🌿 List of Freeze-Resistant Shrubs for Houston from a Horticulturist

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🌿 The Best Freeze-Resistant Shrubs for Houston Landscapes 🌿

If you’ve lived in Houston for a while, you know our winters have been throwing us some surprises lately! ❄️ With temperatures dipping into the 20s almost every year, homeowners are tired of replacing plants that can’t handle the cold. At Garden Guy, we’ve seen firsthand which shrubs survive and which ones don’t.

I’m Todd Farber, a Houston native and Texas A&M horticulture graduate (Class of ’91), and I’ve been helping Houston homeowners create beautiful, resilient landscapes for nearly 30 years. If you’re looking for hardy, evergreen shrubs that will stand up to Houston’s heat AND those unexpected freezes, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our list of the best freeze-resistant shrubs to keep your landscape looking great year-round! 🌱👇

✅ Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) – Native, evergreen, and nearly indestructible.
✅ Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) – Fast-growing, great for screening, and very adaptable.
✅ Dwarf Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta 'Dwarf Burford') – Stays compact and handles hard freezes.
✅ Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica) – Classic, reliable, and evergreen.
✅ Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) – Loves the heat but shrugs off freezes too.
✅ Cleyera (Ternstroemia gymnanthera) – Shade-tolerant, evergreen, and freeze-hardy! 🌿
✅ Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) – Deciduous but very cold-hardy with stunning fall color.
✅ Sweetspire (Itea virginica) – Handles heat, cold, and wet soil with ease.
✅ Spirea (Spiraea spp.) – Beautiful blooms and reliable freeze resistance.

✅ My personal favorite is : Cleyera (Ternstroemia gymnanthera) it s another fantastic freeze-resistant shrub for Houston! 🌿💪

It's an evergreen, thrives in both sun and shade, and handles cold snaps down into the low 20s without much damage. Plus, it has beautiful glossy foliage that transitions to a reddish-bronze in winter.— Todd Farber, Garden Guy

🚫 Shrubs to Avoid in Freeze-Prone Areas:

❌ Bottlebrush – Struggles with repeated hard freezes.
❌ Oleander – Suffers severe dieback in temps below 25°F.
❌ Esperanza (Tecoma stans) – Dies back to the ground in a freeze.
❌ Duranta (Duranta erecta) – Sensitive to cold snaps.

Would you like recommendations based on specific areas in your yard (shade, sun, privacy screens, etc.)?

🌿 I can help you at this link

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