Common Pearlbush
Exochorda racemosa (formerly Exochorda grandiflora) (ROSACEAE)
Planting and Growing Common Pearlbush
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow common pearlbush in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, fruit, and seed of common pearlbush
- Growing conditions for common pearlbush
- When and where to plant common pearlbush
- How to plant common pearlbush
- How to shape, prune and control growth of common pearlbush
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of common pearlbush
- Landscape uses of common pearlbush
- Pest and disease control for common pearlbush
Growing Common Pearlbush
A few cultivars of fast-growing, erect, narrow, deciduous shrubs, 10–12 ft. (3–3.7 m) tall and wide, with shiny, green, broadly oval, pointed leaves, 2‑1/2–3-in. (63–75-mm) long, and with red brown bark.
Wilson pearlbush, Exochorda giraldii, is a closely related species with larger blooms and similar care needs.
Common Pearlbush Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Many showy, spirea-like, short-lived, cream, white flowers, 1‑1/2–2-in. (38–50-mm) wide, in spring as leaves emerge, in dangling clusters, form dry, divided, capsulelike fruit bearing winged seed in summer.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 5–9. Hardy.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist to damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average. 5.5–6.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 4–6 ft. (1.2–1.8 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist until established; drought tolerant thereafter. Fertilize annually in spring. Mulch in winter. Prune to remove central branches and maintain open form. Propagate by cuttings, layering, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, borders, containers, screens in cottage, formal, meadow gardens. Pest and oak root fungus resistant. Powdery mildew susceptible.