This shrub is grown for its unusual bottle brush-shaped flowers, compact size, and excellent fall color. Forthegilla flowers are white, airy, and open in early spring with a pleasant sweet scent. The foliage is green with a slightly bluish cast. In the fall, it turns a range of bright colors from yellow to orange to red to purple. A shrub with an upright habit, it grows 4 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide.

It prefers full sun to part shade, although it will tolerate deeper shade. It grows best in acidic soil high with a high organic matter content. It prefers even moisture. This shrub may spread by suckers if they are not removed. It does not have any other serious pest problems.

Mt. Airy Forthegillas works well for foundation plantings and naturalized areas.