Proven Winners’ Sugar Shack buttonbush is a smaller introduction of a very large shrub. Photo courtesy Provenwinners.com
There are some shrubs that I’ve lusted after for several years, such as a buttonbush and witch hazel.
The drawback has been that these plants are huge, 8-12 feet tall and wide, or larger. I eventually ripped out the beautiful ‘Limelight’ hydrangea (H. paniculata) because at 8 feet tall and wide, it just got too big for my landscape and was out of scale for the house.
A couple years ago, I got Sugar Shack buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), a native cultivar from Proven Winners to trial, and it’s a keeper. It was less than a foot tall when I planted it, encased in a tomato cage to protect the young shrub from dogs’ paws. This year, Sugar Shack is about 30 inches tall and budded up, ready to bloom. At maturity, it will be 3-4 feet tall and wide, about half the size of the straight species.
The deciduous shrub’s leaves are glossy medium green. It blooms fragrant, button-like, ball-shaped flowers in early summer, which are appreciated by nectar-loving butterflies, bees and other insects. Birds like the seed heads, which turn bright red in fall.
Buttonbush prefers full to part sun and tolerates a moist location, so it would work in a swale or rain garden. Mine seems to be thriving, though, in regular garden soil. Buttonbush blooms on current season growth, so it can be pruned in late winter or early spring, if needed. It also is deer resistant.
Shade brightener
‘Sun King’ aralias brightens a shady area of the landscape. Photo courtesy PerennialResource.com
I’m also enthused about ‘Sun King’ golden Japanese spikenard (Aralia cordata), which enlivens the shadier areas of the landscape.
This perennial was introduced in the U.S. by well-known plantsman Barry Yinger. It’s bright gold leaves form on arched branches about 3 feet long. There seems to be a pretty wide swing on the size of this plant, with sources pegging it in the 3 or 6 foot tall and wide range. I’m hoping for the smaller size.
Two-foot tall spikes of ball-like flowers emerge through the foliage in midsummer. When the flowers fall, reddish purple berries form, a treat for birds. This plant does best in well-drained, moist soil. It will likely lose its golden hue if grown in too much shade. ‘Sun King’ also is deer resistant.