ShrubsDiscover the right shrubs for your garden.
Sugar Shack ® buttonbush . Photo : Proven Winners
Cephalanthusis an ornamental garden plant life with glossy gullible leaves ; fragrant white flowers ; tan , brown , or red fruit ; descent color ; and an attractive bodily structure , offering four - time of year ingathering in the landscape . This aboriginal shrub bring home the bacon nutrient , protection , and nesting habitat for a spacious raiment of beneficial insects , hoot , and other wildlife , making buttonbush one of the best industrial plant for native gardens , pollinator border , and other lifelike areas .
Also have a go at it as button willow , honeybells , or vernacular buttonbush , this hardy deciduous bush is native to most of the lower 48 states , Canada , and Central America , where it typically grows in low - rest slopped areas such as swamp , brush , bottomlands , and along stream and pool . This medium- to fast - rise shrub can tolerate shallow bear water , gain it a coarse option for wetland restoration projects , erosion ascendency , and rain gardens .
Cephalanthustolerates a across-the-board range of growing weather and is virtually happy-go-lucky once established . Here ’s how to grow and habituate buttonbush in your yard .
On this Sir Frederick Handley Page : Basics|Planting|Care|Varieties|Frequently call for Questions|Landscaping Ideas
On this pageboy :
BUTTONBUSH BASICS
Botanical name:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Plant type:
Multi - stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree diagram
Zones:
4 - 10
Exposure:
Full Sunday to part shade
Habit:
Upright rounded wont
Height/Spread:
4 to 12 feet tall and encompassing
Bloom time:
tardy spring to early fall , depending on the climate
Tiger morning coat on buttonbush . picture : Donna Bollenbach / Shutterstock .
Flowers:
Unique white or pale pink blossom head 1 to 1 - 1/2 inches across are perfectly globe - mould , containing clusters of humble tube-shaped florets . Cephalanthusflower heads are constellate with slender pear-shaped - channelize pistil for a pincushion burden . peak transude a sweet dear - like scent that lure a wide range of pollinator .
Fruit:
Flowers maturate into hard push button - like seed balls in late summertime , start out reddish - browned and fading to brown . The fruits stay into winter .
Foliage:
Oval - shaped deciduous leave 4 to 6 inches long are dark greenish with a shiny shininess . Some varieties produce chartreuse or carmine new increase , with yellow , bronze , or blood-red fall colour .
Wildlife benefits:
The nectar fromCephalanthusflowers is an important solid food source for hummingbird , honeybee , bumble bee , moth , and many type of butterfly , admit Panthera tigris swallowtails , skippers , painted noblewoman , and monarchs . germ are a late - season food germ for songbirds and waterfowl , including duck and loons . The dense shaggy-coated maturation substance abuse provides protection for nesting wood ducks . Cephalanthusis a host plant for the titan sphinx moth , hydrangea sphinx moth , silk moths , and Natalie Wood nymph .
HOW TO PLANT BUTTONBUSH
When to plant:
Plant buttonbush during milder calendar month in spring or fall to avoid stress from extreme heat or cold-blooded .
Where to plant:
Choose a site with full Sunday to fond shade . Buttonbush perform best in deep , well - run out stain , but it can also tolerate a bit of standing water .
How to plant:
Loosen grunge in the planting area and better with compost or other organic issue . Dig a hole twice as wide and the same depth as the solution ball . dispatch plant from the nursery container and tease out root word if potbound . Place in the hole so the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil . Fill in the hole with soil , tamp down gently and water good to remove atmosphere pockets . weewee on a regular basis until plants are set up . Space flora 4 to 12 feet aside , depending on the multifariousness .
BUTTONBUSH CARE
Buttonbush seed fuel pod . Photo : Proven Winners
Soil:
Cephalanthusis resistant of a spacious range of soil types , including clay , loam , and sand . Plants perform good in rich , well - drain ground with a neutral to slightly acidic pH of 6.8 - 7.2 . For containers , utilize a high quality all - purpose potting mixing .
Amendments & fertilizer:
In late winter or early spring , lend oneself a chondritic dull - release fertilizer especially formulate for trees and shrubs . industrial plant can be gently mulch with compost or other constitutive subject to suppress sens , retain moisture , provide supplementary nutrient , and keep roots cool .
Watering:
Cephalanthusis tolerant of blotto soil and performs best in soil that is kept evenly moist . Do n’t provide grunge to dry out . bring home the bacon supplementary water as want during keep up heat or teetotal magic spell .
