8-10' × same. An eye-catching native pollinator plant that flowers early when not a lot else is blooming.
Buds form in early May and open up to 2–3" creamy white nectar-rich inflorescences (called corymbs) consisting of 30–60 tiny flowers that will be buzzing with every bee and butterfly around. Short-lived flowers fade to pointy orange follicles (the seedheads) that contrast beautifully against the foliage. Clean foliage emerges light green and turns deep green as the leaves mature giving the shrub a diaphanous illuminated quality in the sun. Unusual shredding bark becomes visible in winter.
Upright arching habit. Compact dark-leaved cultivars are commonly used in commercial landscaping, but we prefer this larger, green-leaved straight species for its more ample nesting habitat and chemical profile that is more attractive to native insects.
Plants can be pruned nearly to the ground to restore shape and size. Full sun to part shade. Easy to grow: hardy, no maintenance, disease- and pest-free. Native to eastern U.S. Zone 3.
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