Shrubs can greatly enhance the landscaping of your home year round. Shrubs offer many features that trees or perennial herbaceous plants cannot. They are small enough to be planted in many places that trees do not fit yet are large enough to fill large spaces and provide mass and structure. They contribute a variety of ornamental qualities to the landscape such as beautiful flowers, striking foliage, attractive fruits or even colorful stems. Their longevity adds life to the landscape during the dormant season and for years to come.
Above 6,000 feet, suitable landscape plants are quite different from those for low-elevation desert. High elevation winters include snow and temperatures below zero. Winter hardiness is one important factor to consider when choosing a shrub. Many may think that because this part of Arizona is no colder than states to the north that plants will perform similarly or better. However, low levels of precipitation in May and June, combined with strong drying winds and late spring or early autumn frosts make it difficult to grow plants which are otherwise low-temperature hardy. In addition, large fluctuations in temperature in the winter months may have an adverse affect on some otherwise hardy shrubs.
Microclimate has a strong influence on the kinds of plants that will succeed on a given site. A tree or shrub that does not grow well in an open, windswept location or cold meadow bottom at 5,000 feet may be quite satisfactory at 6,000 feet in a protected location or against a warm south- facing slope, where it is said to be in a milder microclimate. A key to successful landscaping in Northern Arizona is an understanding of location of the planting site and careful selection of plants that will thrive under those climatic conditions.