# Mountain Bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla rivularis) > A rare, colony-forming shrub of southern Appalachian bluffs, with clusters of pale yellow summer flowers, hairy leaves and yellow and red fall color. Also called hairy bush-honeysuckle, riverbank bush-honeysuckle, Georgia bush-honeysuckle. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-bush-honeysuckle/ ![Mountain bush-honeysuckle (Diervilla rivularis) cluster of pale yellow trumpet flowers among toothed leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/mountain-bush-honeysuckle-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADiervilla_rivularis_zadrzewnia_w%C5%82ochata_1-OB9.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 3 to 6 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 8 - Grows wild in: Rocky ground, the Appalachians and stream banks - Native range: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee - Sun: Part, Full, Shade - Soil moisture: Average - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Rare, Showy flowers, Fall color, Wildlife value, Tolerates shade - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Mountain bush-honeysuckle is a low, colony-forming native shrub of the southern Appalachians and a cousin of the true honeysuckles. Despite the name, it is not one of the invasive Asian bush honeysuckles. Its clusters of pale yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers open all summer, and bees visit them for nectar. NatureServe ranks it globally vulnerable, and North Carolina and Tennessee list it as threatened. Use it as a small hedge, a ground-covering shrub on a slope, or at a woodland edge. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator treats it as a medium grower, like its close relative southern bush-honeysuckle, about a foot and a half a year. It makes a compact shrub of 3 to 6 feet that spreads 4 to 8 feet by suckers. It is hairy in all its parts, and its toothed leaves are 1.5 to 4 inches long and densely hairy beneath. Crowded clusters of pale yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers open from June to August on the new shoots. Small, hairy seed capsules ripen from July to September. The leaves turn yellow and red in fall. It grows wild on bluffs, cliffs, rocky banks and moist rocky woods, often near streams. Its small range lies in the southern Appalachians, from North Carolina and Tennessee to Georgia and Alabama, and it is uncommon throughout. ## How to grow Mountain Bush-honeysuckle Mountain bush-honeysuckle grows in part shade or full sun, and it takes light shade. It wants an average, well-drained soil, and it handles clay and rocky ground. Set plants 4 feet apart and keep them 4 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Sow it as southern bush-honeysuckle is sown. Pick the dry capsules in fall and rub out the small seeds. Sow them shallowly in spring, with no special treatment. Water weekly through the first summer if rain is short. It spreads by underground stems into a colony, which suits a slope or a woodland edge. It flowers on the new growth, so any pruning belongs in late winter. Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. Bees and hawkmoths pollinate the bush-honeysuckles. No serious pest or disease troubles it, though leaf spot and powdery mildew can appear. ## Sources - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Diervilla rivularis](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278947) - [Trees and Shrubs Online: Diervilla rivularis (Christian and Purvis 2025)](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/diervilla/diervilla-rivularis/) - [Trees and Shrubs Online: Diervilla, genus account](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/diervilla/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Diervilla rivularis](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=DIRI) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Diervilla sessilifolia](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=DISE) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Diervilla sessilifolia](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/diervilla-sessilifolia/) - [NatureServe Explorer: Diervilla rivularis, Mountain Bush-honeysuckle](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.145605/Diervilla_rivularis) - [Alabama Plant Atlas: Diervilla rivularis](http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=1375) - [Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation: Tennessee Natural Heritage Program Rare Plant List](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/natural-areas/documents/na_tn-rare-plant-list.pdf) - [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: 2024 Rare Plant List, revised 11/03/2025](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/833/open) - [Alabama Natural Heritage Program: 2023 tracking list](https://cosam.auburn.edu/biology/alnhp/_assets/2023_trackinglist.pdf) - [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Diervilla rivularis](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/DIRI) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Mountain Bush-honeysuckle, add ?species=mountain-bush-honeysuckle with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=mountain-bush-honeysuckle&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Mountain Bush-honeysuckle](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=mountain-bush-honeysuckle): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=mountain-bush-honeysuckle - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Mountain Bush-honeysuckle is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=mountain-bush-honeysuckle - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Mountain Bush-honeysuckle needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=mountain-bush-honeysuckle:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Mountain Bush-honeysuckle flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.