruit slowly turn to a striking black color.

Laurel Cherry is a good choice for coastal regions as it tolerates salt-spray well. It also grows fast and adapts to all kinds of growing conditions. While there are dwarf species out there, traditional Laurel Cherry makes a great security hedge. Prune it into shape if you prefer less of a tree look.

Lilac

The main decorative feature of the Lilac is its abundant flowering, which blooms in May-June.
Scientific Name:
Syringa vulgaris
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Europe
  • Plant Size: 8-15 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Plant Zone: 1-8

One of the classic white flowering shrubs, it’s commonly seen in purple. When the white variety blooms in the spring, you’ll love the effect! Lilac is known for its small, 4-petal fragrant flowers. They grow at the end of stems in cone-shaped clusters. The heart-shaped leaves are bluish-green and don’t change colors in the fall.

This low-maintenance plant just needs pruning and fertilization in the spring. It does best in mild summers and winters. Water it sparingly, and give it neutral, loamy soil that’s more on the sandy side.

Magnolia

Magnolia flowers are large, cream or white, and very fragrant.
Scientific Name:
Magnolia spp.
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub or small tree
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 5-12 feet tall for shrub types
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
  • Plant Zone: 4-12, depending on the type

Traditionally loved for its fragrant blooms, you can find a variety of Magnolia where you live. There are both evergreen and deciduous types that work in all kinds of climates. You’ll find both flowering tree and shrub types with blooms in a variety of styles. Popular white versions include Star Magnolia and the stunning Yulan Magnolia.

Magnolias are white-flowering shrubs that adapt well to all kinds of conditions. Just water them consistently, keeping the soil drained and on the acidic side. They thrive when pruned regularly.

Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel is poisonous to humans and many animals: horses, goats, cows, deer and monkeys.
Scientific Name:
Kalmia latifolia
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Eastern North America
  • Plant Size: 5-15 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 4-9

While Mountain Laurel tends to demand careful maintenance, the work pays off. It explodes with clusters of bowl-shaped blooms in late spring through the summer. Flowers are white or pink and fade into a deep pink center. The glossy elongated leaves grow from knobby branches.

This slow-growing bush is best for the experienced gardener. Mountain Laurel is picky about soil, preferring it to be cool, moist, and acidic. It also needs just the right amount of shade. Make sure to plant it with the crown exposed above the soil. Deadhead flowers regularly to keep unseemly brown fruits from appearing.

Mock Orange

Mock Orange is frost-resistant and tolerates temperatures down to -25°C.
Scientific Name:
Philadelphus coronarius
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Europe
  • Plant Size: 4-10 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 4-9

If you’re looking for white flowering shrubs that attract spring pollinators, go with Mock Orange. Named for its similar appearance to orange blossoms, it also puts off a strong orange fragrance. Throughout springtime, you can enjoy arching branches covered in beautiful clusters of 4-petal flowers and veiny elliptical leaves.

By summer, the flowers are gone. However, Mock Orange is a fast-growing, dense shrub that is great for a privacy hedge. It’s easy to grow. Just give it nutrient-rich soil and water sparingly. Fertilize at the beginning of the growing season and prune after the last blooms die off.

New Jersey Tea

New Jersey Tea is a shrub up to 150 cm in height, sensitive to cold. Its leaves and stems are covered with down.
Scientific Name:
Ceanothus americanus
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 3-4 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 4-8

This New England native played its role in history! It gets its name from the Revolutionary War era. Patriots used its broad green leaves to make tea during tea tariff boycotts. New Jersey Tea is lovely, growing upwards with clusters of small, fragrant flowers at the end of long reddish-brown stems.

Butterflies and hummingbirds love this low-lying shrub. It adapts to all kinds of conditions. Just make sure to water it regularly. It tolerates both heat and freezing temperatures but will go dormant.

