How do you recognise Beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)?

Leaf

Jean-Claude Echardour, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Beauty bush

Kolkwitzia amabilis Graebn.

Also known as: Kolkwitzia

Family: Caprifoliaceae

2 to 3 m tall

Planted as a specimen or in a border, ordinary free-draining soils

Flowering: May – June

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to about -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The beauty bush owes its French nickname 'arbre aux perles' (pearl tree) to the little balls of hairy fruits that form after flowering, lined up along the branches like a string of pearls.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, ovate, opposite, slightly hairy

🌸 Flowers

Pale pink with a yellow-orange throat, bell-shaped, borne in abundance along the arching branches

🍎 Fruits

Small hairy achene, grouped in decorative little balls resembling pearls

🪵 Bark

Brown, peeling in strips with age

🗺️ Distribution

Native to China; widely planted in France as an ornamental shrub

🐝 Value for pollinators

Very abundant, nectar-rich flowering, very attractive to bees in spring

✂️ Horticultural uses

Ornamental shrub with an arching habit, planted for its spectacular, generous spring flowering

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No notable toxicity known

🌱 Known cultivars

Pink Cloud

Selected in the Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley; much more generous flowering than the species, with deeper pink flowers that almost completely cover the arching branches in spring.

🌿 Other Caprifoliaceae to discover

Southern bush honeysuckle

Diervilla sessilifolia

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.