|
Chionanthus retusus (Chinese Fringe Tree) – A nice sculpturally shaped deciduous tree that typically grows to 20 feet tall in cultivation with a rounded crown of dark green leaves that often turn golden in late fall. It has lightly fragrant white flowers with fringe-like petals held in 4-inch-wide panicles held at branch tips in profusion in spring in our climate (March-April in Santa Barbara), yet many references list this plant as blooming in the summer. It is a dioecious species with blue-black fruits produced on female trees after the bloom. These fruits, while edible, are more attractive to birds than to humans. Trees in cultivation are often variable in leaf size and bark color.
This is a hardy tree that can be planted in a lawn in full sun or used as an understory in partial shade. It grows best in fertile well-drained soils and given regular irrigation. It is hardy to below 10°F and useful in USDA zones 5a and above. An attractive flowering tree with nice gray bark providing an interesting accent to the winter landscape.
Chionanthus retusus is native to eastern Asia from eastern and central China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The name for the genus comes from the Greek word 'chion', meaning "snow" and 'anthos', a "flower", in reference to the abundant white fringe-like flowers. The specific epithet is from the Latin word 'retuse' meaning "rounded shallowly" or "blunt" in reference to the leaf tip.
We grew this plant from 1990 until 2005. We still like this plant, but it seems to require more water than other plants we grow in our mediterranean climate palette - a great tree in the lawn if you have one. It also seems to be sensitive to Oak Root Fungus (AKA Armillaria Root Rot) as trees planted in areas of old oak forests have not lived very long.
Information displayed on this page about Chionanthus retusus is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
|