Ninebark

Ninebark bushes have white or pink flowers with red stamens up to 12 mm in diameter.
Scientific Name:
Physocarpus opulifolius
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 5-8 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 1-10

Another New Egland native on my list of white flowering plants, Ninebark makes an impact from spring through fall. Even before it fully blooms in the spring, the closed buds are beautiful, round, and tinged pink.

Ninebark’s flowers have 5 white, round petals with a bright yellow center. Wispy, red-tipped stamens give the domed flower clusters a fuzzy appearance. Common Ninebark has lovely chartreuse leaves, but some varieties have stunning bronze or gold foliage.

As a low-maintenance plant, Ninebark grows in wet and dry conditions and all soil types. It just doesn’t tolerate heat well. Shape it up occasionally and add mulch at the end of the season.

Oleander

All parts of the Oleander plant are poisonous due to their content of oleandrin, cornerin and other cardiac Glycosides.
Scientific Name:
Nerium oleander
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub or small tree
  • Geographic Origin: the Mediterranean and Asia
  • Plant Size: 3-20 feet, depending on the variety
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 1-10

Don’t shy away from this heat-loving plant called Oleander if you live in the northern United States. It blooms from spring through fall in Zone 8, and it grows evergreen in Zones 8-10. It has long green leaves that grow thick and frilly vase-shaped flowers in small clusters. You’ll find it in several shades of pink, red, and white.

Common in the Mediterranean, Oleander tolerates salt spray well and prefers full sun. It’s used to alkaline, sandy soil but adapts to different soil conditions. Just water it when the topsoil gets dry.

Orange Jasmine

Orange Jasmine is not too demanding to care for.
Scientific Name:
Murraya paniculata
  • Plant Type: Evergreen shrub or small tree
  • Geographic Origin: Australia and Asia
  • Plant Size: 8-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 9-12

While Mock Orange handles cool climates well, go with Orange Jasmine if you live in warmer climates. It’s not true Jasmine, but it is a fragrant shrub with leathery oval leaves and small 5-petal flowers. After the flowers bloom, they cycle out to produce vibrant reddish-orange berries.

In Zone 10, grow it in a container and bring it in for the winter. It loves loamy, well-drained soil. Water it once a week. Plan on pruning it once in the spring and again in the fall.

Pearlbush

Pearlbush is an exceptionally beautiful and compact shrub, that blooms with snow-white blooms in early spring.
Scientific Name:
Exochorda x macrantha
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 5-10 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-9

When it comes to show-stopping white flowering bushes, Pearlbush does the trick! From spring through fall, abundant blooms weigh down the long arching branches. Short racemes of pearl-like buds give way to small, bright white blooms.

Bright green leaves make this dense shrub a great border hedge. It grows easily in all kinds of soil but blooms best with full sun and moist, well-drained soil on the acidic side. Pearlbush should be pruned as soon as flowers die off.

Potentilla

Potentilla refers to slow-growing plants.
Scientific Name:
Potentilla fruticosa
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America, Europe, and Asia
  • Plant Size: 1-4 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 2-9, depending on the variety

Potentilla is also called Shrubby Cinquefoil. Each flower has 5 rounded petals with a yellow center. It also has herbaceous foliage featuring 5-finger green leaves. White varieties of Potentilla are often called Barren Strawberry for the way they mimic the look without the fruit!

This is an ideal addition for newer gardeners looking for white flowering shrubs. It grows generously from spring to fall. Give it full sun and loamy, moist soil, and leave it alone. It blooms so well that you may have to prune it just to keep the flowers from choking out the plant! Potentilla is very drought- and salt-resistant and doesn’t mind the cold.

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon prefers a lot of light, heat and moisture.
Scientific Name:
Hibiscus syriacus
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 8-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sub
  • Plant Zone: 1-8

Rose of Sharon loves to make a statement with large showy flowers with papery petals and 1 prominent stamen. You can find it in every color of the rainbow except green. The leaves are decorative with 3 fingers and go from light to dark green during the year.

You might be surprised to learn that this is a great flower for newer gardeners. It’s a low-maintenance shrub. Just water it enough to keep the soil moist, but make sure that it has well-drained soil with a neutral pH. Prune it before the first blooms and then occasionally to keep it shaped up.

Serviceberry

Serviceberry fruits ripen in August. Small berries contribute to the decorative effect.
Scientific Name:
Amelanchier spp.
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub or small tree, depending on the variety
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 4-40 feet, depending on the variety
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 3-9, depending on the variety

Also called Juneberry of Sugar Plum, Serviceberry is known for its edible red or purple berries. There are about 2 dozen species that produce shrubs and tree varieties. Among them, the shape and size of the flowers vary a little. However, they all feature white blooms and small elliptical leaves that turn bright orange in the fall.

Serviceberry is one of the white flowering shrubs that grow fast and easily. While it adapts well to many conditions, it blooms best in acidic, nutrient-rich soil. Be sure to prune after the last flowers.

Spiraea

To maintain a beautiful Spiraea crown shape, spring pruning is necessary.
Scientific Name:
Spiraea spp.
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America, Europe
  • Plant Size: 1-20 feet tall, depending on species
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Plant Zone: 1-8

There are almost 100 species of Spiraea in every shade of purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. They have round, flat, or cone-shaped clusters of small 5-petal flowers with long stamens. Most types have green oval leaves that turn orange in the fall. Most also explode with flower clusters in the spring through the summer.

When it comes to white flowering shrubs, they’re a great plant for new gardeners. Spiraea shrubs like full sun and neutral, well-drained soil. Water when the topsoil is dry. After the first freeze, prune back, water, and mulch Spiraea.

Snowflake Euphorbia

Snowflake Euphorbia has small white blooms, with a pleasant aroma.
Scientific Name:
Euphorbia leucocephala
  • Plant Type: Semi-evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North and Central America
  • Plant Size: 6-10 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 10-13

If you live in a warm climate, check out Snowflake Euphoria. The unique flowers are perennial, but the leaves are evergreen. It blooms for a few weeks in the winter, giving it the name “White Christmas Bush. ” When it blooms in white florets, the rounded, low-mound shrub might look like it’s covered in snow!

Known to be a hardy species that is very tolerant to drought and humidity, it does well in many soil types but does best with slightly moist, well-drained soil. For the best appearance, prune well in the spring and again before the fall.

Summersweet

Most varieties of Clethra alnifolia grow to 2–2.5 m in height.
Scientific Name:
Clethra alnifolia
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Eastern and the southern United States
  • Plant Size: 3-8
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to shade
  • Plant Zone: 1-9

Next on the list of white flowering shrubs is a US native with a striking appearance. Summersweet features long bottlebrush clusters of tiny white blooms that last from late spring through midsummer. It also has dark green leaves with serrated edges that turn orange in the fall.

You’ll often find it in coastal regions. It does well tolerating heat and salt spray. It likes acidic, sandy soil. Plant it along a creek or pond, and it won’t need much maintenance. Just water it in drought conditions and deadhead if you prefer.

Tea Olive

Tea Olive is quite a slow-growing plant but easy to grow.
Scientific Name:
Osmanthus fragrans
  • Plant Type: Semi-evergreen shrub
  • Geographic Origin: Asia
  • Plant Size: 8-12 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 7-12

Tea Olive, or “Fragrant Olive,” is known for its highly fruity-scented flowers. The shiny green leaves show all year-round. They’re a lovely contrast to tight round flower clusters of 4-petal flowers. Enjoy the blooms from spring through fall.

This plant loves humidity and tolerates heat and drought well. Just water it once a week, keeping the soil well-drained but moist.

Seven Son Flower

The flowering of Seven Son Flower attracts butterflies to the garden.
Scientific Name:
Heptacodium miconioides
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub or small tree
  • Geographic Origin: China
  • Plant Size: 10-20 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 5-9

If you’re looking for unique white flowering bushes to add to your garden, check out Seven Son Flower. This tall-reaching shrub blooms in late summer through the fall. It features circular clusters of 7 flowers at the end of drooping stems. They die off in the fall, giving way to bright purple fruit.

