If you are looking for ways to add cheerful colors to your property, then you should consider incorporating several yellow flowering bushes into your backyard and front yard gardens. Yellow has a special kind of brightness that pops against virtually any background.
Therefore, if you have deep green or brown foliage in your garden, you should adorn it with some yellow flowering bushes. This article offers you the 10 beautiful yellow flowering bushes to bring color and happiness to your property.
What Are Yellow Flowering Bushes?
Yellow flowering bushes are the ornamental varieties that make perfect sense for garden redecoration. Their fancy flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators, and they will catch the attention of every passer-by. Note that most yellow flowering bushes prefer moist soil.
While yellow flowering bushes are easy to maintain, there are several things you can do to boost their growth and performance. First, these shrubs enjoy full sun. Therefore, make sure your bushes get at least six hours of sunlight every day. Although most of these yellow bushes can tolerate less than this, their ability to bloom will reduce if they do not get enough sun.
Next, many yellow flowering shrubs grow well in well-draining soil. The overly wet, swampy, or muddy ground will affect the growth of your yellow bushes. Also, ensure that your soil is rich in organic matter.
Mulching around your yellow flowering shrubs will ensure that moisture is reserved in the soil, weeds remain under the shrubs, and new organic materials have a chance to work their way into the ground that the bushes are growing in.
While these flowering bushes like well-draining soil, they can also do great if watered frequently. They should receive at least two inches (5 cm.) of water every week.
If the rain isn’t enough to provide this amount of moisture, you should supplement it with water from the sprinkler. But, if you are concerned about water conservation, many yellow flowering plants can endure periods of reduced watering.
10 Yellow Flowering Bushes
1. Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)
There isn’t a shrub that cheers up gardeners every spring more than the forsythia bush. Botanically known as Forsythia x intermedia, this shrub is one of the more widely grown types of yellow flowering plants. Also, it is an early bloomer and its yellow flowers signal the end of winter.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Needs: Well-drained; tolerates clay
2. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)
While Forsythia is the most popular of the yellow flowering shrubs that bloom in early spring, it isn’t the first to bloom. It even blooms after the ‘Arnold Promise’ cultivar. However, the yellow blooms of witch hazel aren’t as bright as those of forsythia.
But witch hazel flowers do offer a “dry” smell that is unique. Another unique benefit of growing this yellow flower bush is that it will give your garden the most rousing fall color.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Soil Needs: Well-drained, acid
3. Azalea (Rhododendron)
Also referred to as Golden Oriole azalea (Rhododendron ‘Golden Oriole’), azaela is one of the cultivars that bear yellow flowers. However, they aren’t pure yellow because some gold and orange pattern work their way into the mix.
If you want pure yellow in your azalea shrub, try Rhododendron x Narcissiflora. Azaela’s lemon-yellow flowers, which are slightly scented, bloom in mid-spring.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
- Sun Exposure: Part sun to part shade
- Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained, acid
4. Yellow Roses (Rosa)
If you are looking for a shrub with yellow roses that denote both friendship and happiness in the language of flowers, then this ‘Gold Medal’ rose bush will undoubtedly bring you joy with its bright-yellow blooms. The shrub measures 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. Its flowers come in late spring to early summer. If you want the shrub to re-bloom, you need to deadhead the flowers.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 10
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Needs: Fertile, moist, well-drained
5. Japanese Rose (Kerria japonica)
Botanically referred to as Kerria japonica, Japanese rose can produce single or double flowers. The two blooming options are quite popular among gardeners. Both options will give you more than just yellow blooms. This shrub blooms in early spring or mid-spring.
Its stems feature a kelly green color that affords not only winter interest but year-round interest. Another benefit of growing this bush is that it will re-bloom throughout the summer.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 6
- Sun Exposure: Part shade
- Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained, loamy
6. Mahonia Shrub (Mahonia spp.)
Mahonia belongs to a group of shrubs in the barberry family. This bush is closely related to the better-known barberry shrubs that are very common in home landscapes. Japanese mahonia (M. japonica) produces pale-yellow flowers that bloom in April.
