Other Names:  Chinese Fringe Flower, Chinese Witch Hazel

Description:

Gracefully layered branches covered with bright red to pink spider flowers in spring, that repeat in fall; deep, dark plum foliage retains its color throughout the season; part-shade is best; needs regular watering, especially in midsummer heat

Ornamental Features

Dark Fire Fringeflower features showy fragrant cherry red spider-like flowers held atop the branches from mid spring to early fall. It has attractive plum purple foliage with ruby-red undersides and tinges of olive green which emerges dark red in spring. The oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain plum purple throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Dark Fire Fringeflower is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

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

Dark Fire Fringeflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Dark Fire Fringeflower will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. 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.

Dark Fire Fringeflower makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.