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By Matt Vehr
Moeller's Nurseries & Landscaping Services, Inc.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder or so the saying goes. When it comes to the white fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus, pronounced KEE-O-NAN-THUS) beauty is in the eyes of everyone who views this plant.

Frilly, fragrant white lacy flowers which adorn Chionanthus in May of each year are truly a wonder of nature. Another common name for this tree is “Old Man’s Beard” given the abundance of flowers produced each spring this is a very fitting moniker. Not only are the flowers elegant and showy they are also pleasingly fragrant.

I have seen this plant grown as a small tree or as a large shrub – either way it will grow to approximately 15’ tall and wide. So give it a little room. Another great asset of the fringe tree is it’s adaptability to sun or shade, loamy, sandy or clayey soil and its ease of transplanting. From the grower’s standpoint however it must be grafted onto other members of the Oleaceae family (ash or lilacs) or grown from seed. Asexual cuttings can’t be rooted on the commercial level.

Another highlight of Chionanthus is the dark blue, 5/8” fruit or drupe that it produces in summer and fall. The fruit is only produced on female plants however. Since this plant is generally grown from seed it is impossible to know whether you’ve purchased a male or a female plant. To insure fruit set it is wise to plant Chionanthus in a grove-like fashion to assure that male and female plants are in close proximity to one another. Females won’t produce fruit unless a male is planted nearby. Don’t be put off by this frailty; it is an awesome plant regardless of sex. The fruit will not last very long since birds and avid nursery growers are quick to locate and clean the fruit from the plants.

The white fringe tree is tolerant of air pollution, large soil pH fluctuations and wet soil conditions but is intolerant of drought conditions. It is a plant native to the Eastern United States and will easily tolerate winters and summers in hardiness Zones 5 through 9. Since it can also be grown as a shrub it is amenable to heavy pruning and can easily be maintained in the 8 to 10’ height range. I’ve even cut this plant all the way to the ground in late winter only to see it grow to a height of 4 – 5 feet within a few months.

It is not without interest in the fall of the year. The 4 to 5 inch dark green, elliptical leaves turn a bright gold color and are retained by the plant for at least two weeks after changing colors. Fall color alone is probably not a driving force in utilizing this plant but combine fall color with its spring bloom and outstanding pest resistance and you have a plant that stand heads and shoulders above all others.

Be sure to include the white fringe tree in your next landscape design or building project and be prepared to answer the question, “What is that beautiful tree?”

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