Pruning:
Cephalanthusblooms on new wood imprint on the current time of year ’s emergence . In belated winter or former spring , absent dead , broken , or pathologic ramification and shape plants as needed . Lower branches can be removed to train into a tree diagram form . If industrial plant become uncontrollable , they can be cut back to near the ground in spring to regenerate .
Pests and diseases:
When farm in the right weather condition , buttonbush is free of most pest and disease . pest include leafhopper , lygus bugs , andthrips . Diseases let in brown leaf blot .
BUTTONBUSH VARIETIES
photograph by : Proven Winners .
SUGAR SHACK ® —Buy now from Proven WinnersCephalanthus occidentalis
Zones:4 - 10Habit : Compact shaggy-coated habitHeight / Spread:4 to 5 feet tall and wideBloom time : early on to late summerColor : bloodless flower , green leaf , red yield
This award - win assortment is more stocky than many other buttonbush shrubs , make it suitable for smaller spaces . Glossy unexampled foliation is red , fading to green , with burgundy twilight color . thinly fragrant , creamy white flowers are followed by hopeful red seed pods — one of the few variety with reliably red semen pods . Use in a fundament planting , aboriginal garden , or as hedging .
pic : Mona Larochelle / Millette Photomedia
' SPUTNIK'(syn . ' Bieberich')Cephalanthus occidentalis’Sputnik '
Zones:4 - 10Habit : shaggy-coated spreading habitHeight / Spread:5 to 12 metrical foot tall , 6 to 12 understructure wideBloom sentence : SummerColor : Shell - pinkish blossom , green leaf , brown fruit
Pale pinkish - white blossom are produced on plants with shining green leaves and an attractive increase habit . Foliage emerges chartreuse , fading to leafy vegetable before turning coppery - bronze in fall . This larger motley is suitable in a mixed edge , woodland garden , or as a stand up - alone focal point .
Also hear :
‘FIBER OPTICS’ (syn. ‘Bailoptics’)
Zones:4 - 9Habit : Compact bushy habitHeight / Spread:5 to 6 foot tall and wideBloom prison term : recent spring to early summerColor : blanched peak , green foliage , cerise - brown fruit
‘ Fiber oculus ’ , named for the unusual flowers with fiber - like pistils , is an improved variety with finer foliation and a more compendious habit suited for small-scale K . shining green foliage turns yellow in fall . Use in a fundament planting , mixed border or wildlife garden .
‘MAGICAL MOONLIGHT’ (syn. ‘Kolmoon’)
Habit : Upright shaggy-coated habitHeight / Spread:5 to 8 animal foot tall , 4 to 6 feet wideBloom time : former spring to summerColor : White flowers , green foliage , brown fruit
‘ Magical Moonlight ’ continue more compact than other varieties , adding versatility to modest spaces . glazed unripe leaves ferment a glowing moonlight yellow in fall . The neat rounded form provides attractive structure to creation plantings , aboriginal garden , and shrub borders .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where is the best place to plant buttonbush?
Buttonbush prefers a site with full sun to partial shade and damp soil .
Is buttonbush poisonous?
Buttonbush hold cephalanthin , a toxic compound that can be harmful to stock , pets , and children if ingested . Symptoms let in emesis , convulsions and paralysis . If you suspect your tyke or pet has ingested any part of the plant , contact your local toxicant control center , MD or veterinarian .
Do deer eat buttonbush?
Buttonbush plant is moderately deer resistant and may experience some deer browsing , specially if other food sources are scarce .
What does buttonbush look like in winter?
Buttonbush in wintertime is stripped of leave of absence , give away the textured grey bark and twisting offshoot that lend morphological interest to the landscape .
Do hummingbirds like buttonbush?
Buttonbush flower are a full-bodied nectar food source and exudate a dulcet fragrance , attracting many pollinators admit hummingbird .
BUTTONBUSH LANDSCAPING TIPS
exposure : Proven winner
For borders and landscapes:
Use buttonbush for wetland and bogs , along streams and ponds , in a native or rain garden , shrub border , foundation planting , as hedging or screening .
For slopes and hillsides:
Buttonbush is utile for controlling erosion and water runoff on slopes or hillside .
For containers:
Place a smaller buttonbush specimen in a container by itself and check that container have adequate drainage holes .
There are many way to expend buttonbush in your landscape painting . Here ’s how :
familiar plants : Buttonbush combines well with many other shrubs , tree , and perennials that prosper in the same growing conditions . Good companion admit aster , bee balm , cornel , elderberry , ferns , goldenrod , ironweed , milkweed , Joe pye weed , ninebark , red maple , river birch , sweetspire , and genus Viburnum .
