Landscape and Nursery - Recommended Plants for Delaware

The following is information on Chinese fringe-flower, a recommended plant to try in Delaware Landscapes.

Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum, Plant habit, spring flowering, sheared. Photo from Oregon State University.

Chinese fringe-flower, Loropetalum chinense, grows in both sun or light shade and depending on the cultivar can be a small or very large shrub. The fragrant white or pink flowers are shaped a bit like the witch-hazel with many thin petals. The flowers bloom continuously throughout the spring, summer and into fall in shades of pure white, soft pink, bright pink or hot pink. The foliage can be green or a bronze purple and is evergreen in most winters. The size and shape of the Chinese fringe-flower also depends on the cultivar. Some, like ‘Ruby’, are rounded and compact, growing only 3-5’ tall, others become arching vase-shaped shrubs like Fire Dance™ and others like ‘Burgundy’ can become small trees reaching 14’ tall. Chinese fringe-flower prefers to grow in morning sun with afternoon shade, and in moist, well drained soils with a lot of organic material. Because of the shallow root system, the Chinese fringe-flower should be protected from drying winds, especially in the winter.

Information from Ginny Rosenkranz, University of Maryland Horticultural Educator in the June 6, 2008 edition of the TPM/IPM Weekly Report for Arborists, Landscape Managers & Nursery Managers from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension.