ph: 361-935-1556
nancyk
September 28, 2018
By Suzanne LaBrecque - Victoria County Master Gardener
Edited by Charla Borchers Leon
The Chinese Fringetree is a nice, easy addition to a landscape with fleecy white, lightly fragrant blooms in the spring, green leaves in the fall when there are considerably cooler temperatures. Leaves will likely darken and drop to the ground in this area, leaving an attractive dark bark on the tree. It is shown here in a local all-white blooms landscape last spring bordered with white azaleas. It will grow 4-6 inches a year and should be planted in the fall.
The same male Chinese Fringetree is shown here in August without blooms or fruit and with dark green, round leaves. The leaves on the Chinese Fringetree form before the blooms in the spring and locally drop when darkened in the fall, whereas leaves will form after blooms on native White Fringe Trees. After the leaves fall, the attractive trunk(s) remain and can take on the look of bonsai.
OPTIMAL CONDITIONS
Go online:
Fringetree Information Aggie Horticulture (Earthkind)
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder (Chionanthus retusus)
In print:
Welch, D. Texas Garden Almanac. College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
WHEN: 8 a.m. – sold out Oct 20
WHERE: VEG Pavilion, 333 Bachelor Drive
Rain or Shine
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER SUZANNE LABRECQUE
The bold blooms of this male Chinese Fringetree are showy white, lacy and feathery and cover the whole tree in the spring for several weeks. It differes from a female tree, which will have smaller blooms and produce oval-shaped drupes (fruit) that ripen in late summer and early fall.
Last March, my friend Kay mentioned that her Chinese fringetree (also known as fringe tree) was covered in blooms. My drive-by found it with white, lacy, feathery flowers and bordered by white azaleas. The setting was beautiful and peaceful.
Kay’s tree is one of two species of fringetrees grown in the United States.
Her large, elegant Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus) is native to China, Japan and Korea. It was first introduced to America from England in the 17th century.
Its sister, the white fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) is native to the southern United States and East Texas. These small trees or large shrubs are sometimes called Grancy Graybeard or Old Man’s Beard as well as fringe tree.
Both trees get their name from the clouds of fleecy white, lightly fragrant flowers that cover and hang from its branches.
The Chinese fringetree can be either male or female. Males have larger, showy blooms, while the females also grow blackish-blue, grape-like clusters called drupes. Birds like these oval-shaped drupes, but they are not edible for humans.
Fringetrees are deciduous evergreens with blooms that appear in the spring and last about three weeks. The fruit (drupes) are produced after it blooms - and ripens in late summer or early fall (September to October) on female trees.
As it flowers, the Chinese fringetree begins to produce a dark green, rounded and lustrous leaf. The alternative native White fringe tree has a medium to dark green leaf that has a narrow and elliptical shape.
The flowers on the Chinese fringetree bloom in the spring after the dark green leaves emerge while the White fringe tree blooms before the leaves appear.
Both the Chinese fringetree and White fringe tree are very hardy and adaptable to most areas in Texas.
They can be grown in containers and are recommended for patio decks and small to large yards. Other landscape uses for this hardy tree are woodland gardens, borders and water gardens.
These trees tolerate urban pollution so are often planted in street medians, parking lot islands or next to sidewalks. In cities, both fringe trees are often used as replacement for other trees that did not thrive.
Although it grows multiple trunks, it can be trained to one trunk. It is a slow-growing tree that gains only 4 to 6 inches each year. Eventually, it can be 15 to 20 feet tall and spread 20 feet wide. In the Victoria area, it should be planted in the fall.
This tree is not fussy and can grow in full sun, shade, partial sun and partial shade and in all types of soils. It rarely needs pruning. If you decide to prune it, do so after it flowers or in winter. Fertilize your tree with an all-purpose, general fertilizer before new growth begins in the spring. It is relatively drought-tolerant but will need watering during long-lasting droughts. Chinese fringetrees tend to be disease- and pest-free.
The Chinese fringetree will produce the most blooms if planted in an acidic, consistently moist soil in a sunny area that is protected from the wind.
I watched a YouTube video about the Chinese fringetree growing in Connecticut. The gardener raved about how it is a three-season tree with white blooms in the spring, rich green foliage in the summer and yellow color in the fall. In Victoria, it is not cold enough for the fringe trees to boast autumn hues. Instead as a deciduous tree, many leaves turn a blackened-green and drop to the ground. Nevertheless, the exfoliating gray-brown bark is attractive in winter months.
Please do not confuse the Chinese fringetree for the Chinese fringe flower. The fringe flower is one of three species of shrubs or small trees that comes from China, Japan and Southeastern Asia.
The fringe flower shrub is also known as Loropetalum and is in the witch-hazel family. The Chinese fringetree is in the Oleaceae (olive) family as are lilacs, forsythia and ash trees.
In China, the young fringetree leaves are used to make tea that tastes and smells similar to green tea.
If you have a place in your yard for an interesting, easy-care and slow-growing tree, do consider the Chinese fringetree. Its showy, white blooms become luminescent in the moonlight. Also it can serve as an accent tree surrounded by perennials such as azaleas, daisies, coneflowers and sages.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER SUZANNE LABRECQUE
While similar in name and shape of bloom, Loropetalum, or Fringe Flower, blooms on a much shorter bush in fuchsia with leaves of purple or burgundy tones. Commonly called Chinese Fringe Flower, it is a member of the witch-hazel family and should not be confused with the Chinese Fringetree of the Oleaceae (olive) family that blooms with white flowers.
ph: 361-935-1556
nancyk