Chimonanthus praecox
Fragrant Wintersweet
China
Large, multi-stemmed. Can become leggy and rejuvenates with a hard cutback. Deciduous.
Adapts to a variety of soils. Will survive urban settings in a protected area. Full to part sun
Specimen shrub or small tree; especially effective against a dark background. Flowers that give off a fragrance that is in league with lilacs and magnolias is one of Chimonanthus praecox best attributes.
Lustrous dark green in summer. Opposite, long narrow leaf with short bristly hairs on upper surface.:
Buds are distinctive flower buds (in late summer) imbricately scaled.
Somewhat square stem with obvious orange-brown lenticels.
Yellow March flowers with a reddish-orange throat; .5 inch long with a permeating fragrance.:Purple in middle
Resembles a hornet's nest. Persistent through winter.
Seeds and cuttings.
'Brockhill Goldleaf' -Yellow foliage.
'Grandiflorus' - Flowers are larger and more yellow than the species with red-purple markings inside.
'Luteus' - Flower is exclusively yellow; no inner markings.