GrowingHQ

Shrubs for pots and containers

Set to `suitable` rather than the inclusive default, because a page titled 'shrubs for containers' is asking which are good permanent pot plants and not which will tolerate a season in one. The strict setting is also what makes the list select: at the inclusive setting it returns most of the shrubs in the catalogue, which tells a reader standing in front of an empty pot nothing at all.

How this list was built

Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 17 of the 26 shrubs qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.

17 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
BerberisBerberis thunbergiiOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade60–120 cm35 cmworkable
CamelliaCamellia japonicaOrnamentalSome care neededPartial shade, Dappled shade150–250 cm40 cmwell suited
Christmas boxSarcococca confusaOrnamentalStraightforwardFull shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade75–100 cm40 cmwell suited
CotoneasterCotoneaster horizontalisOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade120–180 cm50 cmworkable
DeutziaDeutzia gracilisOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade90–120 cm45 cmworkable
FatsiaFatsia japonicaOrnamentalStraightforwardFull shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade150–250 cm40 cmwell suited
FuchsiaFuchsiaOrnamentalStraightforwardPartial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade60–100 cm25 cmwell suited
HebeHebeOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade45–120 cm25 cmwell suited
HydrangeaHydrangea macrophyllaOrnamentalStraightforwardPartial shade, Dappled shade120–180 cm35 cmwell suited
LavenderLavandula angustifoliaOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun45–90 cm25 cmwell suited
Mexican orange blossomChoisya ternataOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade120–180 cm50 cmworkable
OsmanthusOsmanthus × burkwoodiiOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade75–150 cm60 cmworkable
PierisPieris japonicaOrnamentalSome care neededDappled shade, Partial shade120–180 cm40 cmwell suited
RhododendronRhododendronOrnamentalSome care neededDappled shade, Partial shade150–300 cm35 cmwell suited
RoseRosaOrnamentalSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade45–90 cm40 cmworkable
SkimmiaSkimmia japonicaOrnamentalSome care neededPartial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade75–100 cm40 cmwell suited
SpiraeaSpiraea japonicaOrnamentalStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade75–120 cm45 cmwell suited

This is one cut through shrubs, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.