Other Names:  Chinese Fringe Flower, Chinese Witch Hazel

Description:

A very showy blooming shrub, with rich, reddish-pink strap-like flowers that literally smothering the plant; new leaves are burgundy, maturing to a very deep purple with burgundy overtones; a well-behaved shrub for general garden use

Ornamental Features

Red Chocolate Chinese Fringeflower is bathed in stunning fragrant hot pink strap-like flowers with cherry red overtones along the branches from late winter to late fall. It has attractive burgundy-variegated deep purple foliage with hints of black which emerges burgundy in spring. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain deep purple throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Red Chocolate Chinese Fringeflower is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. 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.

Red Chocolate Chinese Fringeflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Red Chocolate Chinese Fringeflower will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, 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 40 years or more.

This shrub 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. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active 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.