'Little Volcano' Bush Clover is a deciduous shrub cultivar in the Fabaceae (pea) family that has graceful arching branches resembling a fountain. The genus Lespedeza is a nod to the Spanish governor of West Florida (1784-1790) Vincente Manuel de Cespedes and the species thunbergii is named abter Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828). Plant in full sun in soil with medium moisture. Ensure that proper drainage is provided. It will flower with showy pea-like pink blooms from late summer into fall, at a time when not much else is happening in the landscape. Although indicated that this plant has a woody life cycle, it will die to the ground during hard winters in colder zones. A good option is to cut to the ground at the end of the season. It blooms on new wood, so cutting low will not affect the next years blooms. In areas where it does not die back, pruning can be done after the bloom period. 'Little Volcano' does not produce seed as other varieties, therefore, eliminating the possibility of becoming invasive. Plant in small groups or mass plant in shrub borders. Dot them along slopes or let the attractive flowers brighten a cottage garden. The graceful arching stems look great spilling over a garden wall or raised bed. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problem.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf margin
Entire
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Trifolate dark green, gold in the fall.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Showy
Flower detail
Late summer to early fall cascading rose to purple pea-like flowers
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit detail
This cultivar does not produce seed so is less weedy than other members of the genus.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China and Japan
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Slope/Bank
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden
Design feature
Accent; Border; Mass Planting; Small groups
Garden tags
#drought tolerant #showy flowers #deciduous shrub #naturalized area #flowers late summer #pink flowers #flowers early fall #pea-shaped flowers #mass planting #cottage garden #erosion control #shrub border #small groups