Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  L. bicolor

Description:

This compact shrub is covered with pink-purple pea-like flowers from summer to fall; dark green trifoliate leaves change to yellow in the fall

Ornamental Features

Little Buddy Bush Clover is smothered in stunning racemes of pink pea-like flowers at the ends of the branches from late summer to early fall. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The narrow leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding yellow in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Little Buddy Bush Clover is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Little Buddy Bush Clover is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Little Buddy Bush Clover will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Little Buddy Bush Clover makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.