Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
A tough native shrub with clusters of white to pink flowers in late spring and bark that peels in layers for winter interest, good for a flowering hedge, screen or bank. It handles heat, drought, clay and rocky soil. It blooms on old wood, so prune right after flowering; cut an overgrown one to the ground to renew it.
- Mature size
- 6.5 × 5 ft
- 2 × 1.5 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Dry to moist
- Blooms
- Apr–May
Ninebark at its mature size
A mature Ninebark grows 5 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden.
Through the year
What Ninebark looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Mar
Bare arching stems with peeling reddish-brown bark strips.
In leaf · Apr, Jul–Sep
Dull green lobed leaves, no flowers.
In flower · May–Jun
Small rounded clusters of pinkish-white flowers along the arching stems.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Undistinguished dull yellow to brownish.
Photos
Growing Ninebark
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Hedge, small space, drought tolerant, rain garden, slopes, pollinators, winter interest, and fast growing
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Central and Eastern North America
Spacing for a hedge
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Ninebark, that’s about 5 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Ninebark in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other ninebarks
Summer Wine Ninebark
Diabolo Ninebark
Ninebark
Coppertina NinebarkAll drawn to the same scale.