Shrubs & Trees for Zone 7

The United States Department of Agriculture has divided the country into 11 plant hardiness zones based on winter low temperatures. Zone 7 stretches from the Southern Mid-Atlantic states west through North Texas, and includes large parts of states like Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas, Winter lows between 0 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit are typical of Zone 7. A wide range of trees and shrubs are suited to this climate.

Deciduous shrubs are those that drop their leaves in fall and regrow them in spring. Deciduous shrubs that display particularly vibrant fall colors include red chokeberry, highbrush blueberry, oakleaf hydrangea and Virginia Sweetspire, all of which thrive in Zone 7. A number of flowering ornamental shrubs are also well-suited to this zone, including smooth hydrangea, bush honeysuckle and several different varieties of azalea and rhododendron.

Evergreen shrubs keep their foliage in winter for year-round color and include both needle-leafed and broad-leafed types. Evergreen shrubs for Zone 7 include Yaupon holly, mountain laurel, Mugo pine and Eastern arborvitae, along with blue nest spruce, compact white fir, common wax-myrtle and wintercreeper.

A wide range of deciduous trees grow in Zone 7. These include large shade trees like red maple, bur oak, black walnut, American beech and weeping willow, as well as smaller trees such as hazel alder, red buckeye, chalk maple and Hawthorne. Also consider flowering ornamental trees like bigleaf magnolia, flowering dogwood, Eastern redbud and crabapple. Several varieties of cherry, plum, peach and other fruit trees also thrive in Zone 7.

Eastern red cedar, bald cypress, Atlantic white cedar, loblolly pine, scotch pine and Norway spruce are a few of the needle-leafed evergreens that grow well in Zone 7. Broad-leafed varieties like American holly, Southern magnolia, live oak and redbay also grow here.