Red is one of the most striking colors a flower can have. Against a sea of soft and delicate yellows, pinks, blues, and even purples, red is a color that draws attention to itself and is a great way of drawing the eye to a particular spot in your garden.
To that end, we have found some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful flowering shrubs that are available in red. Add any of these plants to your garden, and your arrangement will be the center of attention for any avid gardening enthusiast!
Here are 8 astonishing red flowering shrubs for your garden!
Azalea
Starting us off appropriately with the start of the alphabet, we have the lovely Azalea. These beautiful shrubs grow all over the Northern Hemisphere, and come in a variety of shades and colors, from light pinks to oranges, to yellows and reds. These perennial flowers tend to blossom in the spring. Their shallow roots also make them great options if you are looking for the ideal small flowering plant to grow in containers or pots!
Azaleas are a common brush plant that is grown across East Asia, as well as increasingly in the United States. They are often the centerpiece of many flower arrangements in contests in these regions, adding a small, vibrant dash of color to any situation.
Camellia
Staying in Asia for our flowering shrubs, we have the Camellia. Usually grown as an evergreen shrub. Camellia plants can also grow as trees, sometimes reaching over 60 feet tall!
Their bright flowers come in a range of colors from the over 100 different species of this plant, from yellow and pink that contrast well with deep reds, depending on the variant.
The leaves of this garden plant aren’t just for show, either. They are also used in tea to create a fragrant, flowery smell and taste.
Originally known to Americans and Europeans as the ‘Japanese rose’, the flower was actually grown for hundreds of years in mainland Asia, in China especially, and some coming from India as well.
Chaenomeles
Also known as the ‘flowering quince’, Chaenomeles are a flowering plant grown in and around Southeast Asia. These fiery little plants grow their flowers in small clusters along their woody branches. They are a smaller shrub, rarely growing past 10 feet tall, usually staying around 3 to 6 feet in height.
They are a very hardy type of flowering shrub. Even the least nutrient-filled soils won’t stop this feisty plant from planting its roots and reaching for the sun. Or growing into the shade as well, given that they grow just as well when in the shade as they do in open sunlight. Great for a gardener that is tight on space, and looking for something that doesn’t need too much sun to grow.
Willhelm
A beautiful example of a flowering shrub, the Willhelm is a beautiful rose plant. They are a fast-growing plant, able to grow in a variety of different soils. If you have a patch in your garden, and you’re not sure what to put there, you can’t go wrong with a good rose plant like this. Whether it’s soft and loamy or filled with clay, the bright pinks and reds are sure to come through wonderfully.
Plus, the rose plant that the flowers grow in is a very hardy specimen, able to take a whole range of weather conditions, without needing special attention. Even winter isn’t strong enough to kill off these plants!
Just be careful when handling them. Their sharp thorns might stop others from picking them, but they’re also a pain to manage for yourself!
Hibiscus
A native of the United States variety of flora, hibiscus, the Rose mallow, in this case, is a beautiful flower that favors swampier conditions for it to grow in. Its large, wide flowers are a classic to find in a garden, though they do need a lot of care and attention if they are being grown in places away from the tropics.
These flowers are very popular with pollinator animals. Many species of bees, butterflies wasps, and other insects love feeding off the nectar this plant produces. They are also a popular plant for the larva of several insect species to grow in, such as pearly wood nymphs, and the common checkered skipper. If you’re looking to bring a little biodiversity into your garden, hibiscus is a beautiful option that any gardener worth their trowel should consider.
Chrysanthemums
Moving back to Asia for our next flower, the chrysanthemum is a vibrant red flower native to both Asia and Eastern Europe, though is now grown all around the world by enthusiastic gardeners and botanists. They tend to grow no more than 2 to 3 feet tall, and bloom in a huge range of colors, from yellow to purple, to pink, to red.
Each color has many meanings attached to them, depending on the location. In China, for example, a red chrysanthemum is often a symbol of romance and love. If someone gives you a red one of these, count yourself lucky!
They can be grown in containers, so a great plant to learn the basics of gardening with too.
Bougainvillea
Moving to South America for this entry, the bougainvillea is a family of thorny flowing plants to the Southeast of South America, growing across south Brazil, Argentina, and even Peru. They tend to be ornamental plants, covering walls or large areas with their long, tangling stems.
The actual flowers of these plants are usually very small, and usually white. However, the bract that surrounds each cluster comes in a whole range of colors, including a very deep red.
If you are looking for a beautiful shrub that you want to grow over an arch, a trellis, or even an entire wall. These tough, hardy drought resistant plants will cover all your needs. And your garden, hopefully!
African Queen
For a truly unique flowering shrub to have in your garden, look no further than the African queen. Growing anywhere from 6 to 8 feet tall, the real show-stopper here is the flower, which are huge trumpet lilies that themselves can get as big as 8 inches long, and grow in clusters of up to 20 of these beauties.
Their brilliant fragrance brings almost as much character as the flower itself and is a great way of adding another layer of complexity to your garden arrangement, as well as encouraging pollinators into your garden. Just make sure to remove any dead or dying flowers from the plant, as this will save energy for your plant’s remaining bloom.
