Habitat

• cold hardy to zone 2
• performs poorly in zones warmer than 6
• northeastern United States
• typically found on gravelly soils along road cuts

Habit and Form

• a deciduous shrub
• 2' to 4' tall with a spread twice the height
• a spreading, colonizing plant
• stems are slender and upright

Summer Foliage

• alternate, deciduous leaves
• 2" to 4.5" long
• 0.33" to 0.5" wide
• elongated linear shape
• coarse, tooth-like lobes on the leaves
• emerges light green and matures to a dark green
• foliage somewhat reminiscent of fern fronds
• foliage fragrant, especially when crushed

Autumn Foliage

• green to brown
• not attractive

Flowers

• monoecious, with male and female flowers on the same plant
• flowers are small catkins
• yellow-green color
• blooms in April and early may
• not ornamentally significant

Fruit

• a cluster of small nutlets
• not ornamentally significant

Bark

• old stems are on interesting copper or purplish color
• stems are shiny or with resin dots

Culture

• full sun to partial shade
• sandy, peaty, acid soils with low fertility are best
• does not compete well with other plants in good growing sites
• has the ability to fix nitrogen
• can be difficult to transplant and establish; pieces of sod are recommended for best results

Landscape Use

• difficult sites
• poor, sterile, sandy soils
• naturalistic plantings
• for erosion control on road banks
• for foliage fragrance
• as a novelty plant

Liabilities

• hard to transplant and establish under cultivation
• not easy to find for sale

ID Features

• a low, deciduous colonizing plant
• fern-like leaves
• foliage aromatic
• resin dots on stems
• flowers monoecious catkins

Propagation

• by root cuttings
• by division of sod
• by juvenile stems cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

• none