Comments on: Poliothyrsis sinensis

By: Carlo A. Balistrieri

Carlo A. Balistrieri — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 12:40:44 +0000

It’s also quite happy at RBG in Hamilton Ontario….

By: Eva Monheim

Eva Monheim — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 18:43:08 +0000

A year and a half ago I picked some seeds from Jenny Rose Carey’s Poliothrysis sinensis at North View. (Jenny Rose heads up Meadowbrook Farm.) I was at her garden with students for a visit. I planted the seeds in the Temple University’s greenhouse and they are finally getting large enough to put outside – sometime this year. The foliage is a beautiful russet-red. They are tough plants that have been transplanted several times since they were planted back in December 2015. I look forward to their bloom.

By: Andrew Bunting

Andrew Bunting — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:57:26 +0000

Jim,

Thanks for your comments. We have reasonable yellow fall color. I have not noticed any fragrance. I, too, have seen the common name pearlbloom. Poliothyrsis remains rare in cultivation. I have noticed seedlings popping up near the plant, so this will be something to keep an eye on.

Andrew Bunting, Curator

By: Jim Gersbach

Jim Gersbach — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:05:26 +0000

I have grown three Poliothyrsis sinensis I received mail order from Woodlanders in South Carolina, planting one in my back yard and growing two others on in pots. The new leaves emerged decidedly reddish in spring for a few weeks on all three before fading to green. One of the potted plants actually had a few flowers, which was rather surprising, as the one planted out in the garden did not. I didn’t notice any fragrance, although reference books refer to a scent. I have heard the name pearlbloom applied to this tree, a reference to the whitish flowers. I can’t say as the fall color here in western Oregon was much more than greenish yellow.

By: Andrew Bunting

Andrew Bunting — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:49:59 +0000

Jim,

All the new growth on our 4 Poliothyrsis trees is green and not red. The fall color can be orange and yellow. I would say that after about 7 years we had flowers on our trees. The trees, for us, grow very quickly. I have never heard of a common name for this tree.

Andrew Bunting, Curator

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:07:33 +0000

I have seen Poliothyrsis at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. but not in flower, so I was very appreciative of your article and photos on this rare tree in your Bulletin. I have three saplings I obtained mail order from the East Coast. Two are still in pots but I am trialing one out in the open garden. I noticed that new growth was decidedly reddish on the plants, fading later to green but only after a couple months. Is that a characteristic you’ve noticed with your trees? How many years after planting did your trees flower? Is “pearlbloom tree” the accepted common name for this tree? Thanks!

By: Andrew Bunting

Andrew Bunting — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:56:53 +0000

Poliothyrsis has not real fragrance. I would say it is hardy to USDA zone 6B.

Andrew Bunting

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:21:00 +0000

I do not grow Syringa reticulata of it has a smell akin to privit, another plant whose smell makes me nauseous. Does Poliothyrsis have any “fragrance”? What is the hardiness?

Thank you,

Jim