The Seven-son flower tree has dark green leaves that stay on until late October. Each cluster of seven fragrant waxy white flowers bloom from late summer into early fall. (Photo by Ginny Rosenkranz)
Summer is often considered after Labor Day, but no one told the Seven-son flower tree that.
This very late blooming deciduous tree is considered either a large shrub or a small tree, growing only 10-20 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide.
The tree has dark green leaves that stay on until late October which provide a beautiful background for the pure white flowers.
Each cluster of seven fragrant waxy white flowers bloom from late summer into early fall.
These flower clusters are rich in nectar which attract the migrating Monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and lots of other pollinators.
When the petals fall off the flowers the small fruit holds a crown of reddish-purple calyx which lasts until late fall.
Winter interest can be found with the lovely exfoliating bark of gray brown that peel to show off the lighter inner surface.
The Seven Son tree thrives in full sun to dapple sunlight, and prefers moist but well drained soils. it can be grown with a single stem or allowed to grow as a fountained shaped multi-stemmed shrub. These fragrant flowering trees can be planted as a specimen or the shrubs can be planted in a woodland garden.
There is also a new cultivar, a compact earlier blooming tree that grows 6-10 feet tall and wide called the Temple of Bloom.
(Editor’s Note: Ginny Rosenkranz is a commercial horticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension.)