The large, veined leaves die in the fall, but the show doesn’t end. The old bark fades in the winter, peeling and revealing dark brown bark underneath! This is a low-maintenance plant that handles all kinds of conditions well. Just water it regularly.

Viburnum

Viburnum is a shade tolerant plant but grows best in well-lit areas. Prefers abundant watering, especially in the hot heat.
Scientific Name:
Viburnum spp.
  • Plant Type: Evergreen or deciduous shrub, depending on the variety
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 2-20 feet tall, depending on the variety
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 1-9, depending on the variety

A popular addition for gardeners over the years, there are over 100 varieties of Viburnum. You’ll find all kinds of evergreen and deciduous types. They all have different types of leaves and flower cluster shapes. However, they tend to all feature tight flower bunches and bright berries.

Viburnum makes the list of flowering white shrubs for the stunning look of its fragrant white blooms. They look a little like Hydrangeas. All varieties prefer rich, well-drained soil and weekly watering.

Virginia Sweetspire

The scent of Virginia Sweetspire flowers attracts butterflies, bringing the garden to life.
Scientific Name:
Itea virginica
  • Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
  • Geographic Origin: North America
  • Plant Size: 3-10 feet tall
  • Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
  • Plant Zone: 2-10

The narrow bottlebrush spikes of tiny flowers make Virginia Sweetspire a lovely addition to your collection. The summer blooms attract all kinds of pollinators. In the fall through winter, the visually appealing arched branches have elliptical leaves that turn burning red!

Virginia Sweetspire prefers loamy, moist soil that’s acidic. Water twice a week until it’s established and then only when there’s a drought. You can prune it if you want to shape it up, but otherwise, it’s unnecessary.

Final Thoughts

Shrubs with white flowers can remind us of something timeless. They bring brightness to the landscape and attract all kinds of wildlife. Many of the white flowering shrubs featured on this list include vibrantly colored berries and stunning fall foliage. White doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, if done correctly, it can be just as exciting as adding blue flowered shrubs, or purple flower bushes to your gardening space.

Shrubs that bloom with white flowers: names and photos of beautiful plants

First, let's list the names of shrubs that bloom with white flowers in spring and early summer. They can be used to make beautiful hedges, a background for large flower beds, single plantings next to windows, arbors, gates.

Shrubs with white flowers:

Spring

  • Lilac
  • Spirea
  • Hawthorn
  • Deutsia Lemoine

Summer

  • Hydrangea
  • Kalina
  • Mock orange
  • Rosehip
  • Deutia and photogilla

Lilac

Lilac has long been cultivated as a valuable ornamental plant due to its diverse palette and delicious aroma. It is an undemanding culture, adapted to the urban environment, winter-hardy, withstands frosts down to -30 °. Lilac does not like acidic soil and nearby groundwater. It can be planted in a shaded place, but in the sun the flowering will be more luxurious. Pruning the crown increases the number of flowers for next summer.

Snow-white, white-pink, white-green varieties:

  • Madame Lemoine.
  • "Defenders of Brest".
  • "Monument".
  • "Swan".
  • "Amur".
  • "Beauty of Moscow".

Instagram @ugliss

Instagram @arkanna77

  • Houseplants

    Home garden: 9 best flowering houseplants with names and photos

Spirea

Spirea is a shrub from the rose family. This is a very beautiful perennial that blooms from early spring to summer. The plant is unpretentious, loves sunlight (but can grow in partial shade), good watering and loose soil.

Varieties of light-flowered spirea:
  • "Gray spirea".
  • Wangutta.
  • Nipponskaya.
  • Arguta.
  • "Oak-leaved".
  • "White-flowered" (blooms in summer).

Instagram @lenel.garden

Instagram @flosium

Hawthorn

Hawthorn is often used as a hedge, as it is large and retains its decorative effect for a long period. Closer to autumn, red berries appear on it. It grows both in the northern and southern regions of our country. The shrub blooms with white flowers in spring, in May. There are late, June varieties. The flowers are small, but collected in large towering inflorescences.

