Growing Beautybush: Then & Now | Unearthed
Beautybush is an old-fashioned shrub that lives up to its name. Take a look at an original 1926 article from the Horticulture archive, along with updated recommendations.
The Beautybush article below first appeared in Horticulture’s July 1, 1926 issue.
Beautybush was an exciting new shrub in its time
E. H. Wilson, author of the article shown above, collected thousands of plants during his explorations of Asia and South Africa, and beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) was one of his favorites. Wilson died in a 1930 car accident, so he missed beautybush’s turn as a star garden shrub in the ’30s and ’40s. It later fell out of favor, perhaps because it does exceed the six-foot height Wilson described, or because it lacks multiseason interest. But reconsider it. Beautiful blossoms can be enough.
Growing Beautybush Today
This deciduous shrub has upright, arching stems that create a vase shape. It can reach six to ten feet tall and wide. Light pink bell-like flowers open in late spring. Native to China, where wild populations are all but extinct, this species takes full to part sun and average, well-drained soil. More sun prompts heavier flowering. USDA Zones 4–8.
See More from the Archive: Water Lilies for Cool Summer Beauty from August 1960
Making the most of this flowering shrub
Site beautybush where it will have space to grow without shearing or tip pruning. This will allow its best shape to develop. Pair it with low-growing companions that can hide its base, which tends to become bare. Thin the shrub by removing a third of the oldest stems to the ground in late winter. Alternatively, old, neglected shrubs can be renewed by cutting all stems to the ground.
Cultivars of beautybush that boost the appeal of this classic shrub:
- Jolene Jolene (‘Smnkadtf’)
- Stays smaller than the species, standing three to six feet tall and wide. At this size, it’s an easier fit for mixed borders and foundation plantings and less likely to fall victim to restrictive pruning.
- Stays smaller than the species, standing three to six feet tall and wide. At this size, it’s an easier fit for mixed borders and foundation plantings and less likely to fall victim to restrictive pruning.
- Dream Catcher (‘Maradco’)
- Offers color beyond spring with its foliage, which shifts from copper hues to chartreuse in summer. In fall, the foliage turns orange and yellow.
- Offers color beyond spring with its foliage, which shifts from copper hues to chartreuse in summer. In fall, the foliage turns orange and yellow.
- ‘Pink Cloud’
- Selected in 1946 at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, it has slightly larger, pinker flowers that occur in great abundance.
