The flowers of white, pink or rose appear when few other plants are blooming in July and August. It has few insect and disease problems but thrives best in moist acidic soils. Its blooming period may last as long as 2 months. Bottlebrush buckeye , Aesculus parviflora, also offers summer flowers and prefers shady locations. It makes an excellent specimen plant or as a massed planting.
Bottlebrush buckeye is native to Georgia and Alabama.
Its spreading multistems reach 9-12 feet high and 15 feet wide and give it an interesting winter form. Bottlebrush buckeye has flowers resembling its name with large white panicles 8-12 inches long and four inches wide in July and August. Spicebush , Lindera benzoin, is another native shrub with interesting flowers. Although the greenish yellow flowers are much smaller than the buckeyes, they appear in April before the leaves and may last for 3-4 weeks. Spicebush will grow in deep shade, but its best flowering and fall color occur when it has some sun.