Probably a seedling that is too young.

I bought mine last year, and it is about 8 feet tall with several stems. It had berries on it when I bought it.

I've had one bloom at 2 feet high. Seedlings vary. Propagation nethod affects performance as well, vegetative progations often bloom sooner than seedlings.

How about the amount of sun? If it is not getting enough sun that would affect it's ability to bloom.

This one is shaded, shows the effects in how it has developed. However, it's new: buds were probably set before it was put where it is now.

I have a 12 footer I'm getting rid of this year. When everything is blooming in Spring, it's doesn't even have leaves yet. People ask why it died. It just doesn't fit my idea of a good plant in my situation. Fall color is a drab yellow brown and the branching pattern is so so. Time to put something else in it's place.

Hi, another under-used native shrub/tree, Chionanthus virginicus blooms late spring perfuming the area with a heady fragrance after the lilacs and viburnums, hence it's value. The females do get a few blue berries. It's called "fringe tree" because of it's unique flower dispay that indeed looks like the plant is covered with white fringe. There is also a Chinese fringe tree (C. retusus) with a more interesting bark. enjoy...

To say that C. virginicus is variable is an understatement. Some have long, strap-like leaves, some have rounded leaves, some have grayish, dull leaves, some have shiny dark-green leaves. Some bear fruit, some don't. The ones which don't bear fruit have greater floral display. Such plants come of their own with age. Some have intoxicating fragrance, some don't. In Europe they are grafted onto Fraxinus however in US they are usually seedlings.
Mid-May flowers are a bonus precisely because Spring shrubs are finished.
A light hand with the pruning shears as the plant develops and you can have a large shrub with an interesting character.
Sam

Jeff, that is beautiful!

Don't you need a male and a female to get fruit?

that is what most sources say, terry. my tree produces the drupes but, to my knowledge, there is not another one in my neighborhood except for the one i see on the highway and that is a couple miles away. wonder how close is close enough for pollination?
lucky p, who posts on the trees forum occasionally, seems to be of the persuasion(if i recall correctly) that they could be monoecious.

Do you get fruit? The male flowers also, but the female gets fruit. lucky p might be right, however my books say there are male and female plants. I'd love to have a couple, but my yard just isn't big enough. If the city would put all the wires underground, then I'd have the whole side yard to do....but I'm afraid that's a pipe dream.

yes, my tree produces drupes and have had some success with getting them to sprout.
do you have room for a miniature version?
i ordered c. pygmaeus from mail order natives nursery in florida. supposed to grow to about 6' at maturity.

I would have room for a miniature one, but the one you listed says it's for zone 9. Being from IL, it's best not to mail order from FL...just too much difference in zones. I wonder if there's more native miniature ones. I like the one you got, it says it's endangered in FL.

Has anyone has success in zone 5 with the Chinese variety? I was checking my Dirr book, said hardy to -10F, which is just a cold day up here. We can get REALLY cold with -20F sometimes, not often but it happens. Sometimes no snow cover in winter. I have a local nursery who has fringe trees, say they are Chinese he overwintered this last gentle winter. Not inexpensive, so I want to know how hardy before planting. He is a pretty good nurseryman, does lots of kinds of trees, doesn't coddle them.
I just think the Virginiana variety would get too big for the space. 15-20ft would be a good height with some spread, in time. I hadn't considered pruning it until comments above, nice to know!

Tree is going next to an open barnyard area, but other 3 sides are sheltered with buildings and woods. It will get some wind since open area is the prevailing wind side. Lots of sun. My soil is fairly neutral in PH. Would adding stuff for feeding Azealeas be enough acid for the tree?

I know Dirr is controversial for shrub/tree folks, so I wanted some other experiences with Fringe trees in northern areas. He also said the trees can vary a lot in bark color, exfoliating, texture, leaf shapes, depending on where the tree was propagated from. I mostly want it for flowering, so interesting bark would be a plus feature. I would be walking by it every day.

