Plants of the Week: March 31

Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Snow Cream’ sets its downy, pendulous flower heads in the fall. It will produce heavily dangling, lush, yellow and cream colored flower heads in the early spring. For now, the other-worldly ornaments offer a nice silvery-tan accent against the auburn bark of the plant’s thick branches. Commonly known as the Oriental paper bush, fibrous material from the bark of this plant species was used for many years in Japan to make high quality paper. In the past this particular cultivar was known as ‘Tony’s Clone’ having been selected by Plant Delights Nursery’s Tony Avent, the name was recently changed to the more descriptive ‘Snow Cream’.

Garden Location: Winter Garden

Photo credit: J. Bickel

Magnolia ‘Golden Sun’ boldly displays its large, furry, flower buds on long graceful branches. Being a late spring bloomer early May is the time when they break open, releasing large, vibrant lemon-yellow flowers. This cultivar was bred from a cross of the M. acuminata cucumber tree of eastern North America and the M. denudata Yulan magnolia of eastern China.

Garden Location: Tree Peony Collection

Photo credit: J. Bickel

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Sunburst’ is vibrant, luminous and attention-grabbing and yet with closer inspection it reveals grace and complexity in composition. The long, bright yellow petals of flowers of early blooming Hamamelis ‘Sunburst’ catch the eye and remind us of the intensity of colors we have been missing all winter. Looking even more closely we can see the deep-burgundy calyx and stamens that modestly hide between the flashy, ribbon-like petals. The H. x intermedia cultivars are the resultant of crosses between the Japanese witch hazel Hamamelis japonica and the Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis.

Garden Location: Witch hazel Collection

Photo credit: J. Bickel