Viburnum bushes - Ask Extension
The southwest side of my house gets quite a big of sun all day long. Also located on this site are utility meters, one in particular is about 6ft tal...
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Viburnum bushes #924743
Asked February 18, 2026, 1:04 PM EST
The southwest side of my house gets quite a big of sun all day long. Also located on this site are utility meters, one in particular is about 6ft tall. I would like to hide this and was thinking of planting Viburnum bushes in that location. I would need a bush no wider than 4 feet. If these do not work there are there any bushes you can recommend that are no more than 6ft tall and 4ft wide. I would like something dependable for Colorado weather, and that is easy to maintain. I do not want anything that has rhizomes, and spreads, I do not want vines, but something with 3 season interest.
Thank you in advance for your response
Arapahoe County Colorado
Expert Response
There are many shrubs that could fit your requirements, including Viburnums. Here are a few others:
Emerald Carousel Barberry has green summer leaves and red to purple fall color. It grows in a rounded shape, reaching 4-5 feet tall and wide. Hardy and prefers sun and dry conditions.
Mini Man Dwarf Manchurian Viburnum is a compact shrub, 4-6 feet tall and wide, with dark green leaves that turn burgundy in fall. It has white May flowers and red to black fruit in fall and winter. Needs sun and dry soil.
Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany is a dense evergreen shrub from the Southwest. It makes a great low hedge for sunny, dry areas, with small flowers that become feathery seedpods. Easy to maintain and responds well to light pruning.
Sungari Redbead Cotoneaster is an arching shrub with dark green leaves and red fall fruit. It thrives with little water, is very hardy, and resists pests and diseases. Grows large but is easy to trim to size.
Siberian Spirea is a dramatic landscape plant from Siberia. This shrub has attractive, gray-green foliage and showy panicles of white flowers in summer. It is a selection at the Cheyenne, Wyoming, USDA Field Station, where the parent plant has thrived over many decades with minimal care and irrigation. It can get about 6 feet wide.
Cheyenne Mock Orange is a North American native shrub that thrives in a variety of sites and soils. A selection at the USDA Field Station at Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it is a spectacular and carefree specimen. It has thrived there for many decades with no care—intensely fragrant, nearly two-inch, white blooms.
Miss Kim Lilac is a compact, late-blooming lilac with fragrant lavender-blue flowers and burgundy fall leaves. It is hardy, resists mildew, and works well as a border or mass planting.
Finally, some nice Ninebark shrubs offer more variety in leaf, flower, and fall color. Also, Butterfly Bush is great for pollinators.
You can find these shrubs and more information at these links:
https://plantselect.org/
https://www.thetreefarm.com/plants/shrubs?limit=all&yard_space_required=238
Native shrubs suggested by CSU can be found here:
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-shrubs-for-colorado-landscapes/
Emerald Carousel Barberry has green summer leaves and red to purple fall color. It grows in a rounded shape, reaching 4-5 feet tall and wide. Hardy and prefers sun and dry conditions.
Mini Man Dwarf Manchurian Viburnum is a compact shrub, 4-6 feet tall and wide, with dark green leaves that turn burgundy in fall. It has white May flowers and red to black fruit in fall and winter. Needs sun and dry soil.
Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany is a dense evergreen shrub from the Southwest. It makes a great low hedge for sunny, dry areas, with small flowers that become feathery seedpods. Easy to maintain and responds well to light pruning.
Sungari Redbead Cotoneaster is an arching shrub with dark green leaves and red fall fruit. It thrives with little water, is very hardy, and resists pests and diseases. Grows large but is easy to trim to size.
Siberian Spirea is a dramatic landscape plant from Siberia. This shrub has attractive, gray-green foliage and showy panicles of white flowers in summer. It is a selection at the Cheyenne, Wyoming, USDA Field Station, where the parent plant has thrived over many decades with minimal care and irrigation. It can get about 6 feet wide.
Cheyenne Mock Orange is a North American native shrub that thrives in a variety of sites and soils. A selection at the USDA Field Station at Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it is a spectacular and carefree specimen. It has thrived there for many decades with no care—intensely fragrant, nearly two-inch, white blooms.
Miss Kim Lilac is a compact, late-blooming lilac with fragrant lavender-blue flowers and burgundy fall leaves. It is hardy, resists mildew, and works well as a border or mass planting.
Finally, some nice Ninebark shrubs offer more variety in leaf, flower, and fall color. Also, Butterfly Bush is great for pollinators.
You can find these shrubs and more information at these links:
https://plantselect.org/
https://www.thetreefarm.com/plants/shrubs?limit=all&yard_space_required=238
Native shrubs suggested by CSU can be found here:
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-shrubs-for-colorado-landscapes/
