Curious?
Chionanthus virginicus flowers could easily pass for something found on another planet by a Star Trek away team. The common name Fringe Tree just doesn’t do it justice. The flowers are white and thread-like and don’t resemble any other flowers I’ve ever seen except possibly for some orchids. But Fringe Tree is no obscure exotic, it is native to our region and very easy to grow. These shrubs are dioecious so you will need a male and a female if you want the attractive blue fruit in the fall. Wild turkeys and other birds will thank you for providing this much needed fall food source. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen C. virginicus labelled with their gender so planting a group of them is your best bet for getting one of each; a serious drawback since these plants take up a lot of space. They slowly grow to about 10′ ft. tall and almost as wide. They still are still worth planting even if you can only have one.
Plant your C. virginicus in sun or light shade. Sandy, loose soil is best but this tough shrub will also grow in clayey soil.Working compost or shredded leaves into the soil every year will do much to improve its structure. Keep soil moist during the first year or two. After that watering during dry spells is all that is needed.
In a formal garden setting C. virginicus makes a wonderful anchor at the end of a perennial border. Out of bloom its dark foliage is a perfect backdrop for a wide range of meadow plants such as Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) or Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed).
In a more informal edge-of-the-woods setting the same principles apply but lighter colors will show the best. Actaea racemosa, once upon a time called Cimicifuga racemosa, common name Black Cohosh (although I prefer the name I first heard, Fairy Candles) sends wands up to 1-2′ tall with 6-8″ long panicles of tiny white flowers in early summer. The effect is magical in the twilight. Keep Actaea moist for best bloom. Chelone glabra is another good choice. It will grow in sun to part sun slowly spreading to form clumps 2-4′ tall. The unusual (space alien?) white flowers bloom in late summer.
In the fall the leaves turn a beautiful shade of yellow; a good background for Blue Wood Aster, Aster cordifolius. The Gentians are another possibility that will complement the weird plant theme better than asters. The ones that I know of: Gentiana autumnalis, G. clausa, and G. saponaria, all have blue flowers that bloom, sort of, in the fall. Gentian flowers don’t really open. Pollinators have to fight their way in to get at the nectar. In the process they are covered in pollen which they take to the next flower. Gentians are not readily available at nurseries and some of them are said to be hard to grow so test your soil and Google the cultural requirements before planting. I’ve never grown them in my garden but was lucky enough to have a wild population, probably G. clausa, growing in the ditch across from my house when I lived in northeastern PA.
When planting perennials in front of Fringe Tree leave some space for the shrub to grow but since it’s a slow grower your perennials don’t have to go out much further than 3′ from the shrub’s current size. By the time it overgrows them it will be time to divide anyway.
Now, along with color, height, textural, and cultural requirements to consider add the “space alien” element to your garden design. Adding a few weird flowers adds another degree of interest to your garden.
Native Trees for North American Landscapes (Sternburg 2004)
Native Plants of the Southeast (Mellichap, 2014)