Chinese Fringe Flower
While helping to set up the entry garden at the fair, I was happy to see several pots of fringe flower shrubs emerge from the van. I have had one in my yard for years and love it when it blooms, especially when the wind blows the flowers around. I first became aware of this plant at work, year ago when I noticed the flowers on a breezy day. The landscaper was nearby so I asked her "What's this plant?" (Over time, I came to find out that the landscaper is also a Master Gardener in Contra Costa County.) Anyway, to shorten the story, I went on a mission and found them, and you know the rest already.
The Chinese Fringe Flower, the Loropetalum chinense, is a member of the witch hazel family and is native to Japan, China, and the Himalayas. It grows well in USDA zones 7 to 10 and is cold tolerant down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also drought tolerant, once established. It can grow up to 5 to 10 feet in height, depending on the variety. There is also a variety that is a dwarf that only grows to about 18 inches tall. There are 2 basic forms, the one with white to pale yellow flowers with green leaves, and the one with pink flowers with leaves that vary in color from bronze red when the leaf is new to olive green as the leaf matures. There are many varieties and cultivars on the pink flowered plant listed, but not as many of the white flowered one. They like slightly acidic, organic rich soil, but can also grow in clay. (This is good news in our area!!) They like full sun to partial shade. Mine is shaded in the afternoon by a big old walnut tree but gets full on morning sun. However, if you look around while out and about, you can see them all over, doing well in the full sun pretty much all day. They liked to be pruned in early spring. And then have a light dose on slow release fertilizer, and you can use the one you use for your azaleas and rhodies. It blooms in March and April and off and into fall. As you can see, mine is blooming right now, and is doing pretty well in a pot, that it may have rooted through the bottom of after all this time!
photo by Jenni Dodini