Stephanandra incisa 'Crispa'
Common Name: lace shrub 
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Zone: 4 to 7
Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Yellowish white
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Good Fall
Tolerate: Erosion

Culture

Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, acidic, well-composted soils. In ideal growing conditions, plants will spread rapidly by both root suckers and by rooting of stems ends where they touch the ground. Prune as needed in late winter. However, in light of growth habit and non-showy flowers, some gardeners prefer to shear plants to shape in late spring.

Noteworthy Characteristics

This cultivar is a dense, mounding, low-growing, deciduous shrub which typically grows 1-2' tall (less frequently to 3') and spreads to 4' wide. Maple-like, deeply incised, bright green leaves (to 3" long) turn yellow and orange in autumn. Leaves are borne on arching branches which tend to weep downward and root at the tips, particularly when soils are moist. Foliage and arching habit are perhaps the best ornamental features of this shrub. Tiny, star-shaped, yellowish-white flowers appear in loose clusters (to 2.5" long) in late spring. Flowers are rather attractive on close inspection, but not particularly showy from a distance.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.

Uses

Best as a dense, shrubby ground cover, very low hedge or foundation facer plant. Effective for erosion control on banks and slopes.