DIERVILLA

We hold the only National Collection of Diervilla, which has 3 species and 8 cultivars. Its common name is the bush honeysuckle.

The genus was named after a Dr Dierville, a French surgeon who travelled in North America in the early 18th century. It is a small genus of hardy, deciduous, suckering shrubs, native to North America. Previously grouped with plants now known as Weigela, the two genera are easily distinguished from each other. In Diervilla the flowers are two-lipped, invariably yellow, and borne on the current season's growth, whereas in Weigela the corolla is regular (not two-lipped) and the flowers are borne on short lateral twigs on the growth of the previous year.

Diervillas will grow in full sun or part-shade in fertile soil. They should be pruned back in spring before growth commences, when they send up a dense mass of shoots that will blossom during summer.

Our Diervilla collection was replanted in 2015 and can be found in beds outside the wall of the Robert Marnock Garden.