The Passions of the Plant Geeks

Every week, we’ll highlight a plant that is in it’s full glory in the area surrounding Kohler. It could be a tree, shrub, perennial or annual, but it will be worth hunting for.

We often throw around the term ‘multi-season interest’, which means exactly what it sounds like. Although these plants are interesting or beautiful when they flower, they offer unique features at other times of the year. One less common plant that we really love is the Seven-Sons Flower, or Heptacodium miconioides. This small tree has tiered branches are covered with fragrant white blossoms for over a month, beginning in late summer. Then the flowers fade to reveal fuchsia calyxes that persist well into autumn and make an unusual addition to fall flower arrangements. But there’s more. When the leaves fall at the end of the season, the beautiful, pale and peeling bark is exposed. We love this feature and make sure that its seen by pruning the lower branches.