White fringetree

White fringetree: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Broad, rounded shrub or small multi-stemmed tree, slow-growing to 3–4 m tall and as wide.

Leaves

Large, oval to oblong, 10–20 cm, glossy dark green and opposite. They appear late in spring and turn yellow in autumn.

Flowers

Drooping panicles of 15–20 cm with narrow, strap-like white petals of 2–3 cm, in June; sweetly scented.

Fruit

Oval, dark blue to blue-black drupes of 1–1.5 cm with a waxy bloom, in late summer, on female plants only.

Male and female

Usually dioecious: male plants have slightly larger, showier flowers, female plants bear the fruit.

Flowering: June · Plants: March–April and October–November · Pruning: July

Why grow it?

• A spectacular display in June: the whole shrub seems draped in white fringes or snowflakes.
• The sweetly scented flowers attract bees and other insects.
• In late summer female plants carry small dark blue fruits, a feast for birds.
• Yellow autumn colour and a broad, handsome shape: a specimen shrub with interest through the year.
• Fully hardy, tolerates moist and heavy soil and is rarely bothered by pests or diseases.
• Little work: pruning is not needed.

White fringetree: where does it grow best?

• Full sun gives the best flowering; partial shade also works, with a little less bloom.
• Moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil: sand, loam or clay, preferably acid to neutral.
• Normal to moist: it copes better with wet soil than with drought. On sandy soil, water in dry spells.
• Give it an open spot as a specimen or at the back of a large border: allow 4 m across after some years.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Normal or wet

Size

4 m tall, 4 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Rhododendron: Likes the same acid, moist soil and flowers just before.
• Snowy mespilus: Another shrub for birds, flowering in April with berries in June.
• Smooth hydrangea: Its white heads take over the show in summer.
• Hosta: Large leaves at the base, in the light shade under the shrub.
• Ferns: A fresh green underplanting.

White fringetree: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–November.

1. Plant in March–April or October–November, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Choose a container-grown or root-balled plant.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in compost or leaf mould.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil well.
4. Keep at least 2 m from other shrubs and paths: after some years it is 4 m wide.
5. Water in thoroughly straight away and keep the soil moist during the first year.
6. Spread a mulch of leaf mould or wood chips around the base.

Care

Watering

Water in dry weather for the first two years. After that only in long dry spells, especially on sandy soil.

Feeding

In March–April, a layer of compost or a little organic shrub fertiliser is enough.

Mulching

A layer of leaf mould every spring keeps the soil cool and moist.

Patience

It grows slowly and only flowers freely after a few years. It also leafs out very late, often in May: don’t panic if it is still bare in April.

Moving

Best avoided: once established it prefers to be left alone.

Tip: Give it a spot where you can see and smell it in June, near the terrace for instance, and be patient: the older the shrub, the richer the flowering.

White fringetree: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July.

When: Pruning is not needed. If you do want to remove something, do it straight after flowering, in July: it flowers on the previous year’s wood.

How:

• Cut out dead, damaged and crossing branches back to a healthy side branch or the trunk.
• For a small tree with a few stems, gradually remove the lowest side branches, spread over several years.
• Never prune hard: it grows slowly and recovers slowly.

Caution: Pruning in winter or spring costs flower buds, because they are already on last year’s shoots.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow seeds cleaned of their flesh in autumn, in a pot left outdoors. The seed needs a warm period followed by a cold one and often only germinates in the second spring. Seedlings take several years to flower.

Layering

In spring bend a low branch down to the soil, nick it lightly and pin it under a little soil. After one to two years it has rooted and can be severed.

White fringetree: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −30 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• In the first year, spread a layer of leaf mould around the base of young plants.
• In a large container it can stay for a few years; stand it against a wall in winter and keep the compost slightly moist.

Diseases and pests

• Bare in April: Not a problem: it only leafs out in late April or May, among the last shrubs. Wait before cutting anything off.
• Few or no flowers: Young plants flower sparsely; too much shade or spring pruning also costs flowers. Patience and a sunny spot help.
• No fruit: Only female plants bear fruit, mainly when a male plant grows nearby.
• Leaf spot: Small brown spots on the leaves in wet summers. Usually harmless; clear up fallen leaves and let air circulate around the shrub.
• Scale insects: Small brown or white shields on the twigs. Brush them off with a soft brush or leave them to natural predators.

Through the year

• March: Plant. Add compost.
• April: Plant. Mulch. The shrub is still bare.
• May: Leaves emerge, among the last in the garden.
• June: Flowering: white, scented fringes. Bees visit the flowers.
• July: If needed, prune lightly straight after flowering. Water in dry spells.
• August: Water in dry spells. The fruits colour up.
• September: Dark blue fruits on female plants; birds eat them.
• October: Yellow autumn colour. Plant. Sow seed in a pot outdoors.
• November: Plant. Leaf mould around the base.
• December: Rest.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The name Chionanthus comes from the Greek chion (snow) and anthos (flower): in bloom the shrub looks covered in snow.
• It belongs to the olive family, like ash, lilac and privet. Its small dark blue fruits look like tiny olives.
• In America it is also called old man’s beard, after its fluffy white flower clusters.