Lespedeza thunbergii Edo-Shibori

Lespedeza thunbergii 'Edo-Shibori' is a very beautiful cultivar of the bush clover. Its bicoloured flowers are truly enchanting at the end of summer. A bush or very flexible shrub, late in the season this graceful plant offers cascades of white pea flowers spotted with pink-violet, on flexible branches that bow gracefully. Its light foliage, cut into thin leaflets, reminds us it is an elegant member of the Fabaceae (legume) family. Undemanding in terms of soil type, the flowering of Lespedeza will be enhanced by well-drained and light soil that is not too dry and not too poor. It excels in the background of a flower bed, overhanging a wall or in a large container on the terrace. A little less vigorous than the species type, it is also possible to form 'Edo-Shibori' into bonsai.

Lespedeza thunbergii is mainly native to Japan, but is also present in Korea and China. It is a shrub with a woody base and annual stems in climates which regularly experience frost. In cultivation it has few requirements besides heat and full sun. Relatively economical with water, it does not however like very arid situations, nor excessive alkalinity or overly heavy or clayey soils. Not sensitive to cold when mature, it does requires good protection around the stump as a young plant. The root system of this plant is superficial and equipped with nitrogen-fixing nodes, indicating good adaptation to degraded soils.

'Edo-Shibori', obtained in Japan, forms a large sheaf of thin stems that emerge from the stump from spring. It will reach about 1 m 50 (5 ft) in height and 2 m (6.5 ft) in spread over a few years. The stems are generally destroyed by frost in winter, without harming the plant. The foliage, deciduous, resembles that of clover: it is composed of leaves cut into 3 ovate leaflets, a slightly bluish green becoming yellow before falling.

Flowering takes place in September-October, for 3 to 4 weeks, in the form of long clusters of bicoloured papilionaceous flowers, whose weight gracefully bends the slender branches. Honey-producing and nectar rich, it is much visited by bees, bumblebees and butterflies. Flowers are followed by the formation of small flat pods each containing only one black seed. 

The abundant flowering of Lespedeza is welcome at the end of summer, as with autumn asters and shrubby sages. Its habit is unusual and its very fine and light foliage, of a beautiful blue green, contrasts with more classic leafy backdrops. This makes the bush clover an effective accent plant, architectural and beautifully coloured. Easy to grow and undemanding, it is perhaps above a wall or retaining wall that it will most grab the attention. It will also make for great effect in a large rockery among carpets of silver or gold thyme, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Iberis sempervirens, or clumps of Erigeron karvinskianus. Marry its colours with shades of blue, mauve and pink, or in contrast with e.g. yellow flowers.