This arching, branching member of the Rose family provides four-season interest beginning with its beautiful clusters of small, pink or white, five-petaled flowers in late spring.
 
     By late summer those blooms give way to reddish fruits, and in winter, its exfoliating bark takes center stage after its leaves have fallen.  
 
     Ninebark is a larval host to the Bluish Spring and dozens of other moth species, and it provides special value to native bees.  Birds eat its fall fruits.
 
     Ninebark often is found growing in thickets along stream banks, in sand, or on rocky slopes.  It likes sun and well-drained soil ranging from medium-dry to medium-wet.  It is able to grow in harsh conditions including sun, drought, wet and wind, and it can be cut to the ground in winter to encourage new stems.
 
     It works great as a hedge or screen or as an addition to a native plant garden.  Ninebark also is a good plant for erosion control and bank stabilization.
 
     Fun fact: The name of this shrub refers to its exfoliating bark that peels away in strips and is said to have nine layers.