Vigorous, tough and resistant to automobile emissions and other pollutants, burning bush first sends out upright twigs with corklike winged edges. When it matures in a few years, most cultivars spread out horizontally into a vase shape that needs no pruning. If deep green and brilliant red are too intense for you, consider Potentilla fruticosa , or bush cinquefoil. With dense green foliage several shades lighter than that of a burning bush, potentilla offers abundant small, dainty flowers that recall wild roses. Petals come in bright yellow, blushing pink or immaculate white.
Blooms are heaviest in early summer, but they keep coming all summer.
Some gardeners swear by the cultivar Abbotswood, which grows to four feet tall and can spread six feet wide. Its foliage is greenish-blue, and flowers are bright white. Only two feet tall, Gold Drop is popular because its blossoms are a strong yellow, produced nonstop all summer. The cultivar Pink Beauty is known for pink flowers and compact growth that seldom exceeds two feet. Its advantages include vigorous, dense growth and an ability to tolerate heavy clay.