Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Chinese Fringe Flower, Chinese Witch Hazel

Description:

A very showy, spring-blooming shrub, with fine, rich magenta-pink, strap-like flowers literally smothering the plant; new leaves are rich burgundy and have a purplish-red cast all season; a well-behaved shrub, perfect as a screen or hedge

Ornamental Features

Carolina Midnight Chinese Fringeflower is bathed in stunning fragrant fuchsia strap-like flowers along the branches from early to mid spring. Its attractive oval leaves emerge burgundy in spring, turning dark green in colour with prominent burgundy tips and tinges of deep purple the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Carolina Midnight Chinese Fringeflower is a multi-stemmed evergreen perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Carolina Midnight Chinese Fringeflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Carolina Midnight Chinese Fringeflower will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. Although it is technically a woody plant, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.