# Staggerbush (Lyonia mariana) > Nodding clusters of white bells up to half an inch long on bare twigs in spring, then bright red leaves in fall, on a sandy-soil shrub. Also called Piedmont staggerbush, Andromeda mariana, Xolisma mariana. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/staggerbush/ ![Staggerbush (Lyonia mariana) branch with nodding white bell flowers among fresh leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/staggerbush-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALyonia_mariana_03.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 2 to 6 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 9 - Grows wild in: Sandy barrens, dry uplands, swamps and wet flats - Native range: 17 states and the District of Columbia, north to New York, south to Florida and west to Texas (Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia) - Sun: Part, Full - Soil moisture: Average, Wet - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Showy flowers, Fall color, Wildlife value, Rare - 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 Staggerbush is a deciduous heath of open, acid pine and oak woods, flatwoods and savannas, from Long Island and New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas. Its white bells hang in clusters from the leafless ends of last year's shoots, larger and better displayed than those of our maleberry. Its leaves turn bright red in fall. Pennsylvania lists it as endangered, and Connecticut and Rhode Island know it only from old records. Its leaves, flowers and sap are poisonous, and its leaves have poisoned livestock. Grow it in a sunny or lightly shaded bed of sandy, acid soil, as a hedge or at the edge of a wet spot. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator treats it as medium, like our maleberry, about a foot and a half a year. It makes an upright shrub 2 to 6 feet tall and spreads by underground stems. Nodding clusters of white or pinkish bells, a third to half an inch long, open from April into June on the leafless ends of last year's shoots. In freshly burned ground it may bloom again in fall. The oval capsules ripen in September and October. Bees work the flowers, and the leaves turn bright red in fall. It grows wild on the coastal plain and Piedmont from Long Island and New Jersey south to Florida. Westward it reaches Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Its home is open, acid pine and oak woods, flatwoods and savannas, the edges of shrub bogs, pond margins and acid swamps. ## How to grow Staggerbush Staggerbush does best in filtered shade to full sun. It likes a moist to wet, sandy or peaty, acid soil, and it adapts to loamy garden soil that stays moist. Set plants 4 feet apart and keep them 3 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 mulch with pine needles or leaves, clear of the stems. The dust-fine seed of its relative maleberry needs no chilling. Sow it in spring on the surface of a moist peat and sand mix, uncovered, under a clear lid. Water through dry spells in the first two summers. It spreads by underground stems. Prune right after flowering, since it blooms on last year's growth. Each flower carries both male and female parts, and bees take its nectar. Its relative maleberry sets seed with its own pollen, so one plant should bear seed alone. No diseases or insect pests are known on it. Keep it away from grazing animals, which it can poison. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Lyonia mariana](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416810) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Lyonia mariana](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lyonia-mariana/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lyonia mariana](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LYMA2) - [Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Lyonia mariana](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lyonia/mariana/) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society), from Bean: Lyonia mariana](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/lyonia/lyonia-mariana/) - [NatureServe Explorer: Lyonia mariana](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129341/Lyonia_mariana) - [Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program: Species and Natural Features List](https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/SpeciesFeatures.aspx) - [Connecticut DEEP: Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Plants, effective August 5, 2015](https://portal.ct.gov/deep/endangered-species/endangered-species-listings/endangered-threatened--special-concern-plants) - [Delaware DNREC: Rare and Uncommon Plants of Delaware](https://documents.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/conservation/Rare-and-Uncommon-Plants-of-Delaware.pdf) ## 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 Staggerbush, add ?species=staggerbush with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=staggerbush&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Staggerbush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=staggerbush): 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=staggerbush - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Staggerbush 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=staggerbush - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Staggerbush 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=staggerbush:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Staggerbush flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.