Kolkwitzia amabilis               Caprifoliacease

Beautybush                kolk-WIT-ze-a a-MAB-a-lis

• Deciduous shrub, 6-10 ft (1.8-3 m), upright aching, exfoliating bark, foliage mostly in upper part of plant, may become leggy.  Leaves opposite, 2.5-7.5 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, rounded at base, acuminate, nearly entire, dull dark green above, new leaves downy on both surfaces, short petiole.  Flowers pink, yellow in throat, flaring bell-shaped, 13 mm long, flower stalks highly pubescent, in clusters.
• Sometimes confused with the more common Weigela (see Weigela florida) which also has opposite leaves and similarly shaped flowers, but the flowers are larger, have a wider range of colors, and the flower stalks are not highly pubescent.
• Sun (best) to part shade, old fashioned shrub, no serious diseases or pests.  To prevent established plants from becoming leggy and bare of lower growth, annually prune out, to the base, about a third of the old shoots.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native to central China, a popular cultivar is 'Pink Cloud'
• Kolkwitzia: after Richard Kolkwitz (born 1873), German professor of botany. amabilis: lovely
• Oregon State Univ. campus: southwest of Nash (in Spirae planting).