Plant Library

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Other Names:  Mitsumata Paper Plant

Description:

The foliage on this variety is attractive, but it is primarily grown for its flowers; blooms are fragrant and open in late winter; gold and white trumpets in dense clusters create an exotic look as a garden accent

Ornamental Features

Winter Gold Oriental Paper Bush has masses of beautiful clusters of fragrant gold trumpet-shaped flowers with white overtones at the ends of the branches from mid winter to early spring before the leaves, which are most effective when planted in groupings. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The small narrow leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color. The brown bark and brick red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Winter Gold Oriental Paper Bush is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Suckering

Winter Gold Oriental Paper Bush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Winter Gold Oriental Paper Bush will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Winter Gold Oriental Paper Bush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.