Native Plant Series: Ninebark

Plant This: Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is a hardy native shrub that performs very well in our area. It’s a great border shrub and in groups can form a hedge row. Leaf color on ninebark ranges from bright green in the spring to deep red in the fall, making it a great plant for seasonal interest. Spring also brings white flowers making it a favorite for pollinators like bees, wasps, flies and butterflies. Ninebark is a wonderful replacement for Japanese Barberry, an invasive shrub that is very popular in local landscaping. Japanese Barberry is a tier 2 invasive species in Maryland and needs to be removed from local landscape. Sales of Barberry is illegal in neighboring states. The shrub is dense and prickly and it is spread in many different ways - by birds, by hikers and by long underground shoots. One of the worst qualities of Japanese Barberry is that it is a host plant to the ticks most commonly carrying Lyme’s Disease. If you have Barberry in your yard, this spring is a great time to remove it and replace with a native species like Ninebark.

To learn more about native Ninebark, visit https://mgnv.org/plants/native-plants/shrubs/physocarpus-opulifolius/

To learn more about the dangers of invasive Japanese Barberry, visit https://extension.umd.edu/resource/japanese-barberry/

This blog series provided by Zander Hine, ACWA Student Board Member