Gulf Sebastian-bush
Ditrysinia fruticosa · Euphorbiaceae
Gulf Sebastian-bush (Ditrysinia fruticosa) is a perennial shrub in the Euphorbiaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -15°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 12 ft USDA |
| Light | shade USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 4–6 USDA |
| Bloom | June–August USDA |
| Flower color | Green USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 5 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | No Known Source USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It tolerates full shade. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated medium. It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 4 to 6 — acidic ground. Its cold limit is zone 5.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 12 ft, making it a small tree or large shrub. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of June through August. Flowers are green.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its active growth period is summer and fall. USDA rates its lifespan as short, so plan on replacing or resowing it rather than treating it as permanent structure.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 33 to 68 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 207 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 24 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
Seed is the only propagation method USDA lists. Division and cuttings are not listed as options. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its fire tolerance is rated medium. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Similar role and hardiness
- basin big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata
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- Japanese holly Ilex crenata
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol DIFR6, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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