Habitat

• native to eastern United States
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a deciduous small shrub
• multistemmed
• 4' to 6' tall with an equal width
• upright erect form
• suckers
• medium texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage

• opposite leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leave
• ovate leaf shape
• 3-lobed leaves
• 2" to 4" long
• dentate leaf margins
• somewhat pubescent
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• reddish-purple fall color

Flowers

• yellowish-white flowers
• 1" to 3" cyme
• terminal
• blooms in June

Fruit

• black fruit, drupe
• egg-shaped
• 0.33" in diameter
• ripens in September
• persists

Bark

• pubescent, brown stems

Culture

• prefers well-drained, mildly acidic soil
• full sun to shade
• flowers on new wood
• buy plants on their own rootstocks to avoid sucking

Landscape Use

• shrub borders
• naturalizing
• mass plantings
• for fruiting effect

Liabilities

• bacterial leaf spot
• nematodes
• rootstocks tend to sucker

ID Features

• small, black, egg-shaped drupe
• deciduous leaves in an opposite arrangement
• lobed leaves with dentate leaf margins

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed
• by grafting

Cultivars/Varieties

• none