Most of the leaves have fallen from my Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold' leaving behind beautiful brown stems and fat flower buds which hold the promise of fragrant late-winter flowers. That’s why this is my favorite plant in the garden, this week...
I did not come easily to the Edgeworthia fan club. Watching people grab plants at a Lan Su (Portland’s Chinese Garden) plant sale one spring I remember thinking “why do you want that?”
When finally I was won over it wasn't the flowers that did it but the foliage. Visiting Cistus Nursery I spotted those big floppy leaves with their shiny veins, what’s not to love?
My appreciation of the flowers finally occurred when I saw an orange flowered plant (also at Cistus). Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Akebono'…
Of course once I fell for the orange flowers it was a natural progression back to the yellow, which I actually purchased first. Why? I was told ‘Akebono’ was not as vigorous as ‘Nanjing Gold.’ However the little ‘Akebono’ twig I bought last February has grown significantly, more than doubling in size, and it has 18 flower buds!
Furry flower buds…
The stats…
Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold'
Eventual size…6 ft wide x 8 ft tall
Sun…sun to part shade
Water…regular, not drought tolerant
Zones…8 – 10
Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Akebono'
Eventual size…5-6 ft wide x 5-6 ft tall
Sun…sun to part shade
Water…regular, not drought tolerant
Zones…upper zone 7 – 10
No doubt you’ll be seeing more from both of these plants come late-winter/early-spring bloomdays!
(that last photo was taken at the Chinese Garden last April, my plant isn't that big!)
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