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By Michele Browne
Horticulture Program Assistant
It’s the dead of winter, the color and cheer of the holidays are gone, and spring seems very far away. This is a tough time of the year for gardeners. The only consolation seems to be a warm fire and a stack of new seed or plant catalogues. However, should you chance to wander into your yard one sunny but chill January day, wouldn’t it be perfect to find a bare-branched shrub coming into bloom with clusters of white and yellow flowers? You’d be likely to visit again the next day and the day after that just to see how your hardy little winter blooms were progressing and eventually you’d be rewarded with not only a bloom but an intoxicating honey-citrus scent wafting across the garden. And that’s what your paper bush is counting on, although it’s actually trying to attract a pollinator insect rather than an enchanted human.
Rather than compete in the hurly-burly of pollination that is spring, paper bush has chosen to bloom in the winter when quite often it may be the only plant in bloom. But there is risk to this plan, and the paper bush must compensate for it. Even though there are no competitor plants, there are also very few polli-nators. So how does a plant best attract those few that are out there? Try a wonderful fragrance that floats across a far distance. And it is this combination – lovely scent and unusual bloom period – that makes paper bush such a unique and valuable addition to the garden.
Paper bush is native to the moist mountain areas of China. It is a relative of another winter bloomer with fragrance, daphne. They can both be found in the family Thymelaeaceae. Here are the pertinent cultural facts:
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Plant Name |
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Paper Bush or Edgeworthia papyrifera/Edgeworthia chrysantha Named for Michael Pakenham Edworthia, amateur botanist with the East India Company |
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Height & Width |
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6 ft. tall by 5-6 ft. wide |
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Description |
Form |
Nicely rounded deciduous shrub. Plant shows interestingly architectural v-patterned branching. |
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Leaf |
Elongated, narrow oval – 3/4" to 2” wide by 51/2 “ long. Dull green slightly hairy topside; silver yellow underneath. Can add a tropical touch to a landscape. |
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Bloom |
Cluster of yellow tightly packed blooms (almost honeycomb-like) encased in a silky or hairy white cover. Blooms can emerge directly from the branches and branch joints and will curve down like bells. Approximately 1 1/2" to 2” wide |
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Stems & Branches |
Flexible, even-toned light gray to tan. Branches are a source of high quality paper. |
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Special Features |
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Seductive fragrance. Branch bark used to produce high quality paper for Japanese bank notes. |
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Culture |
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Grow in part-to-moderate shade (in metro Atlanta avoid direct afternoon sun) in moist, humus-rich soil. Quite happy under deciduous trees. Once established little maintenance is needed. Remove old and/or unproductive stems after flowering. |
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Propagation |
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Seeds can be sown in autumn in a cold frame; take semi-ripe cuttings in summer. |
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Hardiness |
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Can withstand temperatures to -5º; blossom damage below 0º |
Paper bush is not to be found at the corner nursery or the big chain down the road. Quite likely you will have to order your first by mail. To help, sources are listed below:
In Georgia: Piccadilly Farms, Bishop, GA. (706) 769-6516
In North Carolina: Plant Delights Nursery, Raleigh, NC. (919)772-4794
On the West Coast:
Gossler Farms, Springfield, OR. (541)746-3922 www.gosslerfarms.com
Heronswood Nursery, Kingston, WA www.heronswood.com