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Chimonanthus praecox

Fragrant Wintersweet

Pronunciation
ky-mo-NAN-thus PRAY-cox
Genus
Nativity

China

Growth Habit

Large, multi-stemmed. Can become leggy and rejuvenates with a hard cutback. Deciduous.

Hardiness
7
Culture

Adapts to a variety of soils. Will survive urban settings in a protected area. Full to part sun

Landscape Use

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.

Foliage

Lustrous dark green in summer. Opposite, long narrow leaf with short bristly hairs on upper surface.:

Buds

Buds are distinctive flower buds (in late summer) imbricately scaled.

Bark

Somewhat square stem with obvious orange-brown lenticels.

Flower

Yellow March flowers with a reddish-orange throat; .5 inch long with a permeating fragrance.:Purple in middle

Fruit

Resembles a hornet's nest. Persistent through winter.

Propagation

Seeds and cuttings.

Pests
None serious.
Cultivars

'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.

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