This plant won’t win an award for its flowers, but it is a very versatile plant that grows well in sun, part shade, full shade, moist or very dry. It has a nice light green color all summer and gives a good red fall show. For a shade garden, it is a true competitor to hostas.
For an uncommon plant, Diervilla lonicera sure has a lot of common names including bush honeysuckle, low bush honeysuckle, northern bush honeysuckle dwarf bush honeysuckle, and yellow flowered upright honeysuckle. It is an Ontario native that is not very common in either the wild or the garden.
The small yellow flowers are protogynous, where the pistil matures before the pollen, and plants are self-sterile. It is host to the Fawn Sphinx Moth.
In full sun the plant grows and spreads quickly with suckers. In full shade it is a much slower growing shrub, but it seems happy in full shade under sugar maples. The species suckers even in shade, but a named cultivar grown from seed (Butterfly) suckers much less.
Diervilla lonicera
(dy-er-VIL-uh luh-NIS-er-a)
Life Cycle: shrub
Height: 120 cm (3 ft)
Bloom Time: mid-summer
Natural Range: Eastern North America
Habitat: dry rocky open woodland areas
Synonyms: Diervilla diervilla, Diervilla lonicera var. hypolmalaca, Diervilla trifida,Diervilla canadensis, Lonicera diervilla
Cultivation of Diervilla lonicera:
Light: full sun to full shade
Soil: well drained
Water: medium to dry, tolerates drought
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3– 7
Propagation: suckers, cuttings, seed
