Chinese Fringe Flower
Loropetalum chinense, 'Plum Delight'
… for dramatic foliage color and bloom
Common Name: Chinese Fringe Flower
Latin Name: Loropetalum chinense, 'Plum Delight'
Design Tip: Plant the burgundy-leafed Loropetalum in front of a silver-leafed shrub such as Elaeagnus pungens in a mixed hedgerow and front with Artemisia, Dusty Miller or Lamb's Ear to frame the dark foliage.
Form: The semi-evergreen perennial can be used as a large border plant or specimen shrub.
Flowers: Small vivid pink tassel flowers open along matured branches in spring or early summer and a light flush may occur in fall.
Foliage: Burgundy leaf varieties may turn green during hot summer months, but will regain color again with cooler autumn nighttime temperatures.
Cultivation: A humus rich, well-drained soil is ideal.
Light Exposure: It performs well in either full sun or shade.
Hardiness: It is hardy to 10 F.
Grooming: The bush can be allowed to grow in natural formation, or it adapts well to top pruning to maintain horizontal form. For a more compact form of 'Plum Delight', prune after spring bloom at individual stem joints to retain the arching limbs' elegance, instead of flat hedge-type clipping.
Size: The mid-sized Loropetalum chinense, 'Plum Delight' is a border designer's dream plant, contributing valuable foliage color on graceful horizontal branches. It matures at a 5 to 6 foot height without grooming. The 'Burgundy' cultivar can grow over 9 feet tall. For smaller scaled beds, there is new a dwarf version, named 'Ruby' which maintains a three-foot size without grooming. A number of other Loropetalum cultivars are making their way to market, including one with pale pink blooms on green foliage and a white blooming burgundy-leafed variety.
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Cultivated, photographed and written
by Maggie Ross McNeely in Fort Worth, Texas
All rights reserved