| Common Name: |
Shrub Bushclover |
| Popular Varieties: |
Summer Beauty, Yakushima |
| Type: |
Deciduous Flowering Shrub |
| Family: |
Fabaceae |
| Sun Requirements: |
Full Sun |
| Leaves: |
Dark green leaves that are usually with no appreciable fall color that turn yellow. Leaves alternate, trifoliate, each leaflet 3/4 to 2 inches long and two thirds to as much in width. Leaves are broadly oval or obovate, midrib terminating in a small bristle, middle leaflet larger and longer etiolated than others. |
| Size: |
6 to 9 feet high and wide. |
| Hardiness: |
Zone 4 to 7 or 8. It may die back in cold climates and is best treated as a herbaceous perennial. For an idea of your plant zone please visit the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. |
| Habit: |
Upright, open, loosely branched shrub that can become wonderfully unkempt and disorderly if not properly pruned. |
| Rate: |
Medium to fast. |
| Flowers: |
Perfect, rosy-purple, 1/2 inch long, produced in 2 to 5 inch long racemes on current season's growth and are borne from the leaf axilis of the uppermost 2 feet of the shoot from July to August. Flowers are not really overwhelming. |
| Diseases & Insects: |
None serious. |
| Landscape Value: |
Best utilized in the border; could serve as a herbaceous perennial in the north. Plant is considered an invasive species and should be monitored and, if at all possible, kept from spreading. |
| Soil Preference: |
Soil should be well drained. Excessive fertility should be avoided; pH is adaptable. |
| Care: |
Water regularly after initial planting and prune in winter or before new growth ensues in spring. |
| Fertilization: |
Fertilize an area three times the canopy spread of the shrub 1 to 2 times a year with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Only fertilize an established tree.
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| Planting Instructions: |
Dig a hole three times the diameter of the root system, with a depth no deeper than the original soil line on trunk. Break up the soil to the finest consistency possible. Place plant in hole and fill, compacting the fill dirt. Water the plant heavily to seal soil around the roots and remove air pockets. Water well, and remember to water regularly until they have started to grow.
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