I've seen a very few planted in landscapes and in arboretums; it never has been or is going to be a popular landscape plant that many seek out. This large shrub is native to the Southeast from northern Florida, areas of Alabama & Georgia & South Carolina, & North Carolina & Virginia and eastern Tennessee & Kentucky. Some native plant and specialty nurseries offer some. It is fast growing. It is brittle wooded and is best sheltered from strong winds. The few plants at Jenkins Arboretum in southeast Pennsylvania have not been really thriving and getting large and thick because there is a lot of shade over much of the grounds, with a lot of lovely oak-hickory-beech-tuliptree forest, including close to them. In 2022 I noticed that a lot more sunlight is getting through and the plants are growing better. It spreads by ground suckers to become a colony. Its twigs are velvety with thick bristly hairs. Its bluish-green compound leaves have 7 to 13 leaflets, no good fall colour.

Reply to this comment