Content Detail

Whether planted in sun or heavy shade, jetbead will prosper, making it a potential choice for shady sites. Use it as a specimen or border plant. Showy white flowers, crisp green foliage, and black fruit clusters make this shrub distinct throughout the growing season. This shrub does reseed and can be a problem in natural areas if not controlled.

  • Family (English) Rose
  • Family (botanic) Rosaceae
  • Tree or plant type Shrub
  • Foliage Deciduous (seasonally loses leaves)
  • Native locale Non-native
  • Size range Small shrub (3-5 feet), Medium shrub (5-8 feet)
  • Light exposure Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun / shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade (4 hrs or less of light daily)
  • Hardiness zones Zone 4, Zone 5 (Northern Illinois), Zone 6 (City of Chicago), Zone 7, Zone 8
  • Soil preference Alkaline soil, Moist, well-drained soil
  • Tolerances Alkaline soil, clay soil, Occasional drought, Road salt
  • Season of interest late spring, early summer, early fall
  • Flower color and fragrance White
  • Shape or form Arching, Mounded, Multi-stemmed, Thicket-forming
  • Growth rate Fast

Size & form: 

This open, loosely branched, colony-forming shrub will grow to be 3 to 6 feet high and 4 to 9 feet wide.

Native geographic location and habitat: 

Jetbead is native to Japan and central China.

Attracts birds & wildlife: 

Birds eat the berries and can disperse them into woodland areas where it may become invasive. 

Bark color and texture: 

The young stems are green and smooth. The older stems are gray and reddish brown. 

Leaf or needle arrangement, size, shape, and texture: 

The leaves are opposite, simple, 2 to 4 inches long with sharp, double serrated margins. They are bright to medium green with ribbed veins and a long pointed tip. It is one of the first shrubs to leaf out in spring.

Flower arrangement, shape, and size: 

The flower is white and four-petaled, appearing at the tip of the branches. It blooms in late spring.

Fruit, cone, nut, and seed descriptions: 

The fruit is a shiny black cluster of three to four elliptical hard berries (drupe), which are persistent in winter.

Plant care: 

Jetbead performs well in full sun to densely shaded sites. It is pH adaptable and does best in well-drained soil. It is a tough plant that tolerates polluted conditions and aerial salt spray.

List of pests, diseases, and tolerances: 

Jetbead can be considered invasive near natural areas in some states. Use it with caution. It has no serious disease or insect problems.

Donate

Your support is vital to the Arboretum, where the power of trees makes a positive impact on people’s lives.

Make a gift