Enkianthus

Transcription

Enkianthus. I don't know a common name for this plant. The Latin binomial is Enkianthus campanulatus. This shrub that grows to about 10 feet and about 4 to 5 feet wide is a native of China and the Far East from the Himalayans. Some species you can find in northern indochina. But they are all native to that part of Asia. This is the hardiest species, it's quite hardy in our zone. It's a lovely, lovely Spring plant. It's a deciduous member of the Ericaceae family the rhododendron or blueberry. It's also thought of as the heather or heath family. In the Spring in late April and into May these lovely pendulous bell-shaped flowers with streaks of red in them emerge and are quite noticeable in the landscape for two weeks or more. You can see on this plant, the pollinators are working hard. There has been several butterflies, the larger bumblebees. I haven't seen any honeybees although the hives are nearby, but it may not be attractive to honeybees. They are probably working other things right now. Smaller wasps and other pollinators are working these to good effect right now. After the flowers have dropped in mid to late May, then the green foliage is a nice backdrop for many other garden plants. And in the Fall you get a wonderful red to coppery red Fall color. It's really quite attractive and especially planted next to other plants with a lighter or a yellow or orange Fall color. It's an amazing contrast. So, think about Fall color as you choose plants for your landscape. If you have a plant that only blooms in the Spring with no Fall color, it had better be really spectacular, like a Lilac with wonderful fragrance and good cut flowers. But this one has two seasons of interest, with the bell-shaped flowers now and then later in the Fall the great Fall color.