Edgeworthia Chrysantha -

Home
>
Landscaping & Gardening
>
Edgeworthia Chrysantha

Edgeworthia Chrysantha

Although it is a member of the Thymelaeaceae, the family that includes the daphnes, it would be hard to imagine a plant less like a daphne at first glance. However, if you are familiar with the deciduous Daphne genkwa, there is some hint of resemblance there.

The genus comprises three very similar species from China and Japan. It is named after Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-81), a part-time botanist, plant collector and employee of the East India Company.

The plant grown in our gardens and sold in garden centres is commonly labelled E. papyrifera, which is actually a different species. There is some confusion over this, even among botanists. Apparently E. papyrifera has white flowers, not the yellow of E. chrysantha, though some botanists regard them variations of one species.

Edgeworthia chrysantha is a heavily-wooded deciduous shrub. It grows to around 1.2-1.8 m high by 1.5 m wide. Its 12.5-17.5 cm long, pointed oval leaves are soft green with prominent midribs and felted when young.

The foliage is attractive, especially when young, but this is a plant grown for its flowers. They are bright yellow aging to creamy white, tubular and about 1 cm long. Individually they are nothing much, but they are densely packed in 8 cm diameter globose heads. The are very fragrant and open until late winter from buds that have been obvious from late autumn.

The flowers are followed by dry, purplish-green berries known technically as drupes.

This is an often underrated shrub and I'd be the first to admit that it is not always instantly appealing. At first, its rather sparse growth and very heavy branches can seem grotesque. But with time these things tend to be overlooked in favour of the delicate colouring and fragrance of the flowers, and the beauty of the new foliage.

A moist, well-drained, humus-enriched soil with partial shade is best - the sort of conditions you would give your rhododendrons and camellias, or for that matter your daphnes. It is hardy to around -15°C and thrives in a cool temperate climate. Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings, aerial layers or seed.

Try Edgeworthia, it's not difficult to grow and although bare for much of the year it has its moment of glory when flowering, and definitely has that 'weird' appeal that makes it one for the collector.

I am a garden book author and horticultural photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. I run a stock photo library called Country, Farm and Garden (http://www.cfgphoto.com). This article may be re-published provided this information is published with it and is clearly visible.

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://features.csmonitor.com/gardening/2008/10/07/do-you-call-it-a-yard-or-a-garden/cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNEDcXrYh9FWT1ADG-XjtzdcBeWHQgDo you call it a yard or a bgarden/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChristian Science Monitor,nbsp;MAnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b reminded of it by David Martinâ€™s comment on the blog post about the best nurseries, â€œIn Florida, we tend to have â€˜blandscaping/bâ€™ rather than bgardening/b. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/gardening/2008/10/06/garden-elspeth-thompson106.xmlcid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNG5WqNj5HtuPq8iwEZjmJaxJflltwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YBM3jydyf2IJimgurl=www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/graphics/2008/10/06/garden-elspeth106.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Telegraph.co.uk/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/gardening/2008/10/06/garden-elspeth-thompson106.xmlcid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNG5WqNj5HtuPq8iwEZjmJaxJflltwbGardening/b: The tropic of suburbia/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTelegraph.co.uk,nbsp;United Kingdomnbsp;-/font nobrOct 6, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b Fraser of Avant bGardener/b, is the unique and intuitive partnership between the planting and blandscaping/b: the latter created entirely from salvaged wood. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/lifestyle-news/your-life/2008/10/07/girl-power-meet-the-girls-in-guys-jobs-92746-21980733/cid=1255137874ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNFTalFRn_6JHEceLdjZW7mUSIPhJgGirl power! Meet the girls in guys#39; jobs.../abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCoventry Telegraph,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Carolyn, 48, is in charge of eight women who tackle bgarden/b maintenance and clearance and simple blandscaping/b projects. quot;bGardening/b had never been my thing,quot; b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.philstar.com/index.php%3FHeadlines%26p%3D49%26type%3D2%26sec%3D24%26aid%3D20081002138cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNHPYxYlnucPePsgB2SH5qIqVhc9TQbLandscaping/b business blooms from Bulacan roots/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPhilippine Star,nbsp;Philippinesnbsp;-/font nobrOct 2, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1When asked why he continued the business of bgardening/b and blandscaping/b instead of starting another business, Nestor simply answered, â€œWe cannot turn our b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx%3Fid%3D800462cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNFNt1LJDNnPPmeuXmTzMRKH2m_BeQLongtime Bayside bgardener/b Lorrie Otto is pulling up her roots/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMilwaukee Journal Sentinel,nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobrOct 3, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1What pleases her most is the fact that she is considered the leader of the natural blandscaping/b movement. The movement is good for the Earth and the bgardener/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/oct/07/hardy-hard--kill-fast-growing-tough-tamarisk/cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNEYMeWqI0Z8wcR36ANVvedo_hEXHQHardy, hard-to-kill, fast-growing: #39;The tough tamarisk#39;/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEvansville Courier Press,nbsp;INnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1For those building new home sites in these arid regions, keep this example in mind when selecting plants for blandscaping/b and shade. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/04/gardens2cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNGZLynYNHq2SVnvpAXbQoRl8k25oAAnatomy of a bgarden/b Priona, Schuinesloot, the Netherlands/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fguardian.co.uk,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobrOct 3, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1So in a bgarden/b where the walls or fences are straight, the paths and other blandscaping/b should be erratic, with sloping paths, curved hedges and arcing b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20081002/FEATURES0301/810020302cid=1253387587ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNHRzcZ1fuEwb9wKtWUKoL3qBoj0xwHelpful Techniques For October bLandscaping/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTyler Morning Telegraph,nbsp;TXnbsp;-/font nobrOct 2, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1What great weather to get outdoors, enjoy the changing of the seasons, and take care of those bgardening/b chores you#39;ve been putting off throughout the summer b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sltrib.com/technology/ci_10480615cid=0ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNELc5FXej2Gvif9Ig371eTQQZrw0QbGardening/b: Trees can bring many benefits to your home blandscaping/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSalt Lake Tribune,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobrSep 17, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1As the largest wholesale nursery in Utah, they supplied blandscaping/b companies with more than 15000 plants last year. Many trees for sale at your local b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-hmw-webdatebook4-2008oct04,0,6894106.storycid=1254052873ei=Pl3sSK-XPILg6APG8dSACQusg=AFQjCNExMzzJ444xILH7n64mJ93PfrlKAgHome and bgarden/b events in the Southland/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fLos Angeles Times,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 4, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Silent auction will be held at 5:30 pm followed by Greg Rubin#39;s lecture, quot;The Secrets of bLandscaping/b With Native Plants,quot; at 6:30 pm North Valley City Hall b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

landscaping gardening - Google News

Edgeworthia Chrysantha

Landscaping & Gardening