Diervilla x splendens 'Kodiak® Red' (Southern Bush Honeysuckle) Unity Grown

Diervilla x splendens Kodiak® Red is a strikingly colorful hybrid cultivar of Diervilla, also called bush honeysuckle. The Diervilla x splendens hybrid is a result of crossing southern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla sessilifolia) and mountain bush honeysuckle (Diervilla rivularis), which share a native range within the US Southeast. The Kodiak® Red cultivar is especially noted for its striking red-purple new growth foliage, which is especially saturated in the spring and fall. In mid-summer, Diervilla x splendens Kodiak® Red produces profuse, bright yellow, honeysuckle-like flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators, contrasting beautiful with the plants' dark foliage; in the late summer and fall,  flowers turn to small red seedpods, which are both beautiful and attractive to a number of songbird species.

Diervilla x splendens is a highly adaptable shrub for any small garden space that combines the best attributes of both parent species; growing to a medium size of about 3-4' tall and slightly wider, Kodiak® Red tolerates poor and rocky soils, as well as drought, and is resistant to deer damage and soil erosion. Though this bush honeysuckle requires medium-dry, well-drained soils, it is not at all picky about light level or soil consistency, and grows great anywhere from full shade to full sun. Note: Although Diervilla x splendens is referred to as bush honeysuckle, it is a North American native species, and shouldn't be confused with Japanese bush honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, which is considered invasive in many parts of the US.