Deciduous Shrubs and Vines
Nanking Cherry - Link to Prunus tomentosa pictures and plant profile
Full sun, variety of soils
Excellent privacy hedge while producing inch red cherries eaten by Woodpeckers, Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Blue Jays, and Cardinals. Also edible for humans with a taste between a tart and sweet cherry.
Sandcherry - Link to Prunus pumila pictures and plant profile
Good on sandy, dry rock sites
Native to Manistee County. Reddish stems, small white flowers, low growing (under 3 foot) shrub with purple-black fruit. This very tart fruit is eatable. Important as grouse, bird, bear, and chipmunk food.
Chokecherry - Link to Prunus virginiana pictures and plant profile
Full sun, range of soils, prefers moderately to well drained sites.
Native to Manistee County. This shrub will typically grow rapidly to heights of 30' tall with a spread of 20' at maturity. In the late summer, early fall this small tree produces a black cherry that attracts wildlife and has a pleasing autumn color.
Ninebark
- Link to Physocarpus opulifolius pictures and plant profile
Full sun, flood plain and upland soils types
Native to Manistee County. Spreading native shrub growing 3 to 9 foot in height. Bark of larger branches shedding into many layers. Snowy white to pink flowers and reddish-brown pods giving wildlife food. Good for stream bank stabilization.
Butterflybush - Link to Buddeja davidii pictures and plant profile
Drought toleerant
Butterfly bush is a popular shrub, flowering from July until frost. It has long spiked flowers. The shrub dies back in the winter, shoots up again, and bears flowers on the growth that year. Deer do not like to eat this shrub.
Rose of Sharon - Link to Hibiscus syriacus pictures and plant profile
Full to part sun, drought tolerant
Native to the United States. An upright, deciduous, vigorous, multi-stemmed shrub that typically grows 8 to 12 feet tall. It has a long, early summer to fall bloom period. It is an excellent flowering shrub that may be massed, planted in groups, or used as a specimen.
Rugosa Rose - Link to Rosa rugosa pictures and plant profile
Full sun, variety of soils
Native to Michigan. A shrub with stems usually prickly, leaves compounded. When in flower, wild roses are easily recognized by their 5 l arge, pink, rose colored petals and 1" red fruit. These shrubs are very hardy, do spread, and are excellent for hedges.
Common Lilac
- Link to Syringa vulgaris pictures and plant profile
Full sun to part shade
Native to Michigan. Deciduous shrub grown for its very fragrant flowers, produced in dense panicles in mid to late spring growing to a height of 15 foot.
Highbush Cranberry - Link to Viburnum trilobum pictures and plant profile
Full sun to part shade
Native to Michigan. New foliage has a reddish tint and turns a yellow / reddish-purple color in the fall. This bush has brilliant white flowers with bright red fruit.
Redosier Dogwood - Link to Cornus sericea pictures and plant profile
Prefers full sun to moderate shade, moist to wet soil
Native to Manistee County. A spreading shrub featuring white flowers and berries. Red twigs contrast beautifully against the snowy winter.
Gray Dogwood - Link to Cornus racemosa pictures and plant profile
Prefers full sun to part shade, moderately wet well drained soils
Native to Manistee County. The Gray Dogwood is a deciduous shrub effective in shrub borders, along streams or ponds, near buildings, or planted as a screen. Can be particularly useful because of its ability to grow in poor soils.
Sargent's Crabapple Link to Malus sargentii pictures and plant profile
Full sun and is adaptable to moisture and soils
A dwarf, broad growing tree with fragrant white flowers that are followed by a small bright red fruit (which birds enjoy). The foliage in the summer is green.
Shadblow (Canadian) Serviceberry - Link to Amelanchier canadensis pictures and plant profile
Full to part sun
Native to the Eastern United States. White early spring flowers prior to foliage which changes to yellow or red in autumn. Also called juneberry, the fruit is enjoyed by a variety of wildlife and humans.
American Elderberry - Link to Sambucus canadensis pictures and plant profile
Full to partial sun, wet fertile soils
Native to Manistee County. Erect shrub with irregular crown of arching branches, height to 12'. Yellowish-gray bark on twigs. Produces black fruit on rose-red stalks September-October. Readily used by wildlife, Great on stream banks.
Trumpet Vine - Link to Campsis radicans pictures and plant profile
Full sun, range of soils and drought tolerant
Native to Michigan. Commonly found along fencerows, roadways, railroads, etc. The shrubby vine may produce aerial roots but not threadlike roots. This vine has long orange tubes and short red limbs, sometimes referred to as the “Hummingbird Vine”.