Suitable varieties of hawthorn:
  • "Single-petal" .
  • "Siberian" or "Blood Red".
  • "Chinese".
  • "Semi-soft".
  • "Fan-shaped".
  • Wattiana.
  • "Douglas".

The plant is very unpretentious and can bloom even in unfavorable conditions. However, sufficient lighting, loose, non-acidic soil are also necessary for him. Fruit pests, mites, scale insects and sawflies often damage bushes. And yet, with the necessary minimal care, hawthorn remains one of the best ornamental crops for many years.

Instagram @ira_khb

Instagram @ma_ri_na_vladi

Deutsia Lemoine

The flowers of this variety are collected in pyramidal inflorescences-panicles and look very impressive. Deytsiya prefers fertile, moderately moist soil and direct sunlight. With proper care, this oriental beauty will be one of the best decorations for your garden.

  • Landscape

    6 garden shrubs that bloom beautifully in spring

Hydrangea

Hydrangea, without exaggeration, can be called the queen of the garden. The color of some varieties changes during the summer. Most often, paniculate and tree-like hydrangeas are grown.
The first is a low, winter-hardy, unpretentious bush.

Flowering of this species is abundant and long - from June to autumn. Hydrangea paniculata does not need additional shelter and frequent watering. Formative pruning is an important condition for abundant flowering.

White hydrangea varieties:
  • Grandiflora. Cream flowers appear first. Then they turn white. Red-green in autumn.
  • Kyushu.
  • Mathilda.
  • Limelight.
  • Floribunda.

Hydrangea arborescens takes root well in the north, blooms from June to late autumn, frost-resistant, unpretentious. Good feeding, sunlight, sufficient watering are needed. For the winter, the roots need to be covered and, if necessary, protection should be made on the north side.

Varieties with white flowers:
  • Annabelle.
  • Sterilis.
  • Hayes Starburst.
  • Incrediball.

Instagram @rastenia_ot_kateriny

Instagram @eka_bannova

  • Landscape

    16 best hydrangea varieties for self-growing on the plot

Common or red viburnum

Common viburnum grows throughout Russia. Blooms in May - July. It can also grow in the shade, but needs good watering or a moist place. With minimal care, it will delight you with flowering for a long time.

In central Russia, the Buldenezh variety enjoys great success. The name came to us from France and translated into Russian means "snow globe". The diameter of the inflorescences reaches 15 cm, and the flowering is so luxurious and plentiful that the branches often need additional supports. Berry lovers will undoubtedly like the sweet-fruited viburnum. This shrub with white flowers blooms in spring with magnificent hats. The taste of the fruit is delicate and sweet, fully justifies its name.

Instagram @olga_mansurova2203

Instagram @alekseevskaia_dubrava

Mock orange

The aroma of mock orange is similar to jasmine, but the similarity between the two cultures ends there. Flowering continues from early June to mid-summer. Mock orange loves the sun, fertile soil, good watering, especially in dry summers. It tolerates frosty winters well. It looks very beautiful in the garden both in a single planting and in various compositions.

Instagram @anatolygrechko

Instagram @m.elenaprekrasnaya

Rosehip

This plant needs no special introduction. Indeed, it can be found everywhere: in a summer cottage and in a city park, on an ordinary lawn or in a garden. Of the numerous species, terry rose hips are especially valued. Its delicate and bright flowers are not inferior in beauty to garden roses. Very abundant and picturesque flowering begins in May and lasts for a month and a half. Sometimes longer.

Rose hips are very undemanding to growing conditions and are cultivated in all areas of Russia, with the exception of the Arctic Circle. The plant tolerates winters and heat well, does not like stagnant waters. Sunny places with loose soil and timely top dressing will help to reveal all the wonderful decorative properties of this shrub familiar to everyone.

White varieties:
  • "Alba Mediland".
  • Climbing Iceberg.
  • "Nevada".
  • "Oval".
  • "Victory".
  • Suaveolens.

