Current Plant Highlights
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July
Hydrangea paniculata 'Praecox'
Albizia julibrissin 'Ernest Wilson'
Koelreuteria paniculata
Hydrangea quercifolia
Aesculus parviflora
Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) produces upright racemes of off-white flowers in midsummer, unlike its close relative the yellowwood (Cladrastis), which generally produces flowers in drooping panicles. Other ornamental attributes of this medium-sized tree include the silvery, downy spring foliage and the coppery, textured bark that develops as trees mature. Amur maackia can be found growing among other members of the pea family between Meadow and Bussey Hill Roads.
Hydrangea paniculata 'Praecox' was collected in Japan by Charles Sargent, the Arboretum's first director, in 1893. It is known as the early-panicled hydrangea because it blooms a month before others in the species, producing clusters of white flowers. Though it usually remains a medium-sized shrub, the original plant, now growing in the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Collection of Rosaceous Plants, demonstrates that this hydrangea can become very large in time.
The finely textured compound leaves of Albizia julibrissin 'Ernest Wilson', a cultivar of silk tree, hint at its membership in the pea family, as do its pea-like flowers. The first brush-like blossoms, light rose to pink, begin to open in early July and are produced throughout the summer. This selection, collected by Wilson in Korea, is the hardiest of the species. Fine specimens can be found on Chinese Path and on the slope southwest of the Hunnewell Building.
Also in midsummer, large, upright panicles of bright yellow flowers with red centers grace the golden rain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata. As the summer progresses into autumn, the flowers develop into wonderful papery, lantern-like fruits, extending the tree's season of interest. The large compound leaves provide great texture during the growing season, lending a tropical flare to the landscape. Several golden rain trees are growing along Meadow Road near the Aesculus (horse chestnut) collection.
Hydrangea quercifolia, oakleaf hydrangea, is a popular landscape shrub. The leaves provide coarse texture all spring, summer, and autumn, when they turn red to purple. The white flowers, borne in large conical panicles, bloom in midsummer and offer considerable ornamental interest through autumn and into winter, after they have dried out. Also noteworthy is the flaking bark on the stems and older branches. Plantings of oakleaf hydrangea can be found in the front of the Hunnewell Building and in the Wolcott Bed (identified by a small brass plaque) near Meadow Road.
Bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora, is a great massing shrub, particularly for shaded sites. The plants, which sucker from the base, form colonies that are about 10 feet in height and at least that in width. Profuse white flowers are borne on panicles that resemble bottlebrushes, extending up to a foot in length. The coarsely textured, compound leaves become richly yellow later in autumn. A wonderful colony of Aesculus parviflora is growing at the edge of the woodland in the buckeye/horse chestnut collection, to the west of Meadow Road.