It’s Lespedeza season!

Here is ‘Little Volcano’ a sterile variety that has had a name change that I just discovered this morning. Formerly called Lespedeza liukiuensis (a word I’ve prided myself on pronouncing and spelling correctly for more than a decade) it is now classified as L. thunbergii subsp. thunbergii 'Little Volcano’.

Commonly called “Bush clover” lespedeza fall into the Fabaceae family, meaning they are technically a legume and have the ability to fix nitrogen in the soil!

How do legumes work? Plants in the Fabaceae family host bacteria, known as rhizobia, in structures in their roots called nodules. The rhizobia have the ability to take nitrogen gas out of the air and convert it to a form of nitrogen that is usable to the host plant, a process called “nitrogen fixation.” This symbiotic relationship between the host and provider is the basis for agricultural land management, including cover cropping with cereals (grains) and legumes (beans, peas) for natural soil improvement.

Back to ‘Little Volcano’, the pea-like blooms appear in fall, October here, and cover the long arching branches.

Bees love this plant! As do other pollinators including late season butterflies!

Hardy in zones 6-10, this plant thrives in sun and sandy, well drained soil, hence its top notch performance in my former tobacco field.

I cut the deciduous branches down each spring to control the size. However you can leave the old stalks if you choose- just be prepared for a much larger plant!

There are 40 species in this genera, growing natively around the world. This species is from Asia, and ‘Little Volcano’ originated in the garden of Dr. Shibamichi in the subtropical Ryukyu Islands of Japan.

Watch the video below to the see the Lespedeza in full autumn glory, complete with pollinators!