Instagram @nino4ek25rus

Instagram @spb_girl

  • Landscape

    6 unpretentious berry bushes that you still have time to plant

Deutsia and fotergilla

Deutsia is native to East Asia. Perennial grows in a mild warm climate. The height of the bushes is 1.5-2m, they bloom from May to July, depending on the variety. After flowering, the bush retains its decorative properties for a long time.

Very beautiful view of the action is magnificent. Large (up to 3 cm) dazzling white flowers are collected in inflorescences-umbrellas, very openwork, graceful. The action is magnificent with double flowers.

Fothergilla is rare in our gardens. Fothergilla is native to North America. The bush grows very slowly, reaching a height of 1 meter. Fluffy flake flowers are abundantly covered in May. The foliage of the plant changes color throughout the summer, remaining bright and saturated. The shrub feels great in the sun, in a place protected from drafts and the north wind.

Instagram @lisa_na_kubani

Instagram @borina51

There are several other white flowering crops: star magnolia, elderberry, clematis, hibiscus. All of them are suitable for cultivation in the south. In the last photo - fieldfare. It is unpretentious to temperature, can bloom in partial shade, loves moisture and lowland areas.

Instagram @supersadovnik.ru

Instagram @lenycia_lieben

Instagram @sergeymos_

Instagram @home_orchids

Instagram @tatiana_dankevich

  • Landscape

    8 flowering ornamental shrubs suitable for growing in Siberia

Material prepared by

Nelli Kirgintseva

photos and names, plant descriptions and growing tips

Flowering shrubs with white flowers are essential for creating stylized gardens. Snow-white shades are a symbol of purity, honesty and ambition. White gardens and front gardens look incredibly beautiful and attractive. Luxurious shrubs blooming in white make the landscape rich and bright. On such a site, the sun will always be a long-awaited and regular guest. In this issue, we will find out nine of the best white-flowered shrubs that are very popular and which are best used for growing in a summer garden.

The photos and names presented on the page will help you understand the variety of such crops for the garden. Useful tips on agricultural technology and cultivation on a personal plot will allow you to create beauty with your own hands. Well, a brief description of shrubs with white flowers, their photos and names will help you make the right choice at the fair for gardeners.

Look at this photo for white flowering shrubs

Fothergilla is a luxurious white flowering shrub

This is a luxurious plant with fragrant ruff inflorescences. Landscape designers appreciate the fothergilla for its delicate appearance and good resistance to the Russian changing climate. But few varieties have this characteristic. The main ones freeze even in St. Petersburg. Therefore, they try to grow fothergilla carefully in greenhouses or in private collections. This shrub, blooming with white flowers, has a natural habitat - North America, where there is a warm climate and mild conditions. But, thanks to modern breeding, varieties and species have been bred that easily take root in cold regions.

Fothergilla belongs to the Hamamelis family. This shrub with white flowers is very rare in private collections of flower growers. Only 2 or 3 natural species are known. The rest are hybrids. A perennial shrub is a low plant - no more than 1-3 meters tall. Leaf plates are neat, oval in shape, attached with elastic petioles to woody shoots. In autumn, the crown is painted in bright orange and red tones.

Fothergilla blooms in spring. At this time, the perennial produces numerous small flowers, collected in white brush inflorescences at the tips of the stems. The bud is a snow-white and very fragrant stamen. It exudes a rich honey scent.

In culture, the following species are known - Large, Indian and Gardena. They all come from North America. Fothergilla Large is the most whimsical and tall. It grows at a mature age up to 3 meters in height. Fothergilla Gardena is more compact - no more than 1 m. The Indian species is the most whimsical and rare. It grows exclusively in the wild nature of the Indian Peninsula.

Weigela of the Honeysuckle family

This shrub with white flowers is used in Russian culture more often than Fotergilla. Weigela is not so whimsical in care. It easily adapts to any conditions. It belongs to the perennial shrub of the Honeysuckle family. About 15 varieties are known, 3 of them are actively found in the forests of Russia as wild plants. In culture, mainly plants with white or pink flowers are used.

