Some like it’s hot! Meet fernbush (Chamaebatiaria mellifolium), a beautiful, versatile and underused native shrub. Found on rocky soils in semiarid areas throughout the western United States, it has a delicate look which belies its difficult character. Fernbush flowers for a long period from early to midsummer in a time when few other shrubs are in bloom.
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Botanical name: Chamaebatiaria mellifolium
Common title: Fernbush
USDA zones: 4 to 8 (find your zone)
Elevation range: 4,500 to 7,000 feet
Water necessity: Quite low after established
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature dimension: 4 to 6 feet tall and wide
Advantages and tolerances: Fragrant foliage and flowers attract birds, bees and butterflies; drought and heat tolerant
When to plant: April through September
Seasonal curiosity: Fragrant summer flowers
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Distinguishing traits. Deeply dissected, fern-like foliage gives this plant its common name. The leaves are silvery in color and semievergreen. They’re fuzzy-sticky into the touch and superbly aromatic.
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
A member of the rose family, fernbush blossoms from mid-June through August using white, honey-scented flowers on upright panicles. Glossy cinnamon-red bark is just another attribute.
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
How to use it. Fernbush thrives in hot, sunny locations. A showy specimen plant, it also functions well massed as a display or an informal hedge. Use it as a foundation plant combined south- and west-facing walls, or in a xeric mixed border.
Fernbush includes a relatively coarse texture and creates a great foil to fine-textured crops such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica) and native grasses. Bold foliage plants such as agaves, yuccas, verbascum and kniphofia will also be great companion plants.
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Planting notes. Fernbush adapts well to almost any well-drained dirt — garden loam, clay or sand — and requires only moderate watering until established, and then only in the extended periods. The spent flower heads could be pruned off or left the plant for textural interest during the winter.
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