Gardening
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Great Design Tree: Persian Ironwood
Plant this unusual deciduous stunner for seasonal interest year-round
Fall is prime time to witness a showstopping display of colors contending with even the most picturesque of sunsets. It’s a shame this spectacle usually drops into months of dormancy that can be as visually stimulating as watching paint dry.
The Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica), however, will continue to turn heads come winter. With vivid fall color, winter blooming flowers and stunning summer foliage, there is hardly a moment you don't appreciate this tree. "It has some of the best fall color around," notes landscape architect Christopher Yates. "The form of the tree is gorgeous" even without its leaves.
The Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica), however, will continue to turn heads come winter. With vivid fall color, winter blooming flowers and stunning summer foliage, there is hardly a moment you don't appreciate this tree. "It has some of the best fall color around," notes landscape architect Christopher Yates. "The form of the tree is gorgeous" even without its leaves.
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| Botanical name: Parrotia persica Common names: Persian parrotia tree, Persian ironweed, Persian ironwood USDA zones: 4-9 Water requirement: Regular; do not overwater Sun requirement: Full to partial Mature size: 20-40’ height and spread Tolerances: Urban conditions, drought, heat, cold, wind How to use it. Low spreading branches and upright form make this tree perfect as a focal specimen. Prune and train Parrotia to create a formal and more upright structure, or let the tree’s natural multi-stemmed and low branching habit grow out and create the perfect centerpiece to any woodland landscape. Parrotia makes a nice patio tree, and its proportions provide great shade. Since it can handle urban conditions, consider Parrotia as the street trees used to line your front yard, allowing passersby to admire its transitions through the seasons for many years to come. |
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| Distinguishing traits. As a deciduous tree, Parrotia is full of seasonal interest all year with and without its leaves. As with many deciduous trees, Parrotia, shown here as a background flame towering over the surrounding trees, is known for its display of colorful fall foliage — reaching an almost unnatural spectrum of orange and red hues. |
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Once shedding its leaves, a beautiful patchwork of grays, greens and whites is revealed on the peeling bark of its multi-stemmed trunk and branches.
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| In mid January, even before the tree leafs out, profuse blood-red blossoms arrive. While the individual flowers aren’t much to look at, the volume of buds which populate the bare winter branches can be spectacular. Late spring beckons new purplish-red foliage, which transitions to a glossy dark green. |
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Shown here with a formally trained and manicured canopy, Parrotia is commonly seen in woodland settings, preferring the slightly acidic soil which results from decomposing organic matter.
While Parrotia is a fan of slightly damp soil, well-drained soil is best.
Before you plant. Not for the impatient gardener, Parrotia is known for its remarkably slow growth rate — taking up to 15 years to reach maturity.
While Parrotia is a fan of slightly damp soil, well-drained soil is best.
Before you plant. Not for the impatient gardener, Parrotia is known for its remarkably slow growth rate — taking up to 15 years to reach maturity.
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Here's a shot from inside the leafy green canopy of a trained Parrotia.
More great design trees:
Tree Aloe
Smoke Tree
Bald Cypress
Great design plants:
Red Kangaroo Paw
Feather Reed Grass
Blue Chalk Sticks
Catmint
Slipper Plant
New Zealand Wind Grass
More great design trees:
Tree Aloe
Smoke Tree
Bald Cypress
Great design plants:
Red Kangaroo Paw
Feather Reed Grass
Blue Chalk Sticks
Catmint
Slipper Plant
New Zealand Wind Grass
Ideabook published on Nov. 14, 2011.
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The leaves and the bark never cease to amaze; the tree is beautiful year round....