
A ninebark flower cluster.

The ninebark cultivar ‘Coppertina’ in the auhor’s garden.

The pearl-like unopened flowers of ninebark.

A ninebark flower cluster. Photo: Melissa McMasters.
The peonies are starting to bloom in Nichols Arboretum right now. While not native, peonies are tough plants, seemingly indestructible as they easily shrug off the coldest winters and come back to bloom year after year, decade after decade. Another plant that’s also in bloom at the moment and is just as tough—and native—is this week’s plant, common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius).
The University of Michigan Herbarium records this zone 2 hardy woody shrub in every county in the Upper Peninsula and in most of the Lower Peninsula. In the wild it’s found along rivers and streams as well as in the UP on rocky ledges. Ninebark tolerates a wide range of soil types and conditions and is very cold hardy, so it’s a great plant to consider in your landscape.

A ninebark flower cluster.

Ripe ninebark fruit. Photo: Peter Dziuk.

Fall fruit of ninebark. Photo: Tom Potterfield.

Ninebark bark peeling away in strips.