Native ninebark’s colors will steal your heart

With more vertebrae than humans, and the ability to twist around quickly when falling, cats avoid death, and truly seem to have nine lives.

At least American cats have nine lives; the myth in Italy, Germany, Greece and several Spanish-speaking countries says that cats have seven lives, while Turkish and Arabic cats only have six lives.

Maybe because nine is a somewhat magic number, with ancient Greeks holding the number nine as the trinity of all trinities.

So the native American plant Physocarpus opulifolius, whose bark falls off in impressive decorative strips, is known as the ninebark.

The ninebark is a slightly spreading upright plant that grows between five and 10 feet tall.

This relative of spirea blooms with dense one- to two-inch- wide clusters of tiny pink or white flowers in late spring. But it is that famous bark that makes this hardy shrub worth planting.

The exfoliating bark falls off in jagged strips to uncover layers of beautiful soft red and light brown inner bark. This display is a welcome focal point every winter, adding color and interest to an otherwise bleak landscape.

Ninebark is easy to grow in almost any garden soil in full sun to partial shade. It prefers well-drained loam, but seems perfectly content in clay and rocky soils.

If you need to cut it back, prune right after it blooms, and no later than middle August. You can even cut too-tall plants right down to the ground after they go dormant in the winter, and they will come back next spring. They are hardy in USDA Zones 2-8.

Besides making an easy-to-care-for garden bush, ninebark is useful as a low-maintenance hedge.

A new dwarf variety Tiny Wine Ninebark, is a manageable three to four feet tall. It sports dark maroon foliage, adding color to your yard or garden all season. The deep wine-red leaves contrast with its tiny white flowers for an eye-catching display. Because of its small size, Tiny Wine Ninebark is perfect for large pots or smaller yards or along foundations.

Ninebark plants are readily available from local nurseries or by mail from many suppliers such as Jung’s Seeds (online at www.jungseed.com, mail W. Jung Seed Co., 335 S. High St., Randolph, WI 53956; phone: 800-297-3123) or Fedco Seeds (www.fedcoseeds.com, Fedco Seeds, PO Box 520, Waterville, ME 04903; phone: 207-426-9900).

You can grow ninebark from seeds or by dividing larger plants in early spring. For delightful flowers in the spring and interesting bark all winter plant ninebark.

Whether or not it really sheds nine barks or has nine lives, this fascinating shrub will steal your heart like a cat burglar, and show off in the garden because it is the cat’s pajamas.

Read Paul Barbano’s Garden Journal column every Tuesday in the Cape Gazette.