Index / Search / Physocarpus opulifolius

§1 Plant

Physocarpus opulifolius (L.) Maxim., orth. cons.

vernacular common ninebark — species · Rosaceae


USDA
PHOP
GBIF
2988354
Rank
species
common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Platephotograph · hollyyoungCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Rosaceae Juss.
Genus
Physocarpus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 2 counties across 1 state
Legend Native · 2 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-33 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
35–60 in/yr
pH range
4.5–6.5
Root depth
14 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
10 ft
Height @ 20 y
10 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Orange
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
1,045,000
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 2 counties across 1 state.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PHOP ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2988354 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z