Leatherwood

Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, west of Chicago had a large, beautiful specimen of this species for many years on the east side close to t...Read Moreheir library in part shade from the 1960's into the 1990's. Seems like it was a neat, tidy plant that got good clear yellow fall color. I am not sure if it is there anymore from all the great amount of reconstruction just after 2000. Jenkins Arboretum has two specimens that are mature, but not yet full grown in a woodsy area in a good amount of shade, as last seen in 2014.

An attractive, naturally rounded shrub with small bright yellow flowers in earliest spring, just before the forsythias. The flowers are s...Read Moreubtle---don't expect the screaming unsubtlety of forsythia---but quite noticeable. The trunk is thick in relation to the size of the plant, rather like a Daphne or a Bonsai.

This normally grows on shady stream banks in the wild, but grows well and densely here in full sun.

This is an excellent landscape plant. It has a consistent, refined shape (see photos and comments from others) so does not need to be pru...Read Morened and will not take over space. Leaves are very attractive. I have one in Lincoln, Nebraska in partial shade/full sun, clay soil that I purchased from a mail order nursery in Florida as a one foot tall plant. Worried about rabbits, I protected it the first few years but have never had any problems, nor any insect or disease problems. It is now at least 10 years old. Leaves have not been wind burned nor do widely fluctuating winter and spring temperatures affect flowering - unusual for such an early flowering shrub. Flowers at roughly same time as Cornus mas. There is recent info on the Internet regarding propagation and ecology of Dirca palustris. A recent dissertation at Iowa State Univ. on Dirca palustris is available on-line as are articles based on the dissertation. Only the slow growth of the species limits its availability in the general nursery trade. The seeds fall off very quickly once ripe. I will try to propagate it myself from seed. The Dirca that inspired me was flowering in the Arboretum on East Campus at the Univ. of Nebraska in Lincoln. It was damaged by a larger tree falling on it and no longer exists.

This shrub has a really beautiful form where it grows symmetrically. Up north here it grows well on seepy slopes. I planted one in partia...Read Morel shade on a dry, west-facing slope, but in a hollow, and it is doing beautifully. I've heard that no one has successfully propagated it (mine was a transplant) commercially, which is a shame if true.