Privacy, Color, and Low-Maintenance Shrubs for Maine Landscapes
Native shrubs are an excellent choice for privacy, color, and low maintenance in Maine landscapes. If you’re looking for low-maintenance privacy shrubs that can handle Maine’s seasons, native plants are a smart, sustainable choice. These shrubs are naturally adapted to our climate, require less water and fertilizer once established, and provide seasonal interest with minimal upkeep.
Native shrub recommendations are often based on long-term regional research and habitat studies. Below are six native shrubs we often recommend for privacy screening, curb appeal, and wildlife value in southern Maine landscapes.
1. Northern Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica)
Standout feature:Salt tolerant and thrives in poor, sandy soils, making it perfect for oceanfront and exposed sites
Best used for: Informal privacy screens, windbreaks, erosion controlExtra benefit: Fragrant foliage and silver berries that attract birds.
Maintenance level: Very low once established
2. Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)
Standout feature: Bright red berries in winter on bare stems
Best used for: Naturalized plantings, wet areas, seasonal interest
Planting tip: You’ll need at least one male plant nearby for berry production
Maintenance level: Minimal pruning, prefers moist soils
3. Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
Standout feature: White spring flowers, deep red fall foliage, and berries for birds
Best used for: Hedges, mixed shrub borders, woodland edges
Why we recommend it: Tolerates a wide range of soil and light conditions
Maintenance level: Very low
4. Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Standout feature: Fragrant summer blooms that attract bees and butterflies
Best used for: Foundation plantings, rain gardens, part-shade areas
Why we recommend it: Native to wet, acidic soil, great for poorly draining areas
Maintenance level: Low, with occasional thinning
5. Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)
Standout feature: Four seasons of interest, including spring flowers, edible berries, colorful fall foliage, and smooth gray bark in winter
Best used for: Screening, natural borders, or specimen plants
Why we recommend it: Great native alternative to ornamental trees
Maintenance level: Low, though benefits from some shaping
6. Common Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Standout feature: Evergreen foliage with dense, ground-hugging growth
Best used for: Slope stabilization, foundation planting, privacy in exposed areas
Why we recommend it: Tough, deer resistant, and drought tolerant once established
Maintenance level: Extremely low
Still Deciding Which Native Shrubs Are Right for Your Yard?
Choosing the right combination of native plants can make a big difference in both the look and maintenance needs of your yard. These shrubs work well for a variety of property types across southern Maine, from shaded lots to oceanfront slopes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best native shrubs for privacy in Maine? Bayberry, arrowwood viburnum, and serviceberry are among the best for creating a natural privacy screen due to their size and density.
Do native shrubs require regular pruning? Not typically. Most grow into attractive shapes on their own, though light annual pruning or thinning can improve airflow and structure.
Are native shrubs better for local wildlife? Yes. Many offer berries, nectar, and nesting cover for birds, butterflies, and pollinators throughout the year.
Ready to Add Native Shrubs to Your Landscape?
We design and install custom shrub plans for homes across Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Portland, and South Portland. Whether you’re aiming for a low-maintenance look or want expert guidance on native shrub landscaping in your area, we’re here to help. Contact us today to get started on a design that fits your space and style.
Choose the job first, then the shrub
Most shrub problems come from asking a plant to do a job it was never suited to, like a wetland shrub on a dry slope or a 10-foot shrub under a picture window. The list below sorts shrubs native to Maine by the work they do. Each one is native to the state, though nursery-grown stock is what goes into a yard.
Foundation beds
Foundation shrubs should stay below the windowsills without constant shearing, and tolerate snow sliding off the roof.
- Highbush blueberry: white spring flowers, fruit, and strong red fall color. Needs acidic soil, which much of Southern Maine has naturally.
- Black chokeberry: compact, white spring flowers, dark fruit, good fall color, tolerates wet or dry soil.
- Sweet pepperbush (clethra): fragrant late-summer flowers for part-shade sides of the house.
Give each shrub its mature width from the foundation, typically three to four feet, so it can grow without scraping siding. Keep shrubs out from under roof edges without gutters, where sliding snow and ice land hardest, and leave a narrow mulched strip along the foundation for access to windows and siding.
Privacy screens
A native screen is usually a mixed, staggered row rather than a clipped hedge, which keeps it healthy if one plant fails.
- Witherod viburnum and nannyberry: tall, dense, with spring flowers and fruit birds eat.
- Arrowwood viburnum: fast and adaptable across soils.
- Eastern redcedar: an evergreen for winter screening in sunny, dry spots.
Mix one evergreen in with deciduous shrubs if you need screening in winter; most native viburnums are bare from November to May. Plant a screen in two offset rows rather than one straight line. It fills in faster, looks natural, and a single loss does not leave a gap you can see through.
Wet ground and drainage swales
Low spots that stay soggy in spring are where many ornamental shrubs rot. Winterberry holly, red osier dogwood, sweetgale and highbush blueberry all tolerate wet soil, and red osier dogwood adds bright red stems in winter. For more options, see our water-tolerant plantings for Maine.
Salt spray and road salt
Two kinds of salt reach Maine shrubs: spray blown off the ocean and plow spray and meltwater along roads and driveways. Northern bayberry and Virginia rose handle both well, and bayberry spreads to stabilize sandy soil. Keep more sensitive shrubs back from the first several feet along a plowed edge, where salty snow piles up. Our salt-tolerant plantings post covers the full range.
Common mistakes
- Buying winterberry without a male pollinator of a matching variety, and getting no berries
- Planting at nursery size instead of mature size, then shearing native shrubs into boxes that never flower
- Mixing wet-soil and dry-soil shrubs in the same bed
For the perennials that fill in around these shrubs, see planting native perennial beds. Our landscape installation service plants native shrubs across Scarborough, Gorham and nearby towns.