Beauty bush
Kolkwitzia amabilis · Caprifoliaceae
A fountain of arching branches, smothered for two weeks in early summer in pale pink, yellow-throated bells. Old stems have peeling, pale bark.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around beauty bush
The planner designed this bed around beauty bush when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why beauty bush stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Beauty bush × 1, pink
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 24, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 20, blue
- 4 Golden Japanese euonymus × 1, variegated leaves
- 5 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 6 Swamp milkweed × 4, white
- 7 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 8 Chives × 13, purple
- 9 Rock cress × 14, white
- 10 Alpine aster × 11, lavender
- 11 Allium 'Globemaster' × 6, purple
- 12 Asiatic lily × 4, yellow
- 13 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 6, purple
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Asiatic lily (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for three weeks. From late May to mid June.
- Fills no gap. Every week it is in flower, at least four other kinds are too. It thickens a season that is already full.
Planned as an English border: 20 of the 23 groups (87%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 6 kinds, from late May. There is more Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' than anything else, 24 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where beauty bush goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A plant of grandmothers' gardens, brought from China in 1901. It needs space to arch and is dull out of flower, so put it at the back. Prune after flowering.
- A fountain of pink in early summer
- The back of a large border
- Heirloom gardens
What to plant with beauty bush
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant': in flower together for three weeks, from late May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about beauty bush
Does beauty bush need sun or shade?
Beauty bush grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does beauty bush grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does beauty bush flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should beauty bush be planted?
7 ft (220 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many beauty bush plants do I need?
Usually one. At 7 ft (220 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 7 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is beauty bush poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like beauty bush?
Beauty bush comes from Central and East Central China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in narrower, white, not pink.
- Red osier dogwood: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in narrower, white, not pink.
- Carolina allspice: the same job in a bed; 8 in narrower, flowers early May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat beauty bush?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after beauty bush?
Beauty bush is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall.
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does beauty bush look like in winter?
Beauty bush drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is beauty bush good for bees and butterflies?
Beauty bush is visited by bees and hummingbirds.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 7 ft (220 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June; hanging bells; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Comes from
- Central and East Central China
- Attracts
- Bees, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.