Habitat

• native to Manchuria, Japan, and Korea
• zone 5

Habit and Form

• a deciduous small tree or large shrub
• ascending branches
• 20' to 30' tall
• oval crown
• medium texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• ovate leaf shape
• 3" to 8" long
• dense pubescence on leaf underside
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• yellow fall color
• not ornamentally important

Flowers

• white flowers
• fragrant
• clustered in 6" racemes
• racemes droop
• blooms in June

Fruit

• pubescent drupe
• ovoid
• 0.75" across

Bark

• gray brown bark color
• vertical fissures
• smooth
• attractive
• stems are reddish brown and exfoliating

Culture

• prefers moist, organic soil
• partial shade
• more cold hardy than S. japonica

Landscape Use

• specimen
• patio tree
• situate so the blooms can be observed close up
• works well in small groupings
• very showy and desirable

Liabilities

• lack of cold hardiness can be a problem in the colder parts of its useful range
• bark splitting
• ambrosia beetle
• a delicate plant that can thrive for several years and die abruptly

ID Features

• pendulous flowers below the foliage
• gray bark with vertical fissures
• imbricate, tomentose, ovoid buds

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed, but there is a double dormancy

Cultivars/Varieties

• none