Creeping Evergreen Shrubs

Creeping evergreen shrubs add year-round color to your landscape while acting as ground covers to hide large bare spots in your new yard. Most varieties of creeping evergreens are valued only for their foliage, but some plants produce spring or summer blooms as an added benefit. Knowing about leaf variety, color, growth habit, landscape use and basic care allows you to select the best shrub for your yard.

Foliage Textures

There are a number of leaf textures and colors in the world of creeping evergreen shrubs. These low-growing plants are divided into two main groups based on their leaf shapes. Needle- and scale-leaved creeping evergreens such as Siberian cypress, creeping rosemary, and blue rug juniper produce spiky or layered featherlike foliage. Broadleaf evergreens such as the Joyce Coulter creeping lilac and the creeping winterberry have rounded, flat leaves. Creeping evergreens in the first group add a rough, tough texture to the landscape, while broadleaf evergreens add a softer touch.


The term evergreen refers to plants that always have leaves, not that they are always green. Creeping evergreen shrubs come in a number of colors and shades of green. Blue rug junipers have steely blue foliage, while the Mint Julep Chinese juniper has yellow-green scales. Creeping winterberries sport variegated foliage with a green center and yellow leaf margins. Some creeping evergreen shrubs such as the compact coral barberry and creeping rosemary produce spring and summer blooms, creating bright yellow-orange, white and purple carpets.

Growth Habits

Growth habits vary slightly among creeping evergreen shrubs. Mature heights of creeping evergreens vary from 3 inches to 2 feet. The width of these sprawling ground covers has a much larger range. Some creeping barberry varieties spread only 12 inches but the Mint Julep Chinese juniper has a spread of 8 feet. Low growing junipers, wintercreepers and barberries have stiff branches that sprawl outward, while creeping rosemary and Siberian cypress have softer stems that hang downward when pulled by gravity. The assortment of sizes and shapes offers versatility when planning your landscape.

Landscape Uses

Creeping evergreen shrubs work well in a wide range of landscape locations. They provide a mat of color over slopes or small hills where other plants may not grow well, providing a defense against soil erosion. Sprawling limbs with ever-present foliage contrast with stones and pebbles found in rock gardens. Large planters, patio containers or retaining walls showcase the trailing habits of these unusual shrubs. Planted in rows along the edge of a walkway, garden bed or driveway, these shrubs create an even, matlike border.