The Lemon Candy™ Ninebark, otherwise known as the Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 or Serbian Spruce ‘Aurea’, Aurea Serbian Spruce, is a rather well known tree plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its chartreuse colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Lemon Candy™ Ninebark Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Lemon Candy™ Ninebark needs water regularly upon potting but increased frequency during the robust growing season.
- Light: Keep your Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Picea and the species Omorika, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 (fy-so-KAR-pus op-yoo-lih-FOH-lee-us).
Other members from the Pinaceae family include Red Cone Norway Spruce, Picea Mariana ‘Nana’, Limbertwig, North American Pumpkin Pine ‘Nana’, Baltic Redwood ‘Glauca’, Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Zleyel2’ Plant Patent Applied For, Pinus Nigra, Loblolly Pine, Mountain Pine ‘Mops’, Nest Spruce, Picea Abies ‘Pumila’, Archer’s Dwarf White Fir, Phyllostachys Bissettii, Golden Himalayan Cedar, Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, Weymouth Pine ‘Blue Shag’, Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine, Abies balsamea ‘Nana’, Dwarf Mugo Pine, Dwarf Pine ‘Carstens’, Thunberg Pine, Shore Pine, Dwarf Blue Rocky Mountain Fir, FIRE N ICE Pieris, Alpin Star Korean Fir and Lantana Camara ‘Monike’ Plant Patent #17,612.
As with other Picea’s, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is a plant native to the Southwestwern Europe.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3′ Plant Patent #22,362 can grow up to 25′ – 30′ (7.5m – 9m) in 25′ – 30′ (7.5m – 9m) and 15′ – 20′ (4.5m – 6m) in 15′ – 20’ (4.5m – 6m).
These dimensions make the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark a relatively large tree compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact, and rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 240″ (600cm) free so the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 needs water regularly upon potting but increased frequency during the robust growing season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
In particular, this tree is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Lemon Candy™ Ninebark produces some beautiful white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark have a beautiful chartreuse color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a needles arrangement in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 to be around (< 1 inch) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Lemon Candy™ Ninebark is well known for being able to attract birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark will look best in it.
Most Physocarpus Opulifolius ‘Podaras 3’ Plant Patent #22,362 owners agree that this tree will look great in most cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Lemon Candy™ Ninebark’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a very wet areas, specimen, mass planting, hedge, firescaping/fire wise, container, border, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Lemon Candy™ Ninebark’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Chamaecyparis, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Buxus will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Lemon Candy™ Ninebark to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