Also referred to as Oregon grape or Oregon grape-holly, mahonia shrub grows 5 to 7 feet tall and 7 to 10 feet wide at maturity.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 9
- Sun Exposure: Part shade to full shade
- Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained
7. St. John’s Wort (Hypericum ‘Hidecote’)
Although St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is considered to be an aggressive plant in North America, it doesn’t mean that all members of this species are bad. There are many cultivars of this genus that have shown to be quite valuable in landscaping.
For instance, unlike the weedy Hypericum perforatum, the Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ cultivar has beautiful, dark green foliage and golden-yellow flowers that will add color to your garden.
It is normally grown in zones 5 to 9 and blooms all summer long. St. John’s Wort can be anywhere between 2 and 4 feet tall, with a similar width. Other varieties are also eye-catching, with yellow flowers that produce berries in various colors in fall, depending on the cultivar:
- inodorum ‘Kolmapuki’ (marketed as ‘Pumpkin’) gets orange berries in fall.
- inodorum ‘Kolmaref’ (better known as ‘Red Fame’) has bright red berries.
- inodorum ‘Kolmawhi’ has white berries.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained; tolerates rocky and sandy soils
8. Lydian Broom (Genista Lydia)
Also referred to as Genista Lydia, Lydian broom will remind you of the popular Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius). Both are aggressive in some regions. The Lydian broom does well in zones 5 to 9 and it requires full sun. Also, it flourishes in dry, poor soils and enjoys sandy ground.
That’s why it requires sharp drainage. If you don’t want it to become invasive in your garden, you should just give it ample water and improve the soil with soil amendments. This may seem counterintuitive, but it will slow it down enough to prevent it from invading your garden.
This drought-tolerant shrub bears tiny leaves, but its bright yellow flowers, which bloom in early summer, compensate for that. Its blooms resemble the ones on pea plants, considering that the shrub does belong to the pea family. It grows up to 1 to 2 feet high and 3 to 4 feet wide. Lydian Broom offers excellent ground cover and it’s great for rock gardens.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Needs: Dry, sandy, well-drained
9. Bush Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)
There are several varieties of cinquefoil (Potentilla), which belong to the larger rose family. In fact, Potentilla argentea is a weed that commonly grows along pavements in North America. But bush cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) is a great landscape plant that does well in zones 2 to 6. It grows to 1 to 4 feet tall with a similar width.
Its blooms come out in late spring or early summer.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 6
- Color Varieties: Yellow, pink, orange, white
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained
10. Camellia (Camellia nitidissima)
One of the unique things about Camellias is the fact that they do not do very well in cold. They are commonly found in warm areas, like the American Southeast, where their flowers come in the early spring. They produce dark-green leaves with a perfect sheen to them.
The shape of their flowers is suggestive of roses. These bushes come in a variety of colors, including bi-colored varieties. This bush produces both single and double flowers. If you want camellia with yellow flowers, you should try Camellia nitidissima, especially if your garden is in zones 8, 9, and 10.
This evergreen bush grows to about 8 to 18 feet tall with a width of about 6 to 12 feet. It thrives in partial shade. You should also add mulch to preserve moisture in the soil and keep its roots cool, but do not allow the mulch to touch the plant’s trunk. Also, camellia is a deer-resistant shrub.
Specifications
- USDA Growing Zones: 8 to 10
- Color Varieties: Yellow, pink, red, white
- Sun Exposure: Part shade
- Soil Needs: Evenly moist, well-drained
FAQs About Yellow Flowering Bushes
What are the most common yellow spring-flowering bushes?
The two most common yellow flowering shrubs for spring are Forsythia Intermedia and Forsythia Suspensa. These two present a delightful beauty in spring, displaying their stunning yellow flowers.
How long do forsythias stay in bloom?
Forsythia, one of the most prominent yellow flowering shrubs, produces some beautiful yellow blooms that persist for 10 to 14 days. So, if you have Forsythias in your garden, make sure they get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day and are planted in well-draining soil.
