The Beauty and Benefits of Nine Bark Hydrangea
The Nine Bark Hydrangea is a North American, versatile stunning shrub that can make any landscape or garden look better. It is one of the best decorative plants and is especially good for cold weather. If you are looking for a good shrub to use to build a beautiful garden in your backyard or to use for decorative purposes to make your backyard look beautiful, then you should consider getting Nine Bark Hydrangea.
What is Nine Bark Hydrangea?
The Nine Bark Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) is sometimes called the seven-layered hydrangea due to its peculiar and unusual multi-layered bark. It is not originally from here, in fact, Nine Bark Hydrangea is from the eastern United States, but can grow nicely here as it is a very tough shrub that can adapt to any weather.
Hydrangea can complement a wide variety of gardens and is also a great match for some of the smaller gardens due to the sheer rugged beauty of its multi-layered bark and strong tree trunk. It grows to a height of about 10 feet. When in bloom, cotton-ball flowers in white, pink, or purple, depending on the variety, erupt and cover the plant, along with a backdrop of shining green foliage. Most importantly, the plant adds vividness to gardens every spring.
What is Unique About the 9 Bark Hydrangea?
One of the unique characteristics of the 9 Bark Hydrangea is its resistance to mildew. That makes it a great option for gardens with an inclination of humidity and for areas with damp climate conditions. Also, it is a friendly plant to pollinators, which is a great plus for the health of your garden. Nine Bark Hydrangea attracts pollinators such as bees, beneficial wasps, and butterflies.
The Nine Bark Hydrangea also has beautiful highly ornamental bark. The bark is similar to birch, but with more layered drama. The plant is called nine bark, but some people name it seven bark hydrangea, due to its highly layered bark.
How to Grow and Take Care of a Nine Bark Hydrangea
A Nine Bark Hydrangea loves moist and well-drained soil, which makes this plant easy to care for, as long as it has the right conditions. This plant can grow in multiple soil types, but it grows better in slightly acidic, or neutral, soil. A Nine Bark hydrangea grows the best in the sun, and to keep it looking nice, it will need to be watered and pruned regularly.
Healing and Medicinal Pros of Nine Bark Hydrangea
The Nine Bark Hydrangea has long been used for medicinal purposes. The Cherokee and other Native American tribes used the bark for various medicinal purposes, for example the inner bark tea which can be used for vomiting and the powdered outer bark can help with muscle and burn pain as well as high blood pressure.
To remedy the symptoms of the kidneys and bladder, the plant's bark and roots can be used as well. It is important to note that these natural remedies are meant to provide temporary pain easing relief, and should be used with moderation. Also, any nature-based treatments need to be used carefully and with the right supervision.
Wildlife Benefits
Those who wish to bring wildlife into their gardens should consider getting a Nine Bark Hydrangea. Their seeds feed birds, shrubs, and flowers, bring in helpful pollinators, and support the ecosystem. For all these reasons, Nine Bark Hydrangea is a very ecologically and environmentally friendly plant to grow to support gardens catering to wildlife.
Planting Nine Bark Hydrangea in Your Yard
The Nine Bark Hydrangea thrives and grows the best in areas where full sun to partial shade is offered. During the summer, they are able to tolerate and even prefer shade. Because of their thick, dense growth, these shrubs are helpful to fill borders and work great as hedges.
By pruning the Nine Bark Hydrangea, you can shape the shrub into the shape and size you want. Nine Bark Hydrangea is a very flexible and adaptable shrub able to work with many different design styles to best fit the customers needs.
Companion Plants for Nine Bark Hydrangea
Nine Bark Hydrangeas go hand in hand with a number of other plants. Think of bundling with other hydrangeas if you'd like a hydrangea-centric landscape or complement the contrasting textures with ornamental grasses like blue fescue. Complementary plants include Nine Bark Hydrangeas hosas, daylilies, and aster.
Nine Bark Hydrangea Dark green foliage contrasts perfectly with the astilbe blooms, and its coarse bark goes perfectly with Japanese maples or some sort of evergreen, offering a nice equilibrium of form and textural contrast.
Improve Your Garden with Nine Bark Hydrangea at TN Nursery
If you want to add this beautiful, resilient plant to your garden, TN Nursery has Nine Bark Hydrangea and other gorgeous selections for your landscape. Tammy Sons, horticulturalist and CEO of TN Nursery, has over 35 years of experience assisting gardeners in selecting the ideal plants for their homes. You'll receive only the finest Nine Bark Hydrangeas and other plants to make your garden even more beautiful and healthy with TN Nursery.
FAQs
What are the cons of ninebark?
While there are plenty of pros to growing the Nine Bark Hydrangea as part of your collection, there are a few cons to consider. Unlike other hydrangeas, the Nine Bark is a larger plant and may require more space or pruning, especially in the more compact gardens, to maintain its hydrangea form. Another possible con is that the Nine Bark does tend to spread quickly, which, if left unpruned, could lead to overcrowding of other plant species of the landscape. Furthermore, while the Nine Bark Hydrangea is fairly resistant to mildew which is a positive for high humidity places, it may, however, be victim to other pests such as spider mites or aphids.
Is pine bark mulch good for hydrangeas?
The answer is yes. Pine bark mulch is good for hydrangeas, including Nine Bark Hydrangea. Pine bark mulch helps with keeping moisture in the soil which is important for the health of hydrangea. Not onlly that, but bark mulch gives nutrients to the plants, helps to keep the weeds from growing, and keeps the soil positioned at the right temperature to make sure the roots do not get too hot or too cold.
What pairs well with ninebark?
Nine Bark Hydrangeas go well with many plants, especially ones with different colored foliage or flowers. Good companions include, but are not limited to, astilbe, black eyed Susan, coneflower, daylilies, and Japanese maples. These plants have very bright and bold flowers. You could also use some ornamental feather reed grass for some added height and interest.
What not to plant next to a hydrangea?
When adding to the landscape around hydrangeas, it is important to remember that many plants like to dry out between watering, which is the opposite of what hydrangeas like. Stay away from invasive plants like English ivy that will outgrow the hydrangea and take over the area. In addition, some plants draw in pests that might cause just as much problem as aphids, which hydrangeas are known to attract.
Should you cut back ninebark in the fall?
No, it is not a good idea to trim Ninebark Hydrangea in the fall. This will allow the plant to encourage new soft growth that will not survive the cold, and will cause the plant to look bad when it has sprouted new leaves in the spring. It is better to wait until the last part of the winter or the very early spring to do the trimming, which should help the overall look of the plant going into winter without losing structure.
Where is the best place to plant ninebark?
The most optimal location to plant Nine Bark Hydrangea would be in an area that gets full to some partial sun. Find an area that has some moist soil that drains. Although the plant can handle some shad more sun would be optimal for the plant to grow. There should be plenty of room for the shrub to grow as Nine Bark Hydrangeas can grow as much as 10 feet.
