Ninebark 'Summer Wine'
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Seward' (Summer Wine) · Rosaceae Popular
Deeply cut, wine-purple leaves on gracefully arching branches, studded in early summer with buttons of pinkish-white flowers.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around ninebark 'Summer Wine'
The planner designed this bed around ninebark 'Summer Wine' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why ninebark 'Summer Wine' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ninebark 'Summer Wine' × 1, white
- 2 Winter heath × 13, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 11, red
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 6 Chives × 11, purple
- 7 Asiatic lily × 4, orange
- 8 Easter lily × 4, white
- 9 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 3, blue
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are bells, airy sprays, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does winter heath.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 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 sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ 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 four weeks. From late May to late June.
- In company. With coral bells 'Firefly' and chives in late May: 3 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 9 of the 10 groups (90%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from early July. Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' and ninebark 'Summer Wine' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 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 ninebark 'Summer Wine' goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 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.
More compact and finer in texture than 'Diabolo', so it fits an ordinary border. The dark foliage is a foil for almost any flower. It needs full sun to stay dark.
- Dark foliage for the back of a border
- Contrast with gold and silver
- Hardy hedges
What to plant with ninebark 'Summer Wine'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Spirea 'Ogon': flowers first, early April to late April, so the spot is never empty.
- Russian sage: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid July.
- Purple coneflower: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about ninebark 'Summer Wine'
Does ninebark 'Summer Wine' need sun or shade?
Ninebark 'Summer Wine' 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 ninebark 'Summer Wine' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 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 ninebark 'Summer Wine' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid 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 ninebark 'Summer Wine' be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ninebark 'Summer Wine' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is ninebark 'Summer Wine' 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.
Do deer eat ninebark 'Summer Wine'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after ninebark 'Summer Wine'?
Ninebark 'Summer Wine' is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Purple coneflower: from late June to early September, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall.
What does ninebark 'Summer Wine' look like in winter?
Ninebark 'Summer Wine' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is ninebark 'Summer Wine' good for bees and butterflies?
Ninebark 'Summer Wine' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Physocarpus
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius
- Ninebark 'Dart's Gold' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Dart's Gold'
- Ninebark 'Diabolo' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo'
- Ninebark 'Little Devil' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Little Devil'
- Ninebark 'Tiny Wine' Physocarpus opulifolius 'SMPOTW' (Tiny Wine)
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; dense clusters; white, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; burgundy, purple
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Central and eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- 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.