# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DaMv5KZktsT
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/67384769-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/dc9231fe80.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-06-30T06:00:25.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

*NATIVE PLANT OF THE WEEK*⁠
Dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii, Zones 5–8)⁠
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Also known as coastal fothergilla and dwarf witch alder, this compact deciduous shrub with white, bottlebrush spring flowers and bright autumn foliage is native to moist habitats in the southeastern United States.⁠
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Why Grow It⁠
• Fragrant, white spring flowers attract  pollinators⁠
• Attractive leaves with toothed margins and puckered texture turn orange, red, or yellow in autumn⁠
• Grows 2 to 4 feet tall and wide⁠
• Multi-branched; branches are thin and have a slightly contorted habit⁠
• Grows in moist to wet locations but also tolerates some drought⁠
• Not generally bothered by deer⁠
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Growing Tips⁠
• Part to full sun⁠
• Moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil⁠
• Spreads slowly via suckers; may form colonies unless suckers are removed⁠
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Design Tips⁠
• Great in woodland gardens with other shrubs that share the same growing conditions, such as oakleaf hydrangea, summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), blueberries, ninebark (Physocarpus), azaleas, and rhododendrons⁠
• Plant in groups as a hedge⁠
• Include in a pollinator garden⁠
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Photos⁠
Flowers, closeup, by Buckeye Blooms, iNaturalist⁠
Flowers by sugardreams054, iNaturalist⁠
Orange fall color in mixed bed at Distant Hill Gardens by Michael Nerrie⁠
Orange fall color in mixed shrub border at Distant Hill Gardens by Michael Nerrie⁠
Fall foliage color and habit by Purdue Arboretum⁠
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#nativeshrubs#pollinatorplants#autumncolor⁠

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## Tags

nativeshrubs, autumncolor, pollinatorplants

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