ShrubsDiscover the right shrubs for your garden.
Sugar Shack ® buttonbush . pic : Proven succeeder
Cephalanthusis an cosmetic garden plant with glossy green leaves ; fragrant white flowers ; tan , brown , or cherry fruits ; surrender color ; and an attractive structure , offering four - time of year prayer in the landscape . This aboriginal shrub offer food , protection , and nesting habitat for a wide array of good insects , hiss , and other wildlife , making buttonbush one of the best plant for aboriginal garden , pollinator delimitation , and other natural areas .
Also cognize as button willow , honeybells , or common buttonbush , this hardy deciduous bush is aboriginal to most of the lower 48 Department of State , Canada , and Central America , where it typically grows in low - lying wet domain such as swamp , coppice , bottomland , and along streams and ponds . This medium- to tight - develop shrub can tolerate shallow standing water , making it a usual choice for wetland restoration projects , erosion ascendence , and rainwater gardens .
Cephalanthustolerates a wide grasp of growing conditions and is virtually happy-go-lucky once established . Here ’s how to grow and habituate buttonbush in your thousand .
On this varlet : Basics|Planting|Care|Varieties|Frequently Asked Questions|Landscaping idea
On this pageboy :
BUTTONBUSH BASICS
Botanical name:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Plant type:
Multi - stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree
Zones:
4 - 10
Exposure:
Full sun to part shade
Habit:
unsloped rounded wont
Height/Spread:
4 to 12 feet tall and broad
Bloom time:
tardy fountain to former capitulation , bet on the climate
Tiger swallowtail on buttonbush . pic : Donna Bollenbach / Shutterstock .
Flowers:
singular white or pale pink blossom heads 1 to 1 - 1/2 inch across are absolutely globe - forge , check clustering of small tubular florets . Cephalanthusflower heads are studded with slender round - lead pistils for a pincushion effect . Flowers exude a honeyed dearest - like fragrancy that entices a panoptic kitchen range of pollinators .
Fruit:
Flowers mature into hard button - comparable seed balls in late summertime , starting out reddish - brown and fading to brown . The fruit die hard into winter .
Foliage:
ellipse - work deciduous leaves 4 to 6 inches farsighted are dark green with a calendered luster . Some varieties produce Paris green or red new development , with yellow , bronze , or cherry-red gloaming color .
Wildlife benefits:
The nectar fromCephalanthusflowers is an of import nutrient reservoir for hummingbirds , honeybees , bumble bees , moth , and many types of butterfly , include tiger swallowtail , skippers , paint peeress , and monarchs . Seeds are a tardy - season food germ for songbird and water bird , including ducks and addlehead . The dense bushy growth habit provides protection for nesting wood duck’s egg . Cephalanthusis a host plant for the titan sphinx moth , hydrangea sphinx moth , silk moth , and forest houri .
HOW TO PLANT BUTTONBUSH
When to plant:
Plant buttonbush during milder months in spring or fall to avoid accent from extreme warmth or cold .
Where to plant:
Choose a site with full sun to partial shade . Buttonbush perform good in fat , well - drain soil , but it can also stick out a bit of standing water supply .
How to plant:
tease soil in the planting expanse and remediate with compost or other organic matter . fag a hole twice as wide and the same depth as the rootage ball . dispatch plant from the glasshouse container and card out roots if potbound . Place in the hole so the top of the stem orb is level with the hem in territory . Fill in the hole with grunge , tamp down gently and piddle soundly to bump off melodic phrase pockets . H2O on a regular basis until plants are install . Space plants 4 to 12 feet apart , depend on the variety show .
BUTTONBUSH CARE
Buttonbush source pod . picture : Proven Winners
Soil:
Cephalanthusis tolerant of a wide range of soil types , including clay , loam , and sand . plant perform best in rich , well - drain territory with a neutral to slightly acidic pH of 6.8 - 7.2 . For containers , employ a in high spirits quality all - purpose potting mixing .
Amendments & fertilizer:
In late winter or early spring , apply a granular slow - release plant food especially excogitate for trees and shrubs . works can be lightly mulch with compost or other organic matter to inhibit dope , keep moisture , provide subsidiary nutrient , and keep roots nerveless .
Watering:
Cephalanthusis tolerant of squiffy soil and do honest in dirt that is stay fresh evenly moist . Do n’t allow for soil to dry out out . Provide supplemental water as need during prolonged heat or dry trance .
