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Buttonbush vs Early Blue Violet
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Viola adunca
CUSTOM GROW
NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN
Buttonbush is a moisture loving shrub that provides year round interest.
It has round, fragrant flowers resembling small buttons or pincushions. The flowers transform into small reddish-brown fruit that persists into winter while the leaves take on shades of red in fall.
Providing essential food to bees, butterflies, and other insects, this shrub is versatile. Try it in your next shrub border.
Early Blue Violet is a low-growing native perennial wildflower valued for its striking early-spring blooms. The flowers range in color from vibrant blue to deep violet, often marked with pale highlights and fine white hairs. They provide an important early nectar source for pollinators and serve as a host plant for several fritillary butterfly species.
It spreads by both seed and rhizomes, gradually forming small colonies. Its dark green, heart-shaped leaves add ornamental appeal, and the plant shows some resistance to deer browsing. Early Blue Violet is well-suited to naturalization projects and pollinator-friendly gardens, and has also been used in coastal butterfly habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.
Buttonbush Quick Facts
Early Blue Violet Quick Facts
Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans