Cephalanthus occidentalis
The unique pom-pom-like flowers of the eastern buttonbush make it fun to grow if you have a moist to wet location in your yard. Great for low-lying areas, near downspouts or the bottom of rain gardens, leave a half to three quarters of a metre for this large shrub to fill in as you combine it with other moisture-loving shrubs and perennials.
Beneficial Visitors
Round, cream-coloured flowers form in mid-summer and ripen into reddish-brown seedheads, resembling buttons, in late summer to early fall. The flowers’ nectar feeds a variety of butterflies and will sometimes attract our local ruby-throated hummingbirds. Many native bees, such as bumblebees, leaf-cutter, cuckoo and green metallic bees, visit for nectar and pollen. Ducks and other water birds will eat the seeds in fall.
Planting and Care Tips
Plant this shrub in full to part sun. It will tolerate some drought and salt, but may struggle with prolonged drought or salt exposure.
Combine in a planting with other shrubs or small trees such as common elderberry, eastern ninebark, red osier dogwood or black chokeberry. Include smaller shrubs such as white meadowsweet or shrubby cinquefoil in front. Add some perennials such as swamp milkweed, purple-stemmed aster, blue vervain, blue flag iris, or great blue lobelia to add colour and variety through the growing season.