They sound like terrific additions to a yard, the Seattle poster has the first negative comments I have ever heard about it. Perhaps location is the problem, later starter than other bushes locally. I was surprised at not finding the negative remarks. Even the best plants always have some bad habits, making folks dislike them for a variety of reasons.

This nursery also has Paw Paw trees that I plan to get for my wooded area. I like to try the natives if possible, fruit sounds interesting as well. Paw Paw tree used to be native in our state, though I have never seen one or known of one in a park or garden. Paw Paw Michigan is named after the trees. They are supposed to have a blue flower but not really obvious.

I am heading for the nursery this next week so I have been checking everywhere for information on these two small trees. Thanks for all the comments and the great pictures.

goodhors, I'm too chicken to try the C. restus Chinese variety in zone 5. We are just too cold for that one I think. I ordered two of the C. virginicus seedlings, about 3 feet high, and I think they will be here today. Of course it's pouring! I'm stressing out over this just a bit. 2 bareroot, freshly dug, but still, and no chance of planting tonight. I will soak with root stimulator and hope for no rain tomorrow after work. If not, I may be out there holding a 9' market umbrella while my husband puts them in the ground!

I'm interested in planting a Fringe Tree next to my Koi Pond, but I'm worried about the fruit falling in the pond. Is the fruit messy??

djops,
Mark your calendar for late August/early September. At that time go to your nursery which has a nice selection of fringetrees. Choose one which does not make fruit. You will be looking for a larger, landscape specimen, not a smaller seedling because a smaller tree may not have started to flower and fruit yet.
Sam

I have a couple of fringe trees that are 4 years old this year. They really bloomed this year also. I want them to look like trees, they are looking like bushes. The main shoot is very sturdy, but there are several other shoots beside the main one that are not blooming this year, can I prune them away( maybe leave one, to make it look more like a tree, how about other limbs that are low to the ground, can I prune them also? When is the best time to prune? Sorry for all the questions, but I just love my trees and took me a long time to find them, don't want to damage them. Thank you for all your anticipated assistance. Carolyn

I know this is an old thread, but with winter approaching, I'll be getting the pruning shears out and I could use some advice on how to prune these Fringe trees. The tree (shrub) was planted a year ago and is maybe 4 feet high. I would like to train it to a tree shape. Should I thin out entire branches or prune back branches? It hasn't dropped a leaf yet - how much longer before it's safe to prune? Is there an optimal time of year (I'm in the Seattle area)? Any help would be most appreciated.

Dan

We moved into an older home last year, which has a 20' (at least) tall Fringe Tree in the backyard. It is amazing in spring. The fragrance carries a long way. Haven't seen any fruit, so I believe it's a male. He's an old, old beauty.

I'm concerned about its health, though. The bark/branches are cracked deeply in various places and the growth is confined to the ends of long, stringy, thin (1/4" thick) branches. Is that normal?

Reviving an old thread here. Today it is snowing in Chicagoland and I'm concerned about my Chinese Fringetree. I ended up getting one at a local nursery four years ago and each winter it dies down halfway. It was about waist-high in the fall. My friend in Virginia is willing to take him and give him a warmer home.

Just wanted to give fair warning to zone 5-ers. Some people say they're ok with him, but it's not working out at my place.

It is probably not your zone that is the problem but your weather and other conditions. The die back may be due to the amount of sun that hits the plant in winter time. Some plants will start sending sap to the top too early. Then when it freezes the cells burst. Too late this year but you might want to rig a screen for it such as a lattice to cut some of the direct sunlight. Of course this is only a suggestion. Your tree may not receive any sunlight during the later part of the day. If receives in the morning the plant has more time to draw sap down the plant.

I have arguably the oldest Chinese Fringe Tree alive. I mean it's 200+ years old and I could only ID it from its flowers and aroma last summer. Does anyone know how to properly prune this knarley old thing? It took a bad hit last Oct in that freak snow storm we had and I don't want to weaken it by pruning wrong/too much but its remaining limbs are very long and get top heavy.
Thank you!

Late response, but for what it's worth. Here's mine. It has fruited every year. Only fringe tree I have scene for miles is the one I have in my back yard. Zone 9, Visalia, California. USA