Flowers in mid-spring to early summer (around May-June in Oklahoma) and produces long, slender, bottlebrush-like racemes (typically 4-6 inches) packed with small, creamy-white flowers. The blooms are lightly fragrant (sweet scent), very profuse, and highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. The foliage is bright to dark green leaves during the growing season turn brilliant shades of red, crimson, burgundy, purple, and sometimes orange in fall—one of the most reliable and vibrant fall color displays among native shrubs, often lasting well into late autumn.