Habitat

• native to China
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a deciduous small shrub
• dense, rounded habit
• 6' to 8' tall
• suckers
• fine texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage

• opposite leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• lobed, 3 to 9
• 1" to 2.5" long
• blue-green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• no fall color develops
• leaves drop a yellow-green

Flowers

• lilac flowers
• fragrant
• borne in loose terminal panicles
• 3" long
• blooms in May

Fruit

• a small capsule
• held in panicles
• not ornamentally important

Bark

• stems are gray-brown
• shoots have prominent lenticels
• not ornamentally important

Culture

• easy to grow
• adaptable
• full sun to light shade

Landscape Use

• for bloom
• for fragrance
• useful because of its small size
• foundation plant
• shrub border
• groupings and mass plantings
• specimen

Liabilities

• not many things to knock this plant for
• flower buds emerge early and can get hit by a late frost

ID Features

• small lobed leaves in an opposite arrangement
• dense, fine-twigged shrub
• numerous, fragrant lilac flowers

Propagation

• by cuttings, but difficult
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

• none