Chinese fringe flower
Loropetalum chinense · Hamamelidaceae
An evergreen with layered, arching branches and small leaves, burgundy in the popular forms, covered in spring with hot pink, fringed, ribbon-like flowers.
- Size
- 6½ ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late March to early May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Chinese fringe flower
The planner designed this bed around Chinese fringe flower when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 7, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 722 that suit those conditions, and says below why Chinese fringe flower stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Chinese fringe flower × 1, pink
- 2 Carpathian bellflower × 12, blue
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 35, yellow
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Indian pink × 3, red
- 8 Camassia × 5, white
- 9 Giant snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only pink.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late March to early May.
- Fills a gap. For 7 of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 9 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses yellow and red for warmth, with cream and white to calm things between them. Carpathian bellflower and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Chinese fringe flower goes in a border
At 6½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The purple-leaved forms give year-round dark foliage. Many grow far larger than their labels suggest, so choose a named dwarf for a small space.
- Burgundy evergreen foliage
- Informal hedges and screens in the South
- Spring flowers
What to plant with Chinese fringe flower
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Autumn fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (22 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lilyturf: carries the spot on into mid September; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Sasanqua camellia: carries the spot on into mid December; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Chinese fringe flower
Does Chinese fringe flower need sun or shade?
Chinese fringe flower grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Chinese fringe flower grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 9. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Chinese fringe flower flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late March to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 7 | Early March to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 8 | Early March to mid April |
| Zone 9 | Late February to early April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Chinese fringe flower be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6½ ft (200 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Chinese fringe flower plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Chinese fringe flower poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Chinese fringe flower?
Chinese fringe flower comes from China to NE. Thailand, Japan (Honshu, Kyushu) and Taiwan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Inkberry: the same job in a bed and the same size; grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
- Mountain laurel 'Olympic Fire': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in wider, flowers late May to late June.
- Korean rhododendron 'Cornell Pink': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 in narrower, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Chinese fringe flower?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after Chinese fringe flower?
Chinese fringe flower is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin': from late May to early June, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Northern Lights azalea: from mid May to early June, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Chinese fringe flower look like in winter?
Chinese fringe flower keeps its burgundy and green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Loropetalum
- Fringe flower 'Purple Diamond' Loropetalum chinense 'Shang-hi' (Purple Diamond)
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- The first flowers of spring
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6½ ft (200 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to early May; pink, white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; burgundy, green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Comes from
- China to NE. Thailand, Japan (Honshu, Kyushu) and Taiwan
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.