Brand:  Proven Winners

Description:

An interesting hybrid flowering shrub or miniature tree that produces highly fragrant orchid-like flowers over an incredibly long season for a tree, extremely tolerant of dry, exposed sites

Ornamental Features

El Nino® Chitalpa features showy panicles of fragrant lilac purple orchid-like flowers with fuchsia overtones, white throats and purple stripes rising above the foliage from late spring to early fall. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The large pointy leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

El Nino® Chitalpa is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease

El Nino® Chitalpa is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

El Nino® Chitalpa will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is an amazingly adaptable plant, tolerating both dry conditions and even some standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. This plant will benefit from an application of bonemeal and/or mycorrhizal fertilizer at the time of planting. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.