With new plants launching every year and hundreds of varieties competing for attention, some really good plants inevitably get overlooked.
So, as you finalize your 2027 assortment, we pulled together 10 shrubs we think deserve another look. They bring standout flowers, foliage, fragrance, garden performance, or something you simply do not see everywhere else. Better yet, each had availability as of September 15, 2026. Check our online shop or check with your Bailey Sales Representative for current availability.
Here are 10 underutilized shrubs worth putting back on your radar:
First Editions® Lotus Moon™ Pearlbush
Covered in whorls of white flowers in spring, this underutilized species is an impulse purchase driver at retail and a showstopper in the garden. It brings tons of visual impact without asking much in return, making it an easy way to add something less expected to a spring assortment.
Most Available Sizes: 2′ BR (N)
First Editions® Velvet Dusk™ Dogwood
Okay, calling a brand-new introduction “underutilized” might be cheating a little. But Velvet Dusk™ is simply too interesting to leave off the list. It’s also an exclusive from Bailey Nurseries next year, so you’ll be first-to-market if you add it to your order. Velvet Dusk™ brings distinctive foliage from spring through fall. New growth and fall color emerge dark purple, while summer foliage settles into a velvety gray. It is also cold hardy, tolerant of wet soil, and adaptable from full sun to part shade.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, W, Y)
First Editions® Sapphire Surf™ Bluebeard
Bluebeard is one of those plants you see in late summer and think, “gosh, I need that!” It brings the bright cool tones to the landscape as it starts to shift to warmer fall colors. Sapphire Surf™ is a great selection that stays compact and tight, making a perfect front-of-border shrub that comes back year after year without any hassle with its beautiful deep blue flowers in late summer through fall.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, Y), JumpStarts® (G, Y)
First Editions® Big Beauty® Gardenia
Now, who doesn’t love the fragrance of a gardenia? Big Beauty® takes that familiar appeal and turns up the volume, developing into a large, rounded evergreen shrub that reaches 6 to 7 feet tall and wide. Think beyond the traditional foundation planting and consider it as a fragrant focal point or a flower-filled alternative to a standard hedge.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (Y), JumpStarts® (S)
First Editions® White Diamonds® Panicle Hydrangea
A hydrangea on a list of underutilized plants? Hear us out. White Diamonds® consistently gets attention in the Bailey Display Garden, particularly from late summer into fall. Its more open flower panicles bring a different texture than many familiar hydrangeas, while white blooms age to parchment and pink for added seasonal interest. It is also a pollinator favorite.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, W, Y), 15″ 2′ BR
First Editions® Above & Beyond™ Rose
Above & Beyond™ is a climbing rose that has earned its name in our Minnesota gardens. It is exceptionally cold hardy, with little to no tip dieback in our experience, and grows quickly enough to cover a fence or trellis. It can even be used as a freestanding cascading shrub. Orange buds open to apricot semi-double to double flowers beginning in mid-to-late spring, with sporadic rebloom through summer. A true highlight at the entrance to our Display Garden for many years.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, Y, Bud & Bloom)
First Editions® Matcha Ball® Ash Leaf Spirea
If you’re looking for a woody shrub that will kick off your season, Matcha Ball® is it. This is the first peak of green we see in the garden and in our container field, with red and orange-peach new growth that turns to matcha green all summer. Unlike other Sorbaria, Matcha Ball® maintains a tidy shape without taking over the garden.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, W, Y)
First Editions® Superstar™ Spirea
There is a reason spirea have a reputation as workhorse plants. They are tough, dependable, and willing to flower in some pretty unforgiving places. Superstar™ pairs that durability with a little more personality. Scarlet-red new growth matures to deep green, topped with pink flowers on a consistently compact plant. Deadheading can also encourage another flush of bloom.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (I, W, Y), JumpStarts® (G)
First Editions® Opening Day™ Viburnum
Opening Day™ welcomes spring with baseball-size blooms on every stem. Both for retail impulse sales and in the landscape, this selection is neat and tidy with amazing, corrugated foliage that is dark green all season and a fabulous cabernet red in fall. Multi-season interest, hedging size, and low maintenance for sun or part shade make Opening Day™ an easy yes.
Most Available Sizes: #2 (Y), 2′ BR, JumpStarts® (S, Y), JumpStarts® 5.5 (G)
First Editions® Snowdance™ Japanese Tree Lilac
Sometimes the hardest plant to reconsider is the one where everyone already has a standard go-to. But Snowdance™ is worth making the shift. It blooms consistently every year while others can be biennial, has a perfect lollipop shape as it matures, is a great size for a home landscape, and brings unforgettable fragrance while blooming in June. This one is well worth the consideration as you plan your tree choices for 2027!
Most Available Sizes: #10 (H, Y), #25 (H), Wh 7′ LB 4′ (N)
Find Something Worth Another Look?
A strong assortment is not just about having the newest plants. Sometimes it is about rediscovering a great one that customers are not seeing everywhere else.
Talk with your Bailey Nurseries Sales Representative about availability and where these plants could fit into your 2027 order.