A tough plant for tough places

Some plantings are difficult.  Poor soil, deer, high ph, lack of irrigation, or a combination of some or all of these issues.  The more factors in combination, the more your plant list gets whittled down.  One of the plants you can count on to be available to use when the whittling is done is diervilla, or bush honeysuckle.

Diervilla grow in most soil conditions, all light conditions, and are deer and drought resistant. They all sport somewhat inconspicuous yellow flowers. The Kodiak® series, developed for the landscape, sport various leaf colors for more summer interest and are non invasive.  All of these colors, including amazing fall colors, are more intense the more sunlight the plant gets.

Kodiak® Black sports a blackish-purple leaf which contrasts well with the usually inconspicuous flowers.  Kodiak® Orange and Red are also available with hints of orange and red in the leaves.  The most intense fall color seems to come from Kodiak® Orange. 

These plants get between three and four feet tall and wide.  Their habit can be considered a little messy and leggy if left to grow naturally.  I like to prune them regularly to maintain a smaller size and encourage increased branching, but do it in late fall so as not to miss any of the fall color show. 

Diervilla is a tough plant for tough conditions, but the Kodiak® series gives you an attractive plant even when conditions aren't tough.