Willow-leaf Stachyurus. This is one of the more captivating species of this genus, and the species name literally means "willow-leaf" alluding to its long, narrow evergreen leaves. The flowers are a greenish-yellow which are not overly showy on racemes of 4-6 inches long. But the overall grace of this plant is unrivaled with its outward growing pendulous branches adorned with long slender hanging evergreen leaves. It should be grown in filtered sun with well drained moderately moist soil as with all other Stachyurus, and it can attain a height of 6-8 feet with an even greater spread. This is one of those really rare collector plants that the discriminating gardener who has a woodland garden should not be without. With my experience with this species I would suggest zones 7b-9 at least. It is thriving in the shade-house of the JC Raulston Arboretum, on the NCSU campus in Raleigh, NC for years and is one of my favorite plants in the garden. J. C. Raulston himself introduced me to this selection.
Zones 7b-9
