Plant Patent #14,821. Cultivar name: 'Seward'This exciting new Purple Ninebark is taking the gardening world by storm. Not only are its colors rich and true, its blooms plentiful, and its growth strong, but it is very compact -- just 4 to 6 feet high and wide at maturity! At last, a Purple Ninebark for smaller space gardens and large containers, with all the beauty of its larger cousins in very concentrated form.
Summer Wine® takes its name from the deep crimson to claret-colored foliage that emerges from bronzy-burgundy stems. Deeply cut and very dense, this foliage is a bold sight among all the green- and gold-leafed plants of the garden. Unlike older Physocarpus hybrids, which can become leggy or a bit rangy as they mature, Summer Wine® is quite compact and full, giving you impenetrable layers of deep, hard-to-find color for container, border, or accent planting.
In late spring or early summer, Summer Wine® covers itself with bright button-like blooms of appleblossom-white. Standing out like so many points of light, the flowers serve to emphasize the reds and purples of the foliage still further, and are a lovely sight on a summer day. And Summer Wine® keeps its fine foliage color right through the worst August heat.
Bred in the United States, this new cultivar is a cross of P. 'Nana' and P. 'Diabolo,' and a great improvement over both! You will find it very adaptable to differing soils, even "problem" types such as clay and sand. It needs only moderate moisture, so make sure your soil drainage is adequate (or grow this compact shrub in a container!). It is a splendid new look and shape for the beloved Purple Ninebark. Zones 3-8.
