At this time of year, there’s lots happening in the plant world and it’s so difficult to choose one plant of the week, then one plant just jumps out at you and screams add me add me so you do! Stachyurus praecox is indeed one of those plants. The shear beauty of the flowers will take your breathe away and rightly so!
Stachyurus praecox is indeed a native of Japan and into the Himalayas and was discovered in Japan by the great German explorer and physician Philippine Von Siebold. He discovered and introduced many of our Japanese plants that we grow in our gardens. Stachyurus praecox in its native Japan, can be found growing around the forest edges in the warmer temperate areas of Japan and is indeed know as a pioneer shrub, meaning it is one of the first plants to grow in a newly cleared areas.
The name comes from Greek words Stachys meaning an ear of corn and oura meaning a tail, praecox means early for the early flowering. And it does flower early, in a normal year, it flowers from February to April, but this year it has only just started flowering in the past few weeks. The tiny flowers are borne on large racemes measuring up to 5″ long on some plants and in Japan, they are pollinated by bees. The shrub itself can grow up to 3m in height over 5 years or so. The mid green coloured leaves, turn in the autumn to a blaze of oranges and yellows and it is well worth growing for the autumn colour as well.
Stachyurus praecox makes a great garden plant. It prefers a semi shaded or sunny spot in the garden with the soil being on the neutral to acidic side. Stachyurus praecox prefers a well drained soil but will be happy in a sandy loam and again despite what the books and internet says, it will grow away quite happy in a clay soil. As it comes from the warmer areas of Japan, it will tolerate temperatures as low as -15c but ideally to do its best for you, it does need a sheltered spot in the garden or indeed makes an unusual wall shrub.
Stachyurus praecox is also generally pest and disease free and requires a little pruning. To get the best flowers from the shrub, some feel it’s best to remove the older wood, say anything over 4yrs old. This keeps the Plants young and healthy and the flowering wood at its best. Of course you can also leave it alone, just removing the crossing stems and dead wood. It’s also pretty easy to propagate. Stachyurus praecox comes easily from seed, laying the plant and also by semi-ripe cuttings taken in late summer
Stachyurus praecox can be found in most of the bigger botanical gardens like Kew, Wisley and Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and can be brought from good Nurseries like Burncoose of Southdown and the welsh plant chocolate shop Crûg Farm
I will admit I have no idea how to say what is in your title. But I love the pictures, lovely x
Don’t worry I struggle with a lot of them as well, gets worse when they take the easy names and turn them into difficult ones to pronounce
I don’t think I have come across one of these before, it’s beautiful!
It’s such a special looking plant isn’t
Such an amazing plant. There’s a huge one at Chelsea Physic Garden but my photo didn’t really come out well enough.
It’s one of those special ones isn’t 😀 I must go there, been meaning to for ages
If you come on a Thursday I’ll be there.
I shall certainly try on a Thursday, would be great to say hello
Japan seems to be the home to so many pretty and delicate trees, I love how the flowers drip down like rows of frozen dew drops or strings of pearls. I wonder what the Japanese name for it is? It always seems odd and slightly precocious that we give Greek names to everything doesn’t it? #LGRTStumble
Oh indeed there’s some crackers that originate from their and the pruning methods as well, agree they look so delicate and fine but so tough as well. It is a shame in a lot of ways we just use Greek on the names, I think that what they decided many years ago, would love to know the proper names, some of the Japanese primrose hybrids have the most stunning translations
Damn! The innoculations seem to have worn off. You got me this time. Well I planned 5 shrubs for the front garden behind Edifice 2. One is in. Two places are reserved for Jim’s Sasanquas, one for your Hamamelis so a Stachyurus will make five. And I resisted buying one at the HPS last week. Drat, drat and double drat, you dastardly plant-of-the-weeker! 😉
Opppsssss sorry John 😔 are you booked in for tomorrow?😉 it is a worthy addition to any garden though isn’t, I am planing on getting one for a clients garden, so it hangs slightly over some water, anyway I hate to say it you got me adding plants last week to my must have for alpine beds with the stunners you are adding to your raised beds that peony is to die for, potterns will be getting an order from me shortly once I have shorted my list down by 50%
It looks like the native hazel, or the silk tassel.