Fragrant Snowbell. I first noticed this large shrub to small tree in the garden of Elizabeth Rice, Columbia, SC and Mike Dirr, Athens, GA, and was first struck by its delicate, contorted, winter branch structure. Then I saw it in flower at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and was sold on this species with its 4-8" arching racemes of fragrant white flowers on what will develop into large shrub or small tree. In our heat, it seems to perform best in filtered sun, rather than full sun. Fall color is a soft yellow. Native to Japan, Korea and Manchuria. I taught at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, in North Korea, during the fall semester of 2016, and on one of our few excursions from the campus we were taken to a state park about 50 miles away to see a famous water fall. All along the walk leading up to the falls was this Styrax growing in its natural habitat. It was truly magnificent.
Zones 5-8
