Description

Family Oleaceae
Originating from China

• Handsome, large evergreen leaves are borne on a shapely large shrub or small tree.
• Sweetly scented white flowers appear in spring.
• Easy to grow and train into any shape.

Large, handsomely glossy evergreen leaves with heavily veined surfaces and lighter green undersides give this rare plant a distinctively textured crown of foliage. It forms a strongly growing large shrub or small tree with spectacular flushes of new leaves. These emerge in pink hues under the right growing conditions, creating a display as showy as a flush of flowers. As they mature, they become tough, thick, and a leathery dark green, densely crowding the branches. Our plant in the Beccles Exotic Woodland Garden (see gallery images) was planted in 2020 as a small 3L plant and is already mature enough to start pruning into a miniature tree-like form.

In late spring, creamy white flowers appear in clusters at the base of the leaves, emitting an intensely wafting perfume that fills the garden on warm afternoons. The petals flare widely to reveal golden anthers and stamens that project well beyond the bloom, enticing early pollinators. The flowers are followed by small oval purple fruits that have a white powdery bloom.

Easy to grow and prune to any size or shape, it thrives in any soil, in full sun or light dappled shade, fitting well in contemporary, oriental, and traditional gardens.

Height and spread after 10 – 20 years 8m x 5m.