Popular hedge shrub prized for intense red fall colour. Birds spread its seed, and shade-tolerant seedlings carpet northeastern forest understories.
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 2.4–4.5 m (8–15 ft) tall and 2.4–4.5 m (8–15 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
"Compact" cultivars still seed and still reach 2–3 m.
For red fall colour use black chokeberry, highbush blueberry, fothergilla or Virginia sweetspire.
Regions
Native range: Northeastern Asia.
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)).