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Corylopsis sinensis var. calvescens |
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| | Leaves appear just as the flowers are fading |
| Common name |
Chinese winterhazel |
| Family |
hamamelidaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub (Z6-8) |
| Flowers |
yellow (early spring) |
| Size |
10' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
rich, medium-moist soil |
| Seed ripens | mid-June |
Three years after starting this winterhazel from seed, I had a single surviving plant, and not much hope it would survive, let alone thrive, on the hillside behind our waterfall, which hardly meets its requirement of moist soil throughout summer. But that year, in late March, the lone survivor bloomed – not exactly impressively, but enough to make me pay attention in the years that followed. After all, not much else is lighting up the garden so early in spring. And amazingly, it is still alive, even though it must fight for sunlight in the thicket of aggressive perennials and weedy thugs growing around it. Somehow, the bloom has gotten better every year. I can see how, planted in a proper location, this would be a magnificent specimen. Ours assumes a perpetually downcast look, barely more than a couple sprawling branches – but I enjoy it every year. I'm afraid that if I transplant it to a more suitable location, it would die out of spite...
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| | Spent bloom |
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| | Buds for next spring's flowers forming in November |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Corylopsis sinensis var. calvescens
- Seed from HPS/MAG exchange. Pot set outside mid-February, seedlings emerged in May
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