Parrotia persica- Persian Ironwood
Description
General: A small to medium sized single stemmed deciduous tree or multi stemmed shrub growing 15-30’. Form can be oval, upright or wide spreading.
Leaves: Alternate, simple and oval 2-5” long. Leaves are reddish purple when unfolding changing medium to dark green in the summer and finally yellow/orange to scarlet fall color.
Bark: Mature trunks and branches are exfoliating in gray/green/white and brown patches adding interest to the winter landscape.
Flowers: Apetalous crimson stamens each ½” across appearing before the leaves, March-April. Flowers are attractive upon close inspection, but often missed by the casual observer.
Fruit: A 2 valved brown capsule 3/8” long.
Attributes: Used as a specimen, lawn or street tree. Superb three season interest. Also a fine accent or foundation tree. Desirable in its high tolerance of a number of stress conditions (wind, drought, heat and or cold).
Culture
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
Growing Conditions: Prefers well drained, loamy, slightly acidic soils. Full sun to light shade.
Maintenance: Pest and disease free. Does not require pruning, but can be shaped in the spring.
Transplanting: As this tree is extremely stress tolerant, it transplants well when following cultural guidelines.
Our Experience
Experience at Great Hill
We have a row of juvenile parrotia specimens in our nursery that we are looking forward to maturing under our watch. Despite their young age, their bark is already displaying some exfoliation, and their fall color is already outstanding. We hope to utilize one of these trees as a specimen on property in the coming seasons.