With its beautiful white spring flowers and bright red fall leaves, Sweetbells makes a great replacement for nonnative Burning Bush. Its sweetly aromatic flowers hang like bells along racimes.
Reaching heights of just 3 to 6 feet, Sweetbells likes to colonize and makes a great deciduous hedge.
Its native habitat is in damp woods along streams and near swamps, making it an attractive, low-maintenance shrub for shady spots. It can take full sun in damp soil.
Henry's Elfin caterpillars feed on the leaves, and butterflies and native bees drink the nectar.
Fun fact: An alternate name, Doghobble, refers to the tangled layers of stems that are difficult to pass through (Cullina, W. Native Trees, Shrubs & Vines, 2002)
Photo: Doug McGrady
Sweetbells / Doghobble
- Latin: Eubotrys racemosa
- Pollinator value: Medium
- Height: 3-6 feet; 2-3 feet wide
- Light: Part to full shade (sun with good moisture)
- Soil: Moist to wet
- Bloom: Creamy white, May-June
- Fruit: Light brown capsules
- Foliage: Deciduous, bright red fall
- Pair with: Blueberries, Azaleas
- Landscape: Along a pond or other moist area; slope; moist, shady woodlands
- Resistance: Deer
- More information and native range here