|
Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Cephalanthus occidentalis
Buttonbush doesn’t look like much in spring, except a bunch of sticks. But don’t pull it up! There’s glory on the way. In May it starts to get its first glossy leaves. Then summer comes and it covers itself all over with charming, intriguing “honey balls.” These round, creamy flower clusters will delight you with their fun shape and sweet scent; loaded with nectar, they attract butterflies by the dozen. In August I try to visit GWF’s buttonbush most every afternoon, and I’m always glad I made the trip. The chubby, tempting flower balls are inevitably decorated with tiger swallowtails, hairstreaks, skippers, and painted ladies. Ruby-throated hummingbirds also come calling.
In the wild, buttonbush is usually found along sunny lakeshores and swamp edges, where it forms dense thickets; these thickets provide important nesting and escape cover for waterfowl. Round clusters of reddish brown nutlets are available in fall and winter and are eaten (occasionally) by wood ducks, mallards, and blue-necked and green-necked teals. Can you grow a buttonbush without having a lake on your property? The answer is yes. This wetland species performs well in ordinary garden situations—as long as you give it a little water during periods of drought.
Rubiaceae (Madder Family)
Large deciduous shrub with scaly gray bark and leaves that are 3 to 5 inches long, oval shaped, dark green, smooth edged, and shiny. Dense, ball-like clusters of tiny tubular white flowers appear in summer, followed by round clusters of reddish brown nutlets in fall.
Usually about 3 to 6 feet high and wide; can reach 10 to 20 feet in height.
Large, loose, upright shrub
Fast.
Full sun to part shade. More sun means more flowers.
Though buttonbush is found in soggy soils in the wild, it accepts ordinary garden conditions. Provide supplemental water during periods of drought. If this large shrub outgrows your garden, simply cut it back to keep it at the size you like; it takes pruning well. Another note: Be patient with your buttonbush; the leaves are slow to emerge in spring.
Assets include round, fragrant flower clusters in summer and round seed clusters in fall and winter.
Plant along the edges of a sunny pond or lake or in a mixed shrub border. This is a great addition to the butterfly or hummingbird garden.
Nectar-rich flowers attract bees, wasps, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Seeds are eaten by waterfowl.
Found throughout Georgia along lake edges and in bogs and marshes.
Hardwood and softwood cuttings. Sow seeds in spring.
Photo and text by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation
|
Buttonbush
