Fiber Optics® Buttonbush

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

5-6 Feet

Mature Spread

5 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 9

Are planning a Rain Garden and looking for a shrub that can go in zone 1 but isn’t the usual sedge or Red Twig Dogwood? Or do you need a shrub for a dry, partly shady area in a Woodland garden? Fiber Optic® Buttonbush is the perfect shrub for both spots! This profusely bloomer not only tolerates flooding and drought conditions, it has the grooviest sputnik shaped blooms that attract beneficial pollinators like mad.

Fiber Optic® is a cultivar of the native Cephalanthus occidentalis which can be found in the Midwest. The fragrance and long blooming of Fiber Optic® make it a great addition for attracting wildlife to the home garden. The compact, upright growth needs little maintenance and everything from the flowers to fruits and seeds are used by pollinators, Hummingbirds, song birds and Ducks. Deer resistant and not usually bothered by pests or diseases.

Fiber Optics® Buttonbush Care

Buttonbush likes to be planted in full sun, but will grow happily in a shadier area with soil on the dry side such as at the edges of a Woodland garden. Average soil that is moist and well drained suits this shrub perfectly. Buttonbush is able to stand periods of flooding and  late spring wet soils without the roots rotting. Fertilizing is not generally recommended for native shrubs and perennials. Mulching with leaves or organic compost in the late summer will help the soil to improve over time to provide the right amount of nutrition for Buttonbush.

The upright and open form of Fiber Optic® Buttonbush looks best with not much pruning for shape. The only pruning that should be done is to assess winter damage early in the spring. Cutting back of diseased, dying, dead or diagonal branches. 

Fiber Optics® Buttonbush Spacing

The overall height and width of Fiber Optic® is  5-6 feet, making it a medium sized shrub that is great for the mid layer of understory planting. The recommended spacing of 6 feet on center will provide this showy bloomer plenty of good air circulation.