Heptacodium miconioides

Seven-son Flower is a fantastic four-season tree that has only recently begun to gain popularity in the U.S. This fountain-shaped tree is one of the few that blooms in late-summer, and pollinators go crazy for it. The large clusters of white flowers are followed by masses of reddish-pink seeds, which look like flowers. No appreciable fall foliage color, but the colorful seed structures and peeling, shaggy bark more than make up for it.

Drought tolerant and extraordinarily easy to grow in most conditions, but performs best in moist soils with full sun. In our opinion, it looks best pruned as a multi-stemmed tree, but it can also be grown as a large shrub.

Distinctions: Winner of a Gold Medal Award from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society; Great Plant Pick; Winner of a Cary Award from the New England Botanic Society, which honors outstanding plants for the New England landscape.

Zones: 5 to 9

Family: Caprifoliaceae

Type: Deciduous Tree

Height: 15 to 20 ft.

Spread: 8 to 10 ft.

Exposure: Full Sun

Soil Conditions: Average, medium, well-drained soil

Bloom Time: September

Bloom Color: White

Image Credits:

• Images 1 (form) Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 2 (flowers) Ali McEnhill at The Old Dairy
• Image 3 (seed head) peganum from Henfield, England, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 4 (bark) Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons