Conditional — Some Areas
buttonbush (zones 5-9) reaches only part of Hawaii (8b-13a): zones 8-9 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Hawaii spans zones 8b-13a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score buttonbush against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
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Zone Comparison
Buttonbush Needs
- USDA Zones: 5-9
- Frost-Free Days: 120+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 15 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: Medium
Hawaii Has
- USDA Zones: 8b-13a
- Hard Freeze (28°F): None on record — year-round season
- Annual Rainfall: 10-400 inches
- Common Soils: Volcanic, Laterite, Coral sand
Plant Zone Range (zones 5-9)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: USDA PLANTS Database / Growable Ground plant catalog. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Buttonbush in Hawaii
The frost window
Hawaii has none — the 1991-2020 station record carries no 28°F killing freeze, so there is no last-frost date to plant after and no first-frost date to harvest before (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record). The growing season is year-round; what paces planting here is rainfall, heat and elevation, not the calendar.
Establishment timing
As a long-lived plant, buttonbush can go in any month here. Aim for the start of your wetter season so it establishes on rainfall rather than on irrigation, and give it a year in the ground before judging it.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: USDA PLANTS Database. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says buttonbush survives winter in part of Hawaii, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Buttonbush wants 120+ frost-free days; a typical Hawaii site sees ~365 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Buttonbush likes near-neutral soil (pH 5-7.5). That's the common-ground band across Hawaii's volcanic and laterite — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Hawaii soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage requirement: poorly (saturated >50% of year). A soil-survey lookup (NRCS SSURGO) flags whether your specific site matches.
Plant pH and drainage requirements from USDA PLANTS Database. Hawaii soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Buttonbush in Hawaii — Quick Answer
- Verdict: Conditional — Some Areas
- Plant Zones: 5-9 (USDA PLANTS Database)
- State Zones: 8b-13a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023)
- Growing Season: year-round — no 28°F killing freeze in Hawaii’s 30-year station record (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020)
What Else to Consider for Buttonbush in Hawaii
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Hawaii growers also need to think about:
Extreme rainfall variation — desert on one side, rainforest on the other
Volcanic soil is nutrient-poor in young flows
Invasive species pressure is severe
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Hawaii grower, not just buttonbush — is covered on the Hawaii growing guide.
Timing shifts within Hawaii
Buttonbush needs about 120 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Hawaii County — Hawaii’s shortest season at 365 frost-free days — clears that by 245 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Hawaii. What varies is your own parcel.
County last-freeze dates and frost-free day counts: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). Buttonbush's 120-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Buttonbush draws honeybees, native bees, and butterflies (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Buttonbush's flowers are not fenced in by a freeze date here: the 1991-2020 record resolves no 28°F killing frost anywhere in Hawaii, so what limits bloom is the plant's own cycle rather than the calendar.
Hawaii Cooperative Extension
For Hawaii-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for buttonbush, the canonical source is UH Mānoa CTAHR Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Buttonbush native to Hawaii?
Buttonbush is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Hawaii. It can still earn a place in a Hawaii garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Hawaii growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
Common Questions About Growing Buttonbush in Hawaii
When can I plant Buttonbush in Hawaii?
Any month — Hawaii records no 28°F killing freeze in the 1991-2020 station record, so there is no last-frost date to wait for and the growing season is year-round (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record). Pace planting by rainfall, heat and elevation instead: the summit country does freeze, and no station up there carries a long enough record to date it.
What hardiness zone is Buttonbush grown in across Hawaii?
Hawaii spans USDA hardiness zones 8b-13a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Buttonbush carries a range of zones 5-9, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Hawaii site have?
A typical Hawaii site sees ~365 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS station record, 1991-2020). Buttonbush needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Buttonbush native to Hawaii?
Buttonbush is native to parts of the Lower 48, but the USDA PLANTS Database (accessed 2026-07-01) does not document a native range in Hawaii. It can still earn a place in a Hawaii garden — the zone comparison above tells you whether it will thrive.
How should I amend the soil for Buttonbush in Hawaii?
Buttonbush prefers pH 5-7.5 and poorly (saturated >50% of year) drainage (Growable Ground Plant Database). That sits in the common-ground band across Hawaii soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Buttonbush actually grow on my specific land in Hawaii?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores buttonbush against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Hawaii
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores buttonbush against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Hawaii buttonbush averages can't show:
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Growing guides for buttonbush
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