How To Grow And Care For A Fringe Tree

Fringe tree, or old man's beard, (Chionanthus virginicus) has always played twelfth fiddle to dogwood, saucer magnolia, flowering cherry, Bradford pear, and numerous other choices for spring-flowering trees. Indigenous to the eastern U.S., it grows from Canada to the Gulf Coast. It's tougher than dogwood, more dependable than saucer magnolia, longer-lived than cherry, and smells better than a Bradford.

The fringe tree gets its name from its clouds of fleecy white, softly fragrant flowers that hang from the branches in late spring and early summer. Other common names for it in the South are grancy graybeard and old man's beard. Trees can be either male or female. Males sport larger, showier blooms, and if grown alongside a male, females form attractive, blackish-blue fruits that birds like. Nurseries don't sell trees by sex, so you have to take your chances. But either sex is well worth planting.

The broad leaves of the fringe tree turn bright to deep yellow in fall, giving a lot of visual appeal to the garden during three seasons. Plant this slow-growing tree in early spring in a location that receives full sun to partial shade in a variety of moist, well-drained soils, including sandy, loamy, or clay soil.

Plant Attributes

Fringe Tree Care

Plant fringe trees in moist, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. As with most flowering trees, more sun means more flowers. Dig the planting hole as deep as the root ball and two to three times as wide. After you place the tree in the hole, backfill it with the soil you removed from the hole without additives or enhancements.

Water thoroughly when the hole is half full of soil and again when it is completely full, tamping down to remove air pockets. The tree won't withstand prolonged drought. Water before the soil around the roots has a chance to dry completely at root depth.

Light

Fringe tree grows best in full sun or partial sun. More sun means more flowers. Plant it in a location where it will get direct sun for at least part of the day.

Soil

Fringe tree prefers moist, well-drained soil with a pH between alkaline to neutral soil. Soil can be occasionally dry. Plant it in loamy or sandy soil that's rich in organic matter. It can tolerate clay and adapt to a variety of soils.

Water

Like many trees, once established, fringe tree has moderate water needs and will tolerate some drought. During hot or dry periods, keep it well watered.

Temperature and Humidity

The fringe tree is both heat and humidity tolerant.

Fertilizer

Unless the soil fertility is naturally moderate to high, fertilize annually with about an inch of compost or use a complete and balanced fertilizer according to the label instructions.

Types Of Fringe Tree

There are two types of fringe trees: the North American variety (discussed here) and the Chinese fringe tree.

• Chinese Fringe Tree (Chionanthus retusus): From China, this tree grows to about 20 feet tall. It’s not quite as wide spreading as Chionanthus virginicus. Usually seen as a big, multi-stemmed shrub, the Chinese fringe tree can be trained as a small tree with leaves 2-4 inches long. Pure white, fragrant blossoms in clusters to 4 inches long appear in late spring or early summer, two to three weeks before Chionanthus virginicus comes into flower. This is a magnificent plant when in bloom, something like a tremendous white lilac (Syringa). Handsome gray-brown bark (sometimes golden on young stems) provides winter interest.
• Fringe Tree, Grancy Graybeard (Chionanthus virginicus): This tree is native to the South. Leaves and flower clusters are often twice as big as those of Chionanthus retusus; blooms appear a few weeks later. Lightly fragrant, greenish-white flowers. This tree can reach 30 feet tall, but in gardens, it usually grows 12-20 feet high with equal spread. Habit varies from very shrubby and open to more treelike. It grows more slowly in the Upper South, where young plants can be used as shrubs for a number of years. In that zone, it's one of the last deciduous plants to leaf out in spring.

Pruning

Pruning is seldom needed. Flowers are produced on second-year wood, so care must be taken when pruning to allow for the next year's flowering.

How To Grow Fringe Tree From Seed

An established fringe tree does not transplant well. These plants are better grown from seed. Growing fringe trees from seed can be a long process. The seeds require double dormancy, a warm period followed by a cold period for root and shoot initiation to take place. Once the fruit of a female fringe tree is purple, remove and clean the seeds, and soak them for 24 hours. Place the seeds in moist moss in a resealable plastic bag, and store them for three months in the refrigerator. Moisten the moss as needed. To plant, in fall put the seeds ½ inch deep into moistened soil. If sown in the fall outside, seeds will germinate the second spring as first-year seedlings do not put off much shoot extension.

Overwintering

During the winter, the fringe tree is a delicacy for rabbits and other wildlife. To protect the shrub or growing tree, create a fence from hardware cloth. This is similar to chicken wire but with smaller holes.

The plant's branches should be tied toward the center, and a circle of hardware cloth should be placed around the outside. The base of the hardware cloth should be buried in soil or mulch. This protection should be installed in late November and removed in mid-April.

How To Get Fringe Tree To Bloom

The appeal of the fringe tree lies in its generous clusters of fragrant, fringed white blossoms, which appear in late spring after other spring-flowering trees have finished blooming. The fringe tree is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers occur on different plants. The male flowers tend to be showier than female flowers, but both are lovely.

Each flower is comprised of four long, narrow petals and occurs in drooping, 4- to 8-inch-long clusters at the ends of the branches. When in full bloom, the delicate, airy-looking blossoms give the tree a cloud-like appearance. The flowers give off a delicate, sweet, spicy fragrance, making the plant all the more endearing in the spring landscape.

As with most flowering trees, the more sun the better if you want to maximize blooming potential.

Common Problems With Fringe Tree

No serious insect or disease problems occur with fringe trees, though there is some susceptibility to scale and borers (particularly when grown in dry locations). Control scale with horticultural spray. Emerald ash borers pose a more significant problem. If an infestation is detected, insecticides may be needed, but some can harm pollinators. Pesticide injections from a licensed applicator are the most effective treatment.