Shrub: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 3 meters (10 feet) tall. Small, low shrubs such as lavender or santolina are often termed subshrubs.

'Shrubs' in garden practice are generally broad-leaved, though some smaller conifers such as Mountain Pine and Common Juniper are also shrubby in structure. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen.

When clipped as topiary, shrubs generally have dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together. Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning, in which hard cutting back to a 'stool' results in long new canes. Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to reveal their structure and character.

List of Shrubs

(very incomplete!)

• Barberry (Berberis)
• Box (Buxus)
• Heather (Calluna)
• Camellia (Camellia)
• Ceanothus (Ceanothus)
• Staff vine (Celastrus)
• Dogwood (Cornus)
• Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus)
• Broom (Cytisus, Genista and allied genera)
• Heath (Erica)
• Escallonia (Escallonia)
• Spindle (Euonymus)
• Forsythia (Forsythia)
• Fuchsia (Fuchsia)
• Salal (Gaultheria)
• Witch-hazel (Hamamelis)
• Hebe (Hebe)
• Hibiscus (Hibiscus)
• Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae)
• Hydrangea (Hydrangea)
• Rose of Sharon (Hypericum)
• Holly (Ilex)
• Juniper (Juniperus)
• Mountain laurel (Kalmia)
• Beauty-bush (Kolkwitzia)
• Privet (Ligustrum)
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera)
• Mahonia (Mahonia)
• Myrtle (Myrtus and allied genera)
• Osmanthus (Osmanthus)
• Tree-peony (Paeonia)
• Mock-orange (Philadelphus)
• Pieris (Pieris)
• Cinquefoil (Potentilla)
• Firethorn (Pyracantha)
• Buckthorn (Rhamnus)
• Rhododendron, Azalea (Rhododendron)
• Currant (Ribes)
• Rose (Rosa)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus)
• Tea (Camellia sinensis)
• Willow (Salix)
• Elder (Sambucus)
• Mescalbean (Sophora)
• Snowberry (Symphoricarpus)
• Lilac (Syringa)
• Thyme (Thymus)
• Gorse (Ulex)
• Blueberry, Bilberry, Cranberry (Vaccinium)
• Viburnum (Viburnum)

'Shrub' is a derogatory nickname for George W. Bush.