Bebb's Willow
Salix bebbiana Shrub Zones 3–7 10–25 ft
Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Steeplebush
Spiraea tomentosa. Shrub, 2 to 5 feet, zones 3 to 8; full sun or part shade; average or wet ground.
We do not grow steeplebush, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Hardhack, hardbark spiraea, staple bush |
|---|---|
| Form | Shrub |
| Height, feet | 2 to 5 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 5 |
| Zones | 3 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Showy flowers, wildlife value, hedge or screen |
| Flowers | July to September |
| Fruit | Follicles, September to November |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks, swamps and wet flats, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 29 states |
Steeplebush is native in 29 states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Oregon and Washington, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its height How a big one scores by the champion-tree formula
For the same ground, we grow
These shrubs we grow share the most of steeplebush's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Missouri River Willow
Salix eriocephala Shrub Zones 3–9 6–20 ft
Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats, old fields and edges in the wild.
Winterberry Holly
Ilex verticillata Shrub Zones 3–9 6–12 ft
Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Black Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis Shrub Zones 3–9 6–12 ft
Shares stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
Nannyberry
Viburnum lentago Shrub Zones 2–8 12–18 ft
Shares stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
Sheep Laurel
Kalmia angustifolia Shrub Zones 2–8 1–5 ft
Shares swamps and wet flats, old fields and edges in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database and the Flora of North America.