Ninebark blooms nicely
One of the sights I returned to after my recent trip (besides the knee-high lawn) was the ninebark.
This is probably the best-looking shrub in my yard year-round, but in mid-spring it really impresses with its blooms.
Minimal fragrance (if any), but does that even matter in this case?
There are so many blooms! I love macro shots, but let's take a couple of steps back:
I love the arching arms that remind me of an octopus:
Maybe several octopuses hugging each other, because there are way more than 8 arms. Sadly, I'll have to prune some of these soon as they'll be blocking paths. This plant got much larger than the tag indicated.
The pink of the unopened buds really does it for me. I don't know if I'd like these as much if they were pure white. Perhaps.
Just beautiful! It bloomed early this year just like everything else, but I'm glad I didn't miss the whole show while I was away.
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I really like it! I've never seen a ninebark in our part of the country. I wonder why nurseries around here don't carry them?
I'd heard about ninebark on Gardening by the Yard, but I didn't know about the flowers. So pretty!!
Great photos! I've never looked that closely at a ninebark flower before. They really are lovely. Could it possibly be a Diablo ninebark? It was all the rage when it came out and everyone planted it... and it ended up growing to nearly twice the size the tag said it should be!
I have never hear of this shrub. It has delightfully pretty blooms. Glad you didn't miss the show.
Jennifer: it's 'Summer Wine', not 'Diablo'. I think they're very similar though. Tag says 4-5' tall and wide. Double that is closer to what I see too.
Have you had any problems with powdery mildew? Seems like all the cultivars of Ninebark I have planted (Diablo, Summer Wine, Coppertina, Center Glow) wind up looking bad due to powdery mildew.
Zoo: nope, I've never seen powdery mildew on this, even when monarda was planted next to it -- the king of powdery mildew hosts in my garden.