The Pollinator Hotspot That Transforms Your Landscape!

by Timothy Kane, American Beauties Native Plant Ambassador

All About Cephalanthus occidentalis – Buttonbush

Buttonbush used to be one of the best Lepidoptera host plants that no one knew.  Thankfully, that dynamic has changed dramatically over the last few years and buttonbush is finally getting the attention it deserves as a superb host and a superb landscape plant.

This large growing shrub may not be for the faint of heart or for small spaces 10-15’ tall and wide mature size can revolutionize many locations in a larger landscape. Its beefy, rounded form is a hub of landscape critter activity since it hosts all those Butterfly and Moth species including the Titan Sphinx Moth, the Hydrangea Sphinx Moth and the Royal Walnut Moth.

Where there is Moth and Butterfly larvae, you can be sure there is a healthy population of native birds who need to harvest some of those larvae throughout the year to support their broods.  That alone would make it one of the best bird supporting plants in the landscape but when you add in its dense, blocky form and the delectable seed formed once its unique flowers are past bloom, you have a nesting, cover and food bonanza that will attract birds to your landscape like a magnet.

A FLOWER THAT'S OUT OF THIS WORLD

Let’s talk about those unique flowers a bit.  Blooming from late May into summer, these flowers are showy in their own special way featuring a creamy white globe attached to a short stem that looks like a pin cushion with numerous protruding styles giving it a distinct satellite appearance!  These flowers are seductively attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds adding to the frenzy of activity this plant supports.  And, as stated earlier, these flowers form seed that in late summer and fall birds love.

Buttonbush loves moist soil and is a perfect plant for anchoring a Rain Garden.  It will tolerate standing water and is found in nature holding court on the banks of a stream or beside a pond.  It even puts on an outstanding fall foliage show with a brilliant display of yellow to scarlet color as the fall cools.

Native Selections of Cephalanthus occidentalis

Cephalanthus occidentalis Crimson Comet - One of the best naturally occurring selection available is called Crimson Comets. Featuring its incredible crimson red fall foliage color, this selection also boasts past flower structures that also color to crimson as opposed to beige in the species giving it and even more brilliant presence in the landscape while still supporting all the butterflies, moths and birds as the species.