Heptacodium miconioides
RHS Wisley Gardens near Ripley in Surrey.
From Wikipedia -
Heptacodium miconioides, (syn. Heptacodium jasminoides) commonly known as the Seven Sons plant, is a member of the Caprifoliaceae family, a cousin of the Honeysuckle, and sole member of the genus Heptacodium.
The generic name of Heptacodium means 'seven flowers' (hence 'Seven Sons'), seven being the average number of flowers on a head. The specific epithet miconioides alludes to the similarities of the plant to the unrelated Meadow Beauty genus, Miconia.
Endemic to China, this species was discovered in 1907 in Hubei province in central China by Wilson whilst collecting on behalf of the Arnold Arboretum. Considered rare at that time, the species is today threatened by habitat loss, and only nine populations are known to remain in the wild, all of them in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces. The species is under second-class national protection in China. However, the plant is now also widely grown as an ornamental around the world.
The Sino-American Botanical Expedition of 1980 collected viable seeds which were sent to the Arnold Arboretum, where it was found to be easily cultivated. Readily propagated from either seed or by softwood cuttings, the species has since become widely available in North America and Europe, and was stocked by 26 nurseries in the UK alone in 2011.
H. miconioides is extremely hardy, and tolerant of temperatures as low as −35 °C (−31 °F). It is also fast-growing, and can reach a height of 3 m in just five years; it is also very shade tolerant.
A specimen 8 m high planted in 1981 grows in the Flagpole Bed alongside Jermyn House at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Ampfield, near Romsey, in England.
Heptacodium miconioides
RHS Wisley Gardens near Ripley in Surrey.
From Wikipedia -
Heptacodium miconioides, (syn. Heptacodium jasminoides) commonly known as the Seven Sons plant, is a member of the Caprifoliaceae family, a cousin of the Honeysuckle, and sole member of the genus Heptacodium.
The generic name of Heptacodium means 'seven flowers' (hence 'Seven Sons'), seven being the average number of flowers on a head. The specific epithet miconioides alludes to the similarities of the plant to the unrelated Meadow Beauty genus, Miconia.
Endemic to China, this species was discovered in 1907 in Hubei province in central China by Wilson whilst collecting on behalf of the Arnold Arboretum. Considered rare at that time, the species is today threatened by habitat loss, and only nine populations are known to remain in the wild, all of them in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces. The species is under second-class national protection in China. However, the plant is now also widely grown as an ornamental around the world.
The Sino-American Botanical Expedition of 1980 collected viable seeds which were sent to the Arnold Arboretum, where it was found to be easily cultivated. Readily propagated from either seed or by softwood cuttings, the species has since become widely available in North America and Europe, and was stocked by 26 nurseries in the UK alone in 2011.
H. miconioides is extremely hardy, and tolerant of temperatures as low as −35 °C (−31 °F). It is also fast-growing, and can reach a height of 3 m in just five years; it is also very shade tolerant.
A specimen 8 m high planted in 1981 grows in the Flagpole Bed alongside Jermyn House at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Ampfield, near Romsey, in England.