Planting

• Deciduous shrubs may be purchased already growing in containers, or, as bare-root plants. Shrubs in containers can be planted at any time during the year—during spring or summer when they are green and leafy or during fall or winter when their limbs are bare—but they are more costly than bare-root plants, which are usually available during the colder months. Prior to planting your bare-root deciduous shrub, soak the roots in a bucket or tub of water overnight to plump them up. After the initial watering during planting, these dormant plants won’t need much water until they begin sprouting early in the growing season.
  
  

Pruning

• Prune summer-blooming shrubs in late winter.taille image by Claudio Calcagno from Fotolia.com
  
  Most deciduous shrubs will benefit from occasional pruning to maintain their proper size and shape and to add vigor to promote more flowers. But, beware; you need to know when to prune in order to prevent removal of the forming flower buds which bring next season’s blossoms. Follow these pruning rules, and your deciduous shrubs should provide you with abundant flowers. For shrubs that bloom in spring or early summer, do not prune in fall or winter or you will remove the flower buds that have already formed on branches that grew the previous year. Prune these plants, as needed to maintain shape or size, as soon as their blooms have faded. For shrubs that bloom in summer, fall or winter on branches that have grown since spring, prune in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.
  
  

Spring-Flowering Deciduous Shrubs

• Forsythia leads the parade of early-spring-blooming deciduous shrubs.forsythia image by rikkidegraz from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many spring-flowering deciduous shrubs. Forsythia (Forsythia intermedia), a popular one, is often called a harbinger of spring. Its bright, yellow blossoms on arching branches leads the parade of spring-blooming plants. Bridal wreath spiraea (Spiraea prunifolia ‘Plena’) is another early bloomer, with white blooms on graceful arching branches. Azaleas are in the Rhododendron family, of which there are over 800 species and 2,000 plant selections, both deciduous and evergreen, with most blooming in mid-spring. Deciduous azaleas often top their evergreen relatives in range of flower colors, and their fall show of brilliant orange-red to maroon leaves is an added bonus.
  
  

Summer-Flowering Deciduous Shrubs

• Flowers on the butterfly bush attract butterflies throughout the summer.buddleia image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
  
  Hydrangeas (Hydrangeaceae macrophylla) burst into colors of vivid blue and shades of pink beginning in early summer. The bluest color is produced by those plants growing in acid soils, and alkaline soil produces hydrangeas in pink-to-red colors. Hydrangeas make good cut flowers and can be dried for everlastings. A magnet for butterflies all summer, the butterfly bush comes in both semi-evergreen and deciduous varieties. A popular deciduous variety is Buddleia davidii, which is available in a wide variety of colors. Hydrangeas and buddleias offer a great show during summer but provide no fall color. The reverse is true of the deciduous shrub, purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma). For most of the summer, its tiny pink flowers are hidden by green leaves, but throughout fall and into early winter, its leaves are gone, revealing clusters of brilliant purple berries. Plant a beautyberry bush for your mockingbirds and brown thrashers; they will probably consume most of the berries by late fall.
  
  

Winter-Flowering Deciduous Shrubs

• Many deciduous shrubs provide brilliant fall color.fall colors image by lenard from Fotolia.com
  
  Witch hazel (Hamamelis intermedia) is a medium-sized plant with fragrant yellow-to-red clusters of blooms that appear in late winter when the plant is still leafless. An added bonus from this plant is the brilliant red autumn foliage. There are a number of other witch hazel varieties available. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) provides a winter show, not with flowers, but with bright, red berries that appear on its bare branches in early winter. Birds love these berries. Paper bush (Edgeworthia papyrifera) is related to the evergreen shrub, daphne, but this deciduous shrub, native to China, has long leaves that turn yellow in fall before they shed and fragrant, golden yellow flowers in late summer before it leafs out. Its branches are a source of high-quality paper.