Pruning:
Cephalanthusblooms on Modern woodwind constitute on the current time of year ’s growth . In later wintertime or former outpouring , remove stagnant , busted , or pathological branches and physique plants as needed . humbled branch can be removed to train into a tree variant . If plants become unmanageable , they can be cut back to near the ground in outpouring to rejuvenate .
Pests and diseases:
When grown in the good circumstance , buttonbush is free of most pest and disease . pesterer admit leafhoppers , lygus bugs , andthrips . Diseases include brown leaf spot .
BUTTONBUSH VARIETIES
Photo by : Proven Winners .
SUGAR SHACK ® —Buy now from Proven WinnersCephalanthus occidentalis
Zones:4 - 10Habit : Compact shaggy habitHeight / Spread:4 to 5 feet tall and wideBloom meter : Early to late summerColor : White flower , green foliage , red fruit
This awarding - make headway variety is more compact than many other buttonbush bush , make it worthy for smaller spaces . Glossy newfangled foliage is red , languish to green , with burgundy decline colour . Lightly fragrant , creamy white blossom are followed by bright red seed pod — one of the few assortment with reliably cerise source pods . expend in a foundation planting , native garden , or as hedging .
Photo : Mona Larochelle / Millette Photomedia
' SPUTNIK'(syn . ' Bieberich')Cephalanthus occidentalis’Sputnik '
Zones:4 - 10Habit : shaggy-coated spread habitHeight / Spread:5 to 12 foot tall , 6 to 12 feet wideBloom time : SummerColor : Shell - pinkish bloom , green foliage , browned fruit
Pale pinkish - white peak are produced on plant with shining light-green leaves and an attractive growth habit . Foliage emerge chartreuse , fading to green before turning coppery - bronze in fall . This larger assortment is suitable in a mixed border , woodland garden , or as a put up - alone focal point .
Also try out :
‘FIBER OPTICS’ (syn. ‘Bailoptics’)
Zones:4 - 9Habit : Compact bushy habitHeight / Spread:5 to 6 feet magniloquent and wideBloom time : Late outflow to former summerColor : White flowers , green foliation , reddish - brown fruit
‘ Fiber Optics ’ , named for the strange flowers with fiber - corresponding pistils , is an improved change with finer foliation and a more compact habit suited for smaller thou . Glossy greenish leafage turns chicken in crepuscule . utilise in a foundation planting , mixed border or wildlife garden .
‘MAGICAL MOONLIGHT’ (syn. ‘Kolmoon’)
Habit : vertical bushy habitHeight / Spread:5 to 8 feet tall , 4 to 6 feet wideBloom time : Late spring to summerColor : blanched flowers , green foliage , brown fruit
‘ Magical Moonlight ’ appease more compact than other varieties , bring versatility to pocket-sized spaces . lustrous unripe leave release a glowing moonlight yellow in fall . The swell rounded grade provides attractive structure to foundation plantings , aboriginal gardens , and shrub borders .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where is the best place to plant buttonbush?
Buttonbush prefer a site with full Lord’s Day to fond shade and moist soil .
Is buttonbush poisonous?
Buttonbush contains cephalanthin , a toxic compound that can be harmful to stock , pets , and children if absorb . Symptoms include vomiting , convulsions and paralysis . If you suspect your child or pet has take in any part of the plant life , contact your local poison control plaza , physician or veterinarian .
Do deer eat buttonbush?
Buttonbush industrial plant is middling cervid insubordinate and may feel some cervid browse , peculiarly if other food seed are scarce .
What does buttonbush look like in winter?
Buttonbush in winter is bare of leaves , expose the textured gray barque and twisting branches that lend geomorphological pastime to the landscape .
Do hummingbirds like buttonbush?
Buttonbush blossom are a rich nectar food for thought root and exude a odorous redolence , attracting many pollinator including hummingbirds .
BUTTONBUSH LANDSCAPING TIPS
Photo : Proven victor
For borders and landscapes:
Use buttonbush for wetland and bogs , along streams and ponds , in a aboriginal or rain garden , shrub edge , innovation planting , as hedge or covering .
For slopes and hillsides:
Buttonbush is utile for controlling eroding and water overspill on gradient or hillsides .
For containers:
come out a smaller buttonbush specimen in a container by itself and ensure containers have adequate drainage gob .
There are many way to practice buttonbush in your landscape painting . Here ’s how :
Companion plants : Buttonbush flux well with many other shrub , tree , and perennials that flourish in the same growing conditions . beneficial companions include aster , bee balm , dogwood , elderberry , fern , goldenrod , ironweed , milkweed , Joe pye weed , ninebark , red maple , river birch , sweetspire , and viburnum .
