Thorny, deer-proof shrub long used in foundation plantings. It forms dense woodland thickets from bird-sown seed and those thickets support high tick populations.
Listed as invasive / prohibited in CT, MA. The planner flags it (OL-INVASIVE) for sites in those jurisdictions. Details and sources.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 0.9–1.8 m (3–6 ft) tall and 0.9–2.1 m (3–7 ft) wide; medium growth, about 6 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the #3 install size.
Design notes
Banned from sale in Massachusetts and listed invasive in Connecticut; regulated in New York.
Substitute bush honeysuckle (Diervilla), Virginia sweetspire, fragrant sumac 'Gro-Low' or dwarf fothergilla.
Regions
Native range: Japan.
Not recorded as native to any of the three pilot regions.
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Regulated: invasive in CT (Connecticut Invasive Plant List); prohibited in MA (Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List).
Check your state’s current list before planting.
Other listings: regulated — US-NY (Prohibited and Regulated Invasive Species (6 NYCRR Part 575)).