Forest View Native Plants
Prairie Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Eying up Ninebarks as your next pollinator attractor? Here's all the information you'll want to know about this shrub...
SHRUB - perennial
SUN - full sun to part sun, can handle some dappled shade, but doesn't tend to flower
MOISTURE - medium/dry, medium, medium/wet
SOIL TYPE - it can tolerate a large range of soil types: clay, sand, loam, rocky
HEIGHT - up to 8 ft tall
SPREAD - 4 - 6 ft wide, sometimes as wide as 10 ft!
GROWTH SPEED - in 2-3 years it should be blooming and beautiful, the ones pictured above are 3 year old!
PRUNING - tolerates being pruned in the spring, and after it has finished flowering. Can be made into a nice hedge.
BLOOMING PERIOD - mid to late June
BLOOM COLOUR - white
FALL COLOUR - yellow to orange, sometimes with some nice hints of red
TOXIC TO PETS - no
SUPPORTS - Birds eat the seeds, bees, wasps and butterflies love the nectar and it is always buzzing with insects when in bloom! It is a host plant for several moth species as well, including the White Spring Moth (Lomographa vestaliata).
SPREADS BY - seeds, not by roots
SEEDS - collect in the fall when seed pods are fully dry and starting to open up. Use seed germination code C(60) to sprout them (cold, moist stratification, 60 days)
HYBRIDIZES READILY - Yes, it can hybridize easily with ninebark cultivars. This is not ideal if you wish to collect seed and want the straight species.
NATIVE RANGE - across the eastern coast from Florida up to northern Ontario, as far west as Minnesota and as far east as New Brunswick
JUGLONE TOLERANT - yes
ROAD SALT TOLERANT - yes
DROUGHT TOLERANT - yes
CARE - Plant in a hole that is 2 times larger than the size of the root ball, making sure to break apart some of the root ball prior to planting if it looks root bound (essentially if the root ball is firm and stiff with roots). Water deeply every few days for the first couple of months after planting, or as needed when leaves start to wilt. Should not require any watering after the first year. You can also use to high quality compost to speed some of the growth in lower nutrient areas. Prune to achieve the desired height and spread.