Siberian peashrub is also known as pea tree and pea shrub. The plant was native to Siberia, Manchuria, and Mongolia. This was introduced to America in 1752.

It is suited ti zones two through seven and is quite cold hardy is quite. Siberian peashrub is a member of the legume family, and fixes nitrogen.

This sun loving shrub is one of the most adaptable and is suited to most soil types. It can withstand challenging conditions, such as wind, rocky dry soils, dry soils, drought, salt, poor soils, alkaline situations, and extremely cold conditions.

This species is resistant to most pests and disease problems. The exception is leafhoppers, which can mar the new foliage.

Siberian peashrub tends to be a rather plain Jane kind of plant. It is a very hard working, utilitarian species that gardeners will come to appreciate. However, on the other hand it is unlikely win any beauty contests.

The plant is versatile, and can fill various roles in the landscape. It is recommended for hedges, screens, wind breaks, snow traps, and dry or rocky banks. This is a valuable plant in the Northern Plains where cold temperatures and poor growing conditions can rule out other species.

Siberian peashrub can also be grown in containers. Gardeners will appreciate the fact that this easy care shrub requires less maintenance than most other shrubs. The amount of water, fertilizer, and pruning are minimal for this plant.

This easy to please plant can be trained as a single trunk tree if needed. Siberian peashrub has a fast to moderate growth rate.

Description of Siberian Peashrub

This is usually a large, oval shrub that is sparsely branched. It tends to be open and angular rather than dense. The branches are mostly erect.

If gardeners wish to shear this plant, it will become more dense and full. This is usually fifteen to twenty feet tall with a spread of twelve to eighteen feet.

In the wild, Siberian peashrub can have a few spines. However, that often isn’t the case when it is cultivated.

This has green stems that turn brown after a couple years. The foliage is vivid green. In the fall, the deciduous, alternate, pinnately compound leaves can briefly turn greenish-yellow before they’re shed, but the fall color isn’t particularly showy.

The young leaves are hairy. They’re oblong or elliptic to obovate. These are one to three inches long.

The leaflets, ranging from eight to a dozen per leaf, are arranged in a feather pattern.

The most attractive feature of this plant is the blooms. The showy vivid yellow flowers are pea-like. Generally, they’re very close together. These can be single or in small clusters of three or so.

The blossoms begin to emerge when the leaves are almost fully expanded in early to mid-May. These are borne on the previous year’s wood.

The flowers are 4/5 to ¾ inch wide. The stalked, narrow seed pod is almost rounded.

This is 1 ½ to two inches long, and contains three to five seeds. The pods are initially greenish-yellow, later turning brown. From July onwards, the pods make a popping sound as they split open.