Kodiak® Red Diervilla

So you are looking for a tough plant that will grow anywhere and you dont want to worry about your soil or the amount of light? And you want it to be a native plant too. Kodiak Red Diervilla fits the bill. Did we mention it has fabulous fall color? Or that it has beautiful butter yellow flowers and gorgeous foliage all season long? Red Diervilla is a shrub for everyone almost everywhere! It is one of the most incredibly beautiful plants for the landscape not to mention it is one of the most adaptable plants too. Native to North America, the foliage emerges in the spring with a burgundy glaze and then turns to brilliant red in the autumn. And in between it is constantly covering the shrub with yellow flowers. This is a medium sized shrub growing to 4 feet tall and to almost 5 feet wide. It can grow in full sun, part sun, part shade to full shade and is drought tolerant once established. You can use Red Diervilla as a screen, a specimen or a focal point in the landscape, a mass planting or you can even use the branches in flower arrangements. The stems are straight and long, the foliage is attractive and it will be blooming as well. Kodiak® Red Diervilla Care This is one of the easiest plants to care for in the garden. Average water, drought tolerant, non- invasive, disease and insect resistant, and deer resistant. So in other words, the almost perfect plant. If you desire to prune it, do it in the early spring but it doesnt need regular pruning. If it starts to get more open after a few years, just cut it back to the ground early in the season and it will fill out again quickly. It is hardy from Zone 4a-7b so it will tolerate very cold temperatures as well as very warm ones too. When planting use a slow release fertilizer like Espoma Plant Tone in the spring and again in the fall. Kodiak Red Diervilla is best used in the landscape and because of its size shouldnt be grown in a container. Kodiak® Red Diervilla Spacing If used in a mass planting or as a screen it should be planted at least 5 feet apart, center on center, to allow for optimum growth and air circulation.