Main Street Mount Joy Planters: White Fringetree

This article is the fourth in a series of eleven, featuring details about the native plants that can be found in the plant containers Green Man Enviroscaping LLC installed and maintains for Main Street Mount Joy.


The white fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus, is a shrub or small tree that features masses of showy white flowers right around the time the leaves first appear in the late spring ~ later than many of the other trees.

Along Main Street in Mount Joy, the fringetree can be found as the centerpiece in the planters in front of Scott Albert's office, the newly built apartments, and in the large planter in front of the Union Community Bank. The fringetree is growing fine in all the locations, but each of the three specimens leans a little more than we'd like ~ we're trying to avoid staking them, as they will be stronger if they're left to grow naturally, but we are keeping an eye on them to see how they'll do with new growth.

The fringetree is an excellent plant to have on the edge of a bird garden. You need at least two (a male and a female) to get fruit, which is a favorite of birds. The male trees won't carry fruit, but they do have a showier flower display. In the Autumn, their leaves turn yellow, but they're not considered stars of the seasonal display.

Resources
Check out the fringetree on the USDA PLANTS database here, on the Missouri Botanical Garden's Kemper Center for Home Gardening here, and at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin here ~ all three provide excellent resources for plants, particularly in identifying or finding natives.

If you'd like to learn if and where the fringetree can fit into your home landscape, please contact Green Man Enviroscaping LLC and we'd be happy to help you!