{"id":3456,"date":"2021-07-26T06:31:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T14:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3456"},"modified":"2021-07-26T06:31:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T14:31:20","slug":"cute-as-a-buttonbush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/cute-as-a-buttonbush\/","title":{"rendered":"Cute as a Buttonbush"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Buttonbush\"<\/a>When you see or hear something\u2014plants, animals, situations\u2014several times in a short span of hours or days, the universe is probably trying to send you a message.\u00a0 This past week, the message I received was about buttonbush, known to botanists as Cephalanthus occidentalis.\u00a0 On three separate days, I saw buttonbushes in three separate parks in my home county.\u00a0 All were in full bloom, so it was hard not to take notice.<\/p>\n

As with many plants, the Latin name says a lot.\u00a0 It comes from two Greek words\u2014\u201ckephale\u201d, which means \u201chead\u201d, and \u201canthos\u201d, meaning \u201cflower\u201d.\u00a0 You find \u201canthos\u201d, either hiding or in plain sight, in many flower names, including: chrysanthemum; helianthus, otherwise known as sunflower; and leucanthemum, the best known of which is the much-loved Shasta daisy.<\/p>\n

Buttonbush, which may also be known as, button willow, honey bells, or honey balls, got its common name from its head-shaped flowers, which are about one inch in diameter, perfectly round and fragrant.\u00a0 If you can imagine little, round white or pinkish porcupines, you will have a good idea of the appearance of buttonbush blooms.\u00a0 The protruding \u201cspines\u201d\u2014which are not sharp\u2014are in fact, pistils, the female reproductive parts of the flower.<\/p>\n

Those \u201choney balls\u201d are borne in clusters on multi-branched shrubs that grow between five to 12 feet tall and four to eight feet wide.\u00a0 The bright green leaves are shaped like elongated ovals and appear in pairs or whorls.\u00a0 Woody plant guru, Dr. Michael Dirr, comments, \u201cLeaves emerge late in spring and the plant looks dead until mid-May.\u201d\u00a0 I think this sounds harsh, as many plants look similarly dead before springing to vibrant life.\u00a0 In early spring I am generally fixated on the daffodils anyway.<\/p>\n

In addition to its beauty, buttonbush is a pollinator magnet.\u00a0 The Xerxes Society, an invertebrate conservation group, says that buttonbush \u201cis frequented by skippers, monarchs, and virtually any butterflies that happen to be passing by.\u201d\u00a0 It is also a host plant for large moths like the beautiful titan sphinx and hydrangea sphinx.\u00a0 The alluring fragrance of the blooms and the nectar inside them draws bees as well as hummingbirds.<\/p>\n

The white \u201cbuttons\u201d are succeeded by red ones, which are actually the fruits of the plants.\u00a0 As if to compensate for the spring deadness, those fruiting bodies persist into winter.<\/p>\n

Gardeners tend to be optimists, but there are always those who will ask, \u201cSo\u2026what is the downside of this plant?\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have a small garden, size may be an issue.\u00a0 Fortunately, breeders have come up with \u2018Sugar Shack\u2019, a variety that grows only three to four feet tall, and reputedly offers good fall leaf color in addition to its other virtues.<\/p>\n

Even if you have plenty of room, you may not cotton to the somewhat gangly habit of the buttonbush.\u00a0 The plants can be shaped into a tidier, rounded configuration by regular pruning.\u00a0 They can also be grown in standard or tree form by removing all but the sturdiest lower branch or branches and removing new growth as it appears below the crown.\u00a0 I have done that successfully with the equally gangly and obstreperous rose-of-Sharon shrub, providing myself with a more disciplined plant and room to grow annuals and perennials underneath.<\/p>\n

Buttonbush is a North American native, making it a perfect candidate for native plant landscapes and habitat restoration.\u00a0 It absolutely adores having wet feet and is often found in the wild in swampy places or beside ponds or streams.\u00a0 In rainy seasons when the water is high, buttonbushes will even flower when standing in water.<\/p>\n

If you invest in a buttonbush, either put it in a damp spot, along with your astilbes, chelone and other moisture lovers, or provide regular supplemental water when the weather is even slightly dry.\u00a0 If you happen to have a rain garden or swale, a buttonbush will fit right in.<\/p>\n

Swale or no swale, you may be able to find a buttonbush at well-stocked local nurseries, especially those that carry shrubs under the \u201cProven Winners\u201d label.\u00a0 You can also order one for fall planting from Prairie Nursery, W5875 Dyke Ave, Westfield, WI<\/a>; 800-476-9453; www.prairienursery.com.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you see or hear something\u2014plants, animals, situations\u2014several times in a short span of hours or days, the universe is probably trying to send you a message.\u00a0 This past week, the message I received was about buttonbush, known to botanists as Cephalanthus occidentalis.\u00a0 On three separate days, I saw buttonbushes in three separate parks in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[2553,2556,2552,2554,491,155,2555,1881,448,1145],"class_list":["post-3456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-button-bush","tag-button-willow","tag-buttonbush","tag-cephalanthus-occidentalis","tag-flowering-shrubs","tag-habitat-plants","tag-honey-balls","tag-honey-plants","tag-native-plants","tag-wetland-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3458,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456\/revisions\/3458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}