Illustration
Sugar Shack Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis 'SMCOSS'
Also called sugar shack button bush and sugar shack cephalanthus
Sugar Shack Buttonbush blooms from June through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Sugar Shack Buttonbush
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–10. Expect it to reach about 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).
No toxicity note is on file for Sugar Shack Buttonbush. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Sugar Shack Buttonbush
Plant Sugar Shack Buttonbush in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 7, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 10, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from June to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Sugar Shack Buttonbush get?
4 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4 ftwideSee Sugar Shack Buttonbush in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Sugar Shack Buttonbush
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Sugar Shack Buttonbush about 4 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Sugar Shack Buttonbush to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Sugar Shack Buttonbush's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 8 published sources on September 23, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- plants.frisellanursery.comFrisella Nursery (NetPS Plant Finder entry)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil and diseases
- Proven Winnersthe introducer's retail brandheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and pests
- Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- US plant patent (Google Patents)Google Patents USPP26543P2, assigned to Spring Meadow Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, bloom months and color, diseases and pests
- NC State ExtensionCephalanthus occidentalis, species pagehardiness zones, sun, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- springmeadownursery.comSpring Meadow Nursery (the introducer; breeder Tim Wood)height, hardiness zones, sun, water and soil
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.