What shrubs do well in full sun?

Buddleja, Potentilla, Cistus, Ceanothus and Spiraea flower freely in full sun; they need good drainage and only light watering once established.

Do shrubs need watering in full sun?

Water well through the first two summers to settle the roots, then only in prolonged drought. Established sun-loving shrubs root deeply and rarely need more.

Border Builder

Shrubs for full sun

Shrubs for a hot, bright, south or west-facing border.

Shrubs in full sun give a border its permanent shape, but a hot, open site asks more of them than people expect. Reflected heat from walls and paving, drying wind and bright light will scorch and brown thin-leaved subjects, and the plants that flower best in sun also need decent drainage to ripen their wood and set buds. Improve the soil before planting, mulch to keep roots cool, and water through the first two summers while roots go down. After that, most need little. The shrubs here are sun-lovers that flower freely and hold good foliage in heat, from long-flowering buddleja and potentilla to aromatic, tough-leaved types that bake happily where shade-preferring shrubs would sulk and burn.

Border Builder is a garden border planner for iPhone and iPad. Pick from the 353 plants below and it works them into a full plan: how many of each, where they go, and how the bed reads through the seasons.

353 plants for this

Common questions

What shrubs do well in full sun?: Buddleja, Potentilla, Cistus, Ceanothus and Spiraea flower freely in full sun; they need good drainage and only light watering once established.
Do shrubs need watering in full sun?: Water well through the first two summers to settle the roots, then only in prolonged drought. Established sun-loving shrubs root deeply and rarely need more.

Related collections

Shrubs for borders Shrubs for shade