Back in the day, when I was posting here regularly, I consumed myself with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If I focused on one particular plant within a post, I made sure I repeated that plant name as often as possible, to ensure the “keyword” was accounted for. I linked and captioned every photo. I reduced the total number of words within my posts to ensure I sat in the “right zone” according to Google rules. I dumbed down my prose to improve my “readability” score.

And it all worked.

I kept a close eye on my site traffic, refreshing the numbers every few minutes, specifically to learn how readers found me through Google searches. I was able to pull in long time readers who originally found me through a search on Miscanthus gracillimus or Northern Sea Oats.

But I’m done with that shit.

I’m no longer seeking garden blog dominance and my plans to rule the blogosphere have been set aside. Now I want to write the way I want to write. You don’t need a bulleted list of facts from me that you could easily look up yourself through Google. You need me showing you how a plant performed for me specifically and you need me rambling on and on about whatever I want to ramble about when it comes to that plant.

So let’s dive in, shall we?

Have any of you seen the movie Sharp Objects? Or read the book of the same name? If not, are you familiar with the syndrome, “Munchausen by Proxy”?

Never mind, if you don’t know, don’t look it up. Forget I mentioned it.

Okay fine, I’ll attempt to explain:

I buy a lot of small shrubs, grasses and perennials from online plant purveyors. They’re more affordable than the full-sized option at a nursery and I also enjoy “raising” the plant. Nothing is more rewarding than watching a tiny plug evolve into a massive flowering shrub or a towering ornamental grass. It makes me proud as a plant parent.

OK, work with me here. This is where the “Munchausen by Proxy” things comes into play:

I have a dirty secret. There are times, more than I care to admit, where I knowingly stick a new plant in the ground with no plans to nurture the little guy. I want to see if it’s strong enough to survive without my loving and tender care. A test of will, if you will. You’re on your own buddy.

For those plants that struggle and fail the survival test, I purposely ignore them and allow them to become more and more “sick” until the last possible moment. Then I do all I can to bring it back to life from the brink of death. It warms my heart when I push aside the tattered and brown stems and leaves and spot new green growth along a stem. Once I see that, I’m all in and like a parent, will fight a deer if I have to in order to ensure that plant’s future safety.

Is it twisted to allow your plant to suffer to only then save it so you feel like a nurturing gardener? Yes.

Is it morally wrong? Probably.

Will I continue to do it? Now that I’ve confessed, no. I’m not proud and I understand it’s a selfish gesture.

Does the Munchausen by Proxy analogy here make any sense at all? I’ll let you be the judge.

I subjected a Buttonbush (Cephalanthus Sugar Shack) to this test a few years back. After receiving the tiny shrub in the mail from Bluestone Perennials, I struggled to find the proper space for it. Struggled because I had no room left in my garden for any new plants. I’m sure none of you can relate to that.

Without much thought, I dug a small hole with my trusty trowel, shoved it in the ground and moved on. Here’s your test young plant, show me how bad you want it.

Fast forward a few years and while weeding one morning, I almost yanked the shrub out of the ground mistaking it for one of those monster weeds that like to threaten my garden every spring. But fortunately, I didn’t. While it looked weak, it did display some new green growth after I teased off the brown and decaying foliage. I would give the still unidentifiable plant a few weeks to prove it was okay and prove it wasn’t just another weed.

And it did.

I took a photo and cross-referenced it against everything I had purchased online over the past few years. It didn’t take long to realize it was a Buttonbush and it had stood the test of time with no issues with the poorly drained soil and frequent visits from critters.

And it was this past summer when it truly shined.

Not only were the “buttons” or blooms striking, but so were the green glossy leaves and growth habit. It is now a focal point amongst summer blooming perennials and of course, a few ornamental grasses.

But back to the flowers. They emerge a yellowish-green, quickly transforming into beautiful balls of white.

When fully developed, the blooms are a beautiful creamy white, an inch or so in diameter and man are there are oodles of them.

After the blooms are spent in late summer, they transform to a reddish fruit which gives the shrub an entirely new look and feel.

Admittedly, I didn’t get enough good photos of this shrub in late summer/fall but will not make that same fatal mistake this year.

Here are the plant details from the Bluestone Perennials website with my own comments added in bold:

A prized native now in a manageable size. Continuous interest and color provide a spectacular show from spring through fall. This compact Buttonbush dons white sweetly scented ball-shaped blooms (I have no sense of smell so can’t comment here). Red fruit follows in late summer (have witnessed the “fruit” and it’s glorious). New foliage emerges glossy red (yes, but no photos so again bad miss on my part), progresses to green and then turns burgundy in the fall (fall color a bit underwhelming to date). Cute as a button! Proven Winners® selections are trialed and tested to be colorful, long blooming, carefree and easy to grow. Adapts well to multiple conditions. The bright red fruit of C. Sugar Shack® is showcased against the pristine white of a snowy winter providing four-season interest. Loves a boggy wet spot (Can I get an Amen?).

Cephalanthus occidentalis are a species of deciduous flowering shrubs with a rounded habit in the coffee family. Reliable performers, fine in a watered bed, Buttonbush are perfectly at home in a naturalized landscape where excess moisture is present-shallow water at the edge of ponds, near water gardens or in a boggy site. A great nesting spot for songbirds (still anxiously waiting).

Extremely low maintenance. No pruning required unless desired. Blooms on new wood so trimming is best done in early spring. Flowers are pollinated by insects, so fruit occurs effortlessly and reliably (hope you’re right plant people).

The only issue I’ve seen to date is that it sprawled a bit towards the end of the summer and a bare spot opened up within the middle of the shrub. I’ll need to do some detailed research on how to best prune this beauty.

Has anyone else had experience growing this shrub? What are your thoughts? Any tips or advice?