Catalog Description
Spectacular color from 10- to 20-inch long, pendulous clusters of fragrant bright yellow flowers! Attractive deciduous garden tree planted singly in a lawn or grouped. Can be espaliered. Full sun. Moderate grower to 20 feet tall, 15 feet wide. Grafted. |
Design Ideas
There is no doubt that this is the favorite flowering tree of English country gardens. Lovely as a single specimen, bursting into delicious bloom every spring. To compound the display, plant in a small grove. Perfect for small city gardens, country fenced yards or in the mountains, where it will stand out brightly in dark piney forests.
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Companion Plants
Golden Chain Tree is best grown where summers are cooler and moist.
A natural with Pink Parade Japanese Camellia (Camellia japonica `Pink Parade`) and the winter-flowering Apple Blossom Sasanqua Camellia (Camellia sasanqua `Apple Blossom`).
Combine with large-flowering traditional perennials such as purple Midnight Penstemon (Penstemon hybrid `Midnight`), the yellow Ozark