purging buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones3 to 8
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles dry to wet soil
Size16 to 25 feet tall10 to 15 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Erect
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer
- Bloom color
- Yellow-green
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Purging buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a shrub for pollinator gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full or part sun and dry to wet, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It grows fast and reaches 16 to 25 feet tall with an erect habit. Yellow-green flowers open from spring into early summer and draw bees and birds. It also tolerates drought.
Pairs well with Common snowberry, Spicebush, and Gooseneck loosestrife.
Native range
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and 8 more places. See all 12
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, Altay, Kirgizstan, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Sicilia, Tadzhikistan, Türkiye, and Xinjiang.