Common buttonbush, also referred to as honey-bells, is a deciduous shrub that was cultivated for a pollen and nectar source for honeybees.
It was commercially introduced in 1735 primarily for beekeepers. Buttonbush is a wetland shrub that can be found in low-lying areas such as swamps, marshes, bogs, wetlands, and along the edges of rivers, streams, and ponds. Buttonbush is frequently used to restore and develop wetlands, control erosion in riparian areas, and create wildlife habitats. Buttonbush has pin cushion-like balls of white, fragrant flowers that appear in mid to late summer that attract pollinators.
Buttonbush has a broad natural range that extends as far north as Ontario, south to Florida, and west to Nebraska and Texas. Buttonbush will live in USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 5 to 11. South Carolina ranges in hardiness zones 7a to 9a. There are scattered populations of buttonbush in Northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California.
Buttonbush typically grows 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, but can grow up to 12 to 15 feet tall and wide. Buttonbush grows open and irregular, but pruning lanky, wayward branches to outward growing side shoots can produce a more attractive bush. This plant can also be limbed-up and maintained as a small, multi-trunked tree. Buttonbush is a fast-growing, short-lived shrub. It will spread and form thickets by suckering, which will produce individual plants arising from its roots.
Buttonbush is one of the last native American shrubs to leaf-out in the spring. The glossy green leaves provide food for the larval stages of the hydrangea sphinx and titan sphinx months. Buttonbush is also a food source for many pollinating insects and hummingbirds.
Buttonbush starts to flower in June through August. Flowers are the size of a gumball to a golf ball sized sphere (1 to 1.6 inch in diameter). Each sphere is comprised of many scented, creamy-white tubular flowers packed closely together. Each flower lasts up to 4 days. The spherical blooms look like ornaments attached to the ends of branches. After the flowers are fertilized by pollinators, a hard-ball of reddish-brown nutlets develops and matures from August to November. These nutlets or “buttons” will stay on the shrub into winter and are consumed by a variety of waterfowl.
The leaves of buttonbush will turn a mottled brown and yellow during the fall.
Buttonbush requires full sun to partial shade in moist to wet soils. This shrub likes areas that do not dry out until late in the season such as bioswales or bogs, or ponds and stream banks. Supplemental watering would be necessary for full sun locations that would dry out. Buttonbush cannot tolerate drought.
If buttonbush gets too large or looks unappealing, rejuvenate the shrub by cutting it close to the base or crown in early spring before new growth emerges.
Buttonbush has no serious insect pest or disease problems. Planting it in the proper site with moist conditions will help to prevent leaf loss and branch dieback.
Common cultivars that do well in this area include:
•‘Bailoptics’ PP 29,475 [Fiber Optics®] Fiber Optics®
•‘Bieberich’ [Sputnik™]
• ‘Keystone’
• ‘Kolmoon’ [Magical® Moonlight]
• ‘Select A Dark Green’ (also sold as ‘J.N. Select A’) [Ping Pong™] Ping Pong™
• ‘SMCOSS’ USPP 26,543 [Sugar Shack®]
For more information on common buttonbush, please visit the Home and Garden Information Center website at hgic.clemson.edu. Email Outen at callenb@clemson.edu.
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