Kolkwitzia, Beauty Bush, Beautybush 'Dream Catcher'

I have had my Dream Catcher about 5 years now. I will say that just this year it has come into its glory. I had the same experience as...Read More many posters before me. It looked like a more sprawling plant without the color I'd hoped and the blooms were pretty much non-existent. This year all that changed. I kept pruning out the branches that were close to the ground and it developed a magnificent vase shape. I took out a tree which gave it more sun and the color improved immensely. Finally, it bloomed! It is stunning. By accident I have some allium "Sensation" planted around it and they bloom at the same time and mimic each others colors. Beautiful. Basically I'd say be patient with this one. It's worth the wait.

I planted this bush in the summer of 2010. As I'm a terrible gardener, I did not do much to help it along (no fertilizer, hardly watered...Read More beyond rain (zone 6)). It seemed fine until the spring of 2011 when it looked dead. I didn't lose hope though, I cut back the dead branches, fertilized, watered, and mulched my dead little stump and it came back! Now it's about 12" wide and 12" tall with bright yellow foliage. These seem to be tough little guys, just perfect for me. It gets full morning sun and afternoon partial shade. I'm looking forward to watching it grow and maybe even flower one day.

This is my. first year with this plant and so far, I'm a little worried that it will spread out too far and not up! I have it against a ...Read Morefence and it's about three feet in diameter, about six inches high and just spread out, on the ground, not at all what I had expected from the tag description. I am thinking of putting it in a container to give it some height. I did see it with a trellis support in the nursery, so maybe I'll try that.

Two years later (spring 2013), I can now say my Beauty Bush is doing very well! It's now about 5 feet tall and wide. I did provide a trellis and climbing structure to help it be more upright as it grew. I have to prune it to keep it in bounds as I don't have a lot of space in my small garden, but it's now flowering for the first time. It fills in the spot against my fence very nicely.

I got one in a two gallon pot in 2008 and two more in 2009. Today, I bought three more because one of the ones I planted last year is pe...Read Morerforming splendidly in open shade. The foliage color is wonderful. The deer have been something of a problem. Yes, ongoing growth from older branches is rather horizontal, but as the shrub establishes itself, vigorous new growth comes straight up from the ground. As long as the plant has what it needs, new growth will be very vigorous and colorful.

I like this plant very much for what it is, but it has disappointed me in a few ways for what it is not.
Granted, I started with...Read More a VERY small one, and it has continued to grow nicely; we are now into its third year in the garden. However, I mostly bought it because I was intrigued by the gorgeous foliage colours... which I haven't really seen so far. It just seems to leaf out all chartreuse and stay that way.
Don't care much about the flowers, but I haven't seen any of those either. I guess I have to be patient and perhaps all of that will come.
I should also mention that this is a VERY floppy plant. I had to support it with miniature fence sections (a peony ring or small tomato cage would have worked, too) or it would have just flopped out its branches all over the ground. It is astonishingly supple; still far more like a perennial in look and feel than a shrub. When I bought it, I was hoping for something a bit more rigid and self-supporting.
Again, I have come to enjoy what this plant is and the bright focal point it is becoming in a tough dry-shade area. But you should have a clear idea of its habits before buying to avoid disappointment.

I purchased two Beauty Bush 'Dream Catcher' this summer. They were small plants so I potted them up in large containers on our patio out ...Read Moreback. This area gets hot afternoon sun, so I was afraid at first it would be too much sun. But after a few months of watching, it has proven to be one of the most beautiful plants I have ever seen. The bright golden foliage just sparkles in the sun. So I believe it's a sun loving plant. I'm going to plant them in my garden this fall, because they are growing so fast. Can't wait till this spring to see them in bloom!

Purchased "Dream Catcher this year... In my opinion the foliage is even more vibrant than in the photos... I am in 5A and have the pla...Read Morent in full sun... At only 1' 6" tall I am seeing the pinkish white flowers... The plant is a standout in the garden. And with Kolkwitzia being decently hardy, and extremely reliable... I Give this plant a 10/10.

I purchased a small plant online last fall (2007) and overwintered it after repotting it into a trade gallon pot. It made it through the...Read More winter fine (I'm in zone 6b) sunk in the ground and mulched, so I planted it in what I hope will be its permanent location- a protected corner on the NW side of my house as an understory plant . It gets indirect bright light until noon, then bright filtered light until around 3 pm, and moderate filtered light for the rest of the day. Watering is even and adequate, soil is clay based but with lots of organic matter to loosen it up.

Dream Catcher isn't as vibrantly colored as I'd hoped, but my plant is still young and it does show some signs of increased foliar color as it gets older. The foliage is more of a pale green, not the vibrant chartruese or red-tinged color shown in most photos. I'm also of the mind that it may not be getting enough direct sun as an understory plant, so I may make some changes in the flowerbed that will give this plant more light.

It seems to be a relatively hardy plant, and once established I believe it will be a fairly fast grower.

I planted 'Dream Catcher' as an understory plant (according to purchasing instructions) and it is coming along alright for its second yea...Read Morer. It is my understanding that it takes 2 to 3 years to become established. It has beautiful multi-colored folliage, but it is still quite small and has not yet bloomed. I will wait one more year and then consider that it might need more sun. Beth