Cotoneasters

• The creeping cotoneaster (Cotoneaster adpressus) sprawls along the ground, growing just 12 inches high. This Chinese shrub flowers in May and June. Use it to cover stone walls in USDA zone 5. The rock cotoneaster cultivar Variegatus grows to 18 inches, featuring variegated foliage with creamy-white edges. Blooming in May, the bush yields brilliant-red berries in autumn. The fall foliage of the Hesse cotoneaster, an 18-inch tall shrub, turns a purple-red color. The flowers are pinkish-red, possess five petals and attract bees. Locate it near foundations that are constantly in the sun.
  
  

Barberries and Quinces

• The sharp spines on the Japanese barberry cultivar Bagatelle (Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea 'Bagatelle') helps as a low barrier. The bush is between 12 and 18 inches tall, features delicate, yellow flowers and generates red berries. Yellow foliage highlights the Talago cultivar with the leaves eventually going to orange and red on this 6 to 12 inch high bush. The yellow flowers are out by early May. Japanese quince has two small cultivars suitable for USDA zone 5. Pygmaeus is 12 inches tall with orange April flowers. Alpina is a dwarf variety with orange-red flowers appropriate as a low hedge or as groundcover.
  
  

Roses

• The largest selection of small USDA zone 5 shrubs comes from the different rose types. Miniature roses, shrub roses, floribunda roses and miniflora rose cultivars stay small enough for many functions. Spice Drop is a 10-inch tall miniature rose producing pink flowers from May to frost. It is small enough for window boxes or the front of perennial borders. Interdust is 18 inches high, and is used as a groundcover with the added benefit of yellow flowers.
  
  

Other Small Bushes

• The Japanese spirea cultivar Golden Elf has yellow leaves and pink flowers. Golden Princess is 24 inches high, with yellow foliage and deep pink flowers. Blue Chip is a small butterfly bush, while Little Renee and Courtasol are 2 foot high forsythias for USDA zone 5. Brigadoon with yellow July flowers is a St. John's wort shrub that grows beneath trees despite the presence of roots. Nanas is a small, ninebark bush with exfoliating bark. Mardi Gras is a compact crape myrtle with purple flowers blooming from July into September.