Ninebark 'Carmel'

Ninebark 'Carmel' (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Carmel') is a caramel dessert of a shrub. The young leaves open in a warm caramel-copper tone and darken towards deep purple by summer, so the bush changes its mood several times in a single season.

Plant it where you need a large block of colour: massed in a shrub border, in a hedge, or on a bank that needs holding together by roots. The species stands about 2.5-4 m tall, so this is not a low edging like the dwarf 'Little Devil' but a large dark shrub. It flowers in April and May with white or pink corymbs.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The shrub even puts up with growing beside black walnut, where most ornamentals simply refuse to settle.
• Dimensions: At ten years it reaches 2.5-4 m tall and 1.5-2.5 m wide.
• Hardiness: Hardy down to -45 °C (USDA zone 2).
• Flowering: In April and May the bush is covered with dense white or pink corymbs.
• Light: It is equally happy in full sun or partial shade; in northern areas plant it in the open sun.
• Soil: It takes ordinary garden soil, slightly acidic and well drained, and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions.
• Watering: Watering is moderate, from dry to medium; it takes drought and rocky dry soils in its stride.
• Care: It responds willingly to pruning right after flowering and no later than mid-August; an old bush is rejuvenated in spring by cutting it back close to the ground.
• Landscape use: It carries masses in shrub borders, hedges and green screens, and on banks it also holds the soil against erosion.