Weigela stems are powerful, they form a sprawling shrub that blooms with white flowers. The plant needs to be constantly looked after and updated with pruning. Without this procedure, the perennial grows strongly and may lose its decorative effect. The leaf blades are opposite. Leaves with shoots and long petioles are attached. Oval plate with serrated or serrated edges.

Weigela blooms for a long time with small pink and white flowers. Buds are usually solitary on long peduncles. Some varieties may form small loose inflorescences. In horticulture, they mainly grow compact shrubs, no more than 1.5-2 meters high. Weigela is a great addition to a garden or front garden. It can be planted next to lilacs and other interesting varieties of flowering shrubs.

Look at the bushes with white flowers in the photo and continue to get acquainted with their names:

Lilac with white flowers

This shrub is perhaps the most popular of all. Lilac belongs to the olive family. She captivates with her fragrance. By the way, shrub varieties with white flowers are more odorous. In Russia, lilacs of such varieties are very rare. Basically, white varieties with small flowers collected in elegant inflorescences are grown in the Moscow region.

About 30 varieties of lilac are known in the world. Thanks to its unusually beautiful appearance, breeders over the years of their work have created many of the most beautiful and fragrant varieties. There are also shrubs that bloom with white flowers. Basically, these are perennials quite whimsical to climatic conditions. Also, flower growers highlight that with white flowers, lilac bushes are more compact and neat. The most famous varieties include the following:

  • 'Miss Helen Wilmot' is a beautiful shrub with white flowers in racemes. This perennial is large and very fragrant. There are a lot of inflorescences. The flowering period is in spring and early summer. The variety is whimsical and to maintain its decorative effect, it is necessary to monitor the external environment.
  • "Beauty of Moscow" - a variety bred by Kolesnikov. It was thanks to him that the breeder received the Lilac Golden Branch award. This is a luxurious compact plant with snow-white double flowers in racemose apical inflorescences. The variety is not capricious and is easy to grow in greenhouses and gardens.
  • Varieties of the variety "Amur lilac" - almost all bloom with white and bluish flowers in racemes. This species is thermophilic. In warm regions, it is a long-liver. In cool climates, it develops much more slowly and requires shelter for the winter.

Deutia Compact Shrub

Incredibly beautiful compact shrub with white flowers and a long flowering period. In the wild, a member of the Hortensia family can reach a height of 4 meters. The natural habitat is Asia. There are 50 known varieties in the world. In Russia, only some are used that are frost-resistant and unpretentious in nature. In adulthood, the action is a sprawling shrub with woody stems.

Dark green leaves. The leaves are opposite, attached to the shoots with short petioles. They become an excellent backdrop for beautiful snow-white flowers. The buds have no fragrance. The only disadvantage of choosing such a shrub is that it blooms only after reaching 25 years of age. Of course, you can buy an adult plant, which modern markets allow you to do. Flowering begins in late spring and ends in 2-4 weeks.

Before the action blooms, the perennial strongly resembles honeysuckle. Known, undersized and tall varieties. The former are often grown to decorate borders. Tall action can often be seen as solitary plantings.

Magnolia - luxurious shrub

The most luxurious and delicate shrub with white flowers, but it is often grown in private greenhouses. In the open field, especially in our changing climate, the plant will experience trouble. Cold and strong winds, periodic heavy rains can adversely affect the development of magnolia. Therefore, they try to grow a delicate shrub from the Magnolia family in captivity.

Magnolia stems are covered with smooth dark brown bark. Shoots are elastic, woody. They form a dense shrub. Leaf blades are green, arranged oppositely on petioles. Leaf shape is oval or elliptical. The plate is smooth with distinct veins.

Magnolia blooms during the warm season. White very fragrant flowers, reach up to 12 cm in diameter. The petals are snow-white or with a light yellow coating, layered on top of each other, creating the effect of a multi-layered corolla. More common varieties with pink buds. Petals falling to the ground form a carpet. The fact is that the flowers do not fade for a long time, and the leaves die only after a few days.

