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Splendid snowbell

Fragrant tree with dainty flowers perfect for small yards

If you're looking for a tree to make an impact, appearance and fragrance wise, check out the Japanese Snowbell.

``It's a great tree,'' says Eric Bailey, landscape designer at Anderson Garden Center in Newport News.

York County extension agent Jim Orband echoes those sentiments, especially since the flowering tree likes sun and is relatively trouble free when it comes to pests and disease. However, he favors the Fragrant Snowbell variety in the Styrax family because he likes its larger, rounded leaves.

The tree is a bit on the pricey side - about $90-$125 for a 6-7 foot tree, depending on its development - so it should go where people can readily see and enjoy its white flowers, which are small and bell shaped and its tantalizing fragrance.

``It really is a specimen tree,'' says Bailey, meaning it should be a focal point in your landscape design.

SNOWBELL AT A GLANCE

COMMON NAME: Japanese Snowbell

SPECIES: Styrax japonica

LEAVES: Simple, broad-elliptic to elliptic-oblong, 1-3 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide, medium to dark green in summer, changing to yellowish or reddish in fall. Leaves perched like butterflies on upper part of stem so flower are not masked.

FLOWERS: White, yellow-stamened, 3/4 inches wide, slightly fragrant, bell-shaped, May-June.

FRUITS: Drupe, ovoid, about 1/2 inch long, grayish, somewhat attractive; effective in August, falls by November.

SIZE: Small tree that reaches 9-10 feet over 10-year period, ultimately reaching about 20 feet at the most.

BARK: Gray-brown of smooth consistency but showing irregular, orangish brown and interlacing fissures; good addition to winter landscape.

CULTURE: Transplant in early spring into moist, well-drained acidic soil that has been supplemented with lots of peat moss or organic material. Likes full sun or partial shade, locate carefully to protect against cold climates.

Tolerates clay or sandy soil, says Tim Lucas, spokesman for Raulston Selections, which are plants deemed valuable for southeast garden after tests at the Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University. Most local garden centers carry Raulston plants. Styrax japonica was one of J.C. Raulston's favorites, says Lucas of the late horticulturist who directed the arboretum.

PRUNING: Summer, only if necessary.

PROBLEMS: None.

USES: Good for small gardens.

RELATED SPECIES: Styrax obassia or Fragrant Snowbell, similar tree in height and fragrant flowers, except leaves are rounded and larger.

Sources: Hillier Gardener's Guide to Trees & Shrubs, local garden centers

OTHER NICE TREES

Other flowering trees good for this area include: Aristocrat and Chanticleer flowering-pear trees, Cornelian cherry, crab apple, eastern redbud, flowering cherry, European mountain-ash, dogwoods such as Apple Blossom, Cherokee Chief and White Cloud, flowering peach, flowering plums, fringetree, goldenraintree, mimosa, saucer magnolia, Japanese dogwood, sourwood and star magnolia.

April 1998

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