The Top 5 New Deciduous Shrubs for Spring 2025
In any spring season new shrub variety introductions are always exciting. Plant breeders are continually working on introducing new deciduous shrubs that provide us with exceptional performance; making gardening easier and that much more enjoyable. Here are just a very few of all the new deciduous shrubs for 2025.
Bloomerang Ballet Reblooming Lilac (Syringa) Zone 3-7 Proven Winners
Full Sun
The Bloomerang Lilac series are one of the best new shrub introductions to Zone 3b to come along in years. They are very tough, have good disease resistance and their best attribute; two seasons of bloom! They will tolerate many soil types but do not plant in soggy, wet areas. A great shrub for small urban yards.
The frilly, pink blooms of Bloomerang Ballet are a dainty version of a typical prairie lilac. Their fragrant flowers appear in spring, take a rest in early summer and then re-bloom in late summer into fall. You can also enjoy them indoors as a cut flower. The shrub itself is small, maturing to a height and spread of 90 cm to 1.2 m. It has an upright, mounding habit - just right to fit into any landscape.
Bloomerang Lilacs bloom on old and new wood. There really is no need to prune, but if desired, prune lightly just after the first bloom period.
Their blooms attract many pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. They provide pollinators with food in early fall, just when other flowers have finished blooming.
Fertilizer – Spring and mid-summer with a slow release blooming tree and shrub fertilizer. Do not fertilize immediately after planting – give the new shrub time to establish. Provide regular watering until the plant has established and during hot, dry spells.
Fall Leaf Color: Yellow
Deer resistant
Others in the series: Bloomerang Showmound – white – New for 2025
Bloomerang Purpink
Bloomerang Dark Purple
Sgt Pepper Tatarian Dogwood Zone 3-7 Proven Winners
Cornus alba
Full sun to part shade.
Dogwoods have always been popular on the prairies. Most are exceptionally hardy, cold tolerant and provide the garden with beautiful fall color and winter interest.
The size of Sgt. Pepper at maturity is very manageable achieving a height of 1.2 – 1.8 m and a spread of 1.2 – 1.8 m. The new leaves in spring carry a pink flush with creamy edges. The pink fades in summer only to turn burgundy with a pink flush in fall.
Blooms: Clusters of small creamy-white flowers.
Prune out one third of the oldest stems every three to five years. This is best done in spring after blooming. During the summer new growth is on burgundy red stems that persist into winter.
Fertilization: Fertilize in spring with an all-purpose slow release tree and shrub fertilizer. Do not fertilize newly planted shrubs as over fertilization can easily injure new roots.
Dogwoods can tolerate moist, well drained areas of the yard.
Water new plantings regularly until established and in hot, dry weather.
FlowerFull Smooth Hydrangea Zone 3-8 First Editions Shrubs and Trees
Hydrangea arborescens
Full Sun to Part Shade
During the past five years, the hydrangea world has just bloomed with new introductions. Again, plant breeders have focused on giving us shrubs that are a manageable size for urban gardens and concentrated on choosing cultivars with sturdy stems to avoid floppy blooms. FlowerFull Smooth ticks all those boxes!
FlowerFull Smooth has a mature height of 90 cm–1.2 m and a mature spread of 1.2-1.5 m. It has a beautiful rounded form with masses of white fluffy blooms that appear in summer and sit on strong, sturdy stems. An added bonus is that the blooms will not flop in wind and rain. Excellent disease resistance and a low maintenance shrub.
Fertilize in spring with a slow-release, balanced flowering shrub and tree fertilizer.
Plant hydrangea in a rich, well-drained soil. Amend poorer soils with compost and coir to improve drainage.
Water regularly in spring and summer. Keep the soil moist but never soggy.
Pruning – Blooms on new wood so prune back to about cm in height in early spring before leaves appear. Deadhead in late summer or early fall when blooms begin to fade.
Hydrangea blooms are outstanding as a cut flower in a vase or arrangement.
Easy as Pie Cherry Zone 3-8 Proven Winners
Prunus x ‘SMNPJL’ PPAF
So easy to grow!
Full sun.
Mature Height: 3 – 4.5 ft. Mature Spread: 3 – 4.5 ft.
Can tolerate extremely cold winter temperatures (-40 C)
This is a bush cherry (shrub) - not a tree.
Self-pollinating white and pink flowers in early spring. This cherry blooms on old wood so pruning is not recommended. If you prune it after flowering, you will be removing fruit. Encourage pollinators to your garden – they will love these early spring blooms!
No disease issues. Keep this shrub consistently moist for best fruit production.
Fertilize in early spring with a balanced, slow release Fruit Tree and Shrub fertilizer.
Very juicy, red, tart cherries. Harvest when fully red and juicy. Used for cooking, baking and canning.
Vivid yellow and orange fall foliage.
Soil – Easy as Pie is just that when it comes to soil requirements. You can grow it in just about any type of soil but it must be in an area that has excellent drainage. Does well in alkaline prairie soil.
Before cherries start to ripen, cover with ½ inch or smaller bird netting as you will lose the fight with the birds if left uncovered. Set up temporary four corner supports and drape the netting, keeping it away from the shrub. Birds can peck through the netting if it is placed directly on the shrub.
Stay Classy Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Zone 2-8 Proven Winners
Prunus x cisterna
Part Shade to Full Sun
A cultivar of a tried and true extremely hardy prairie shrub that has been around the nursery world since 1910! Stay Classy is a smaller form of the original hybrid, Purple Leaf Sand Cherry.
Mature Height: 90 cm - 1.2 m Mature Spread: 1.2 m
Stay Classy has dark burgundy foliage and blooms on old wood in early spring. The flowers are white with pink centres. Bees and butterflies are attracted to the early blooms when other food sources are few and far between. It makes a striking backdrop for a mass planting of Supertunia Vista Pink Bubblegum.
This is a fast growing shrub with an upright, mounding habit. It will grow in most soils that have good drainage. It is drought tolerant once established. Do water though during a prolonged drought. Please be aware that if this shrub is placed in too much shade, the leaves will turn a bronze green color and flowering will be significantly reduced.
Pruning – Requires minimal pruning. You can lightly prune it after it flowers if necessary.
Fertilization – If required, fertilize in early spring with a slow-release, balanced, flowering shrub and tree fertilizer.
Fall Interest - Fall leaf color is a bronze green.
Disease resistant.