Viburnum - a symbol of female beauty

This plant is the most resistant to frost. The symbol of female beauty withstands frosts down to -35 degrees without shelter. On the contrary, some varieties of Kalina bloom even brighter and more attractive after a long wintering period. There is an opinion among flower growers that the flowers of this plant symbolize feminine beauty and simplicity. Viburnum belongs to the Adox family. A total of 163 species are known, included in the Kalina genus. Many of them are used as ornamental plants. Also, viburnum is grown to obtain medicinal raw materials from bitter fruits.

Viburnum is a large deciduous shrub that blooms with white flowers throughout the spring. In adulthood, it can reach a height of 3 meters. Shoots are covered with gray rough bark. The leaf blades are opposite. The leaves are attached to the stems with long petioles. In winter, on the shoots you can see the buds covered with scales.

Flowering begins in May, when the region gets warmer. Branches bloom by the end of June. The shrub blooms with white small flowers collected in umbellate apical inflorescences. During the flowering period, the bush exudes a pleasant bitter aroma. Toward the end of summer, black, red or yellow berries-fruits are formed. Many varieties have medicinal properties, and their fruits are used for food and for the preparation of decoctions and tinctures.

Clematis - spreading and compact

This is a beautiful plant with creeping, woody stems. Skillful flower growers form sprawling and compact shrubs from clematis. The genus of the Buttercup family is famous for its variety of species. There are shrubs not only with white, but also blue, red and purple buds.

Thin green shoots have leaf blades on them. They are simple, petiolate, slightly elongated oval. There are several varieties of inflorescences. In some varieties, the flowers can be collected in a panicle, in others in apical brushes.

Flowering is short. It starts in June and lasts no more than 3-4 weeks. Clematis with white flowers is very popular. Even despite the fact that such varieties are very rare in our regions. Most often, flower growers grow clematis with blue or blue flowers. The plant is suitable for decorating a resting place in the garden. The fact is that during the flowering period, it exudes an incredibly luxurious and delicate aroma that resembles a cross between almond and jasmine.

Hydrangea - shrub with white flowers

In the warmer regions of our country one can often see hydrangea as a garden plant. It belongs to the Hortensia family and includes a huge number of interesting varieties. All of them can be divided into small groups. Some are represented in nature as wild large shrubs with white flowers and spreading branches. Others are more like evergreen trees.

In its natural environment, the hydrangea bush reaches up to 4 meters in height. In garden conditions, the perennial grows no more than 2 meters and constantly requires careful care. Although it cannot be said that hydrangea is capricious. The stems develop well and quickly form a crown with large green leaves. Leaf plates are simple, oval in shape with a sharp tip. They are attached to the stems with long petioles and are arranged oppositely.

Perhaps the hydrangea is one of the most interesting plants. The fact is that its small flowers are an indicator of the state of the soil. If it is neutral, then the flowers will be white. On sour - blue and blue. The flowers are collected in umbellate inflorescences at the tops of the stems. Some varieties exude a light and pleasant aroma.

Mock orange is confused with jasmine

Mock orange also belongs to the Hydrangea family. Often this plant is confused with jasmine. But, their difference is that this perennial is less whimsical. This shrub, blooming with white flowers, is more often grown in our regions. All varieties are divided into two large groups. The first is dwarf perennials, up to 70-80 cm high. The second is tall. In the wild, the shrub grows up to 6 meters.

Mock orange blooms with white or cream flowers. They exude a very bright sweet aroma. Almost all varieties develop as perennial shrubs with pronounced trunks. The stems are covered with thin brownish-gray bark. The leaves are oval, arranged oppositely. The plates are large, up to 7-8 cm in length.

During the flowering period, mock orange forms numerous double or single flowers. The corolla is like a cup, which, opening up, exudes a lovely aroma. Flowering is not long - no more than three weeks.

Learn more