Colored foliage is the modern way to go, bringing color to your garden from spring to fall, instead of for just a couple of weeks a year of flowers. Ideally this should be on a low-maintenance plant that is untroubled by cold or heat, and that thrives in a wide range of conditions. For all that and more, look no further than the Amber Jubilee Ninebark. This tough plant gives a kaleidoscope of color from spring to fall, beginning bright orange, turning green in summer, and then brilliant purple in fall – wow, what a show.

The Amber Jubilee Ninebark grows to around 6 feet tall, with upright, arching branches, and a spread of 3 or 4 feet wide. The flexible stems have peeling bark, which sheds to reveal multiple shades of soft brown to red – all those shades are why it is called ‘ninebark’. This is a handsome feature from late fall, through winter and in early spring before the leaves appear, but it is the foliage we came for. The leaves are round, but with 3 to 5 deep lobes, about 4 inches across. They grow in clusters all along the stems, and in spring they emerge wonderful shades of bright, showy orange, with yellow veins. The whole plants glows with this rich coloring, which persists for weeks, before gradually turning greenish for a few weeks during the summer. Then, with the first cool nights of fall, the leaves begin to darken, soon becoming powerful shades of deep purple, glowing darkly beneath the yellows and oranges of your fall trees. This shrub brings a powerful and colorful presence into your garden, and it asks for so little in return. Older stems produce clusters of white flowers in spring, and these add interest too. They turn into reddish-brown drooping seed heads, that look very pretty in early winter, after the last leaves have fallen.

Growing Amber Jubilee Ninebark

Use the Amber Jubilee Ninebark to add interest to shrub beds. It looks great planted among evergreens, making a terrific foliage color contrast with them. Use it planted in a row – space the bushes 3 feet apart – to make an informal hedge or screen. Plant on the margins of a wooded area – this is a native American plant – and enhance your natural areas in a non-invasive way. Use it on the banks of streams and rivers to control erosion, or at the edges of a mixed windbreak. Wherever you plant it, you will love it, and its easy growing.

The Amber Jubilee Ninebark is an incredibly tough and reliable shrub, that will grow almost anywhere. It is very cold-hardy, tolerating minus 50 degrees in zone 2 with ease. It also grows well in warmer conditions, all the way into zone 8. Wherever you live you can enjoy this shrub. It grows well in almost all soils, including drier soils, but not in soil that is regularly saturated with water. It does best in full sun, especially in the north, but it will grow well in partial shade, although the leaf coloring will not be as bright. It has no significant pests or diseases, and this shrub will grow in almost any location, including harsh urban ones. If you have tough places to plant, ninebark is your ‘go-to’. You can prune in late spring as needed, or in late winter. Annual trimming consists of shortening back the branches by about one-third and removing a few older branches at the ground. If you leave plants untrimmed, and the growth becomes too open after some years, you can even cut this plant right down to the ground, and have it start again, with vigorous and bushy new growth rapidly shooting up. 

History and Origins of Amber Jubilee Ninebark

Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius, grows naturally in the eastern states, from New York to Florida, and today it occurs across almost the whole country and up into Canada as well. It is found mostly on gravel areas near rivers, on banks, and in thickets under trees. There are a number of colored leaf forms, and James Richard Durand, of Jeffries Nurseries, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, has been working on breeding new forms for years. In the spring of 2003, he took pollen from a variety called ‘Dart’s Gold’, with golden leaves, and used it to pollinate a variety called ‘Monlo’, or Diabolo®, which has purple foliage. He grew the seeds, and in spring 2006 he picked one seedling with the most interesting characteristics, and he named it ‘Jefam’.  He patented it in 2012, for its unique appearance and leaf colorings, and since 2003 was the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the queen of both England and Canada, he decided to sell it under the name, Amber Jubilee. Our plants are produced under license, from stem pieces identical to that original plant – you get the real thing. The ever-changing color palette of this plant makes it a wonderful addition to your garden, but it has become hugely popular, so order now, while our stock lasts.