Common Name: dwarf bush-honeysuckle
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: June
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Clay Soil
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions including clay, drier soils, occasional drought and shade. Cultivars with colorful foliage are best grown with plenty of sun. Plants will spread by underground runners or stolons. Freely suckers. Plants may be propagated by transplanting suckers. Prune as needed immediately after flowering.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Diervilla is a genus of 3 species of deciduous shrubs from North America. They are grown for their attractive form and yellow flowers. They are commonly called bush honeysuckle.
Genus name honors a French surgeon named Dierville or Diereville who observed with great interest a North American native bush-honeysuckle growing in Canada during an extensive trip he took to that country in 1699-1700. Upon his return to France, he introduced the shrub to European culture, with the bush-honeysuckle genus eventually being named in memory of him. Linnaeus subsequently listed the observed Canadian plant as Diervilla lonicera.
The common name bush honeysuckle refers to the growth habit of this plant, as well as the appearance of the flowers which resemble those of plants in the genus Lonicera (honeysuckles). Diervilla and Lonicera are both in the Caprifoliaceae family. This plant should not to be confused with L. maackii which shares the common name bush honeysuckle and is an exotic invasive species to Missouri and the Midwest.
'Copper' is a dwarf bush honeysuckle cultivar that is noted for its copper-red new growth, yellow flowers and attractive fall color. It is a suckering, densely-branched, deciduous shrub that slowly grows to 2-3’ tall. Panicles (cymes) of yellow trumpet-shaped flowers (to 1” long) bloom in late spring to early summer and are attractive to butterflies. Ovate to oblong-lanceolate, opposite, nearly sessile, dark green leaves. New growth leaves emerge copper-red. Bronze-red to orange-red fall color is attractive. Plants are in the same family as and closely related to Weigela.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Leaf spot and powdery mildew may occur. Deer tend to avoid this plant.
Uses
Small hedge. Naturalize in woodland gardens or on slopes. Shrub borders.