Seven Sons Tree

The seven sons tree (Heptacodium miconioides) was named a Great Plant Pick for 2008.  I heartily agree this is a choice plant for the Pacific Northwest.  It certainly is one of my favorite large shrubs.  I first bought mine over 10 years ago and couldn’t find any cultural advice on how to grow it.  It is easy to grow and is one of my favorites in my garden.  Unfortunately, this shrub isn’t drought tolerant so it needs supplemental watering during our annual drought period.

I pruned my plant to a single trunk so it appears to be a small tree, instead of a large shrub.  At its base, I planted Clematis ‘The President’; the vine climbs into the branches and flowers in spring and again in summer giving the shrub another season of interest.

The genus was first collected in 1907 by by E.H. Wilson in Hupei Province, China. Alfred Rehder from the Arnold Arboretum described the new genus in 1916. Rehder named the collected specimens–Hepta, which means seven, and codium, which refers to the flower head.. It then was forgotten, until1980 when it was rediscovered by the Sino-American Botanic Expedition.

Recently introduced to this country by the Arnold Arboretum and U.S. National Arboretum, this beautiful multi-stemmed shrub or small tree is not bothered by pests or diseases! H. miconioides is rare in China with few if any to be found growing in the wild anymore.

The shrub has tan bark that exfoliates to reveal an attractive brown inner bark underneath. In August, the white buds form, and in September, the flowers open with a fragrance of jasmine. In fall, the calyx turns bright red until the first hard frost. In a good year, the shrub turns red from numerous calyxes. The leaves turn a decorous purple-bronze hue in fall. This is a great shrub for late summer, fall and winter interest. Another plus for this shrub is its salt tolerance so it possibly can be used near the seashore. It also attracts butterflies.

Comments

[Les]

I would also recommend this plant for Southeastern gardens, it can put up with heat and humidity with no problems. We have had one planted in our display garden at work for at least 12 years and have never had to fuss about it.

[JeanneK]

Hmmmm. Sounds like a must have for my "asian" garden.

[Richard]

Having been a fan of Crape Myrtles, I, during an online search, stumbled upon Seven Son Flower(the Crape Myrtle of the north).I bought 3 at 15.00 apiece.My 6in. plants arrived late Feb.It was very depressing to view them.Happily today, I found a 6ft S.S.F at Sky nursery for 44 dollars! Does anyone know of another nursery who offers them? I would love to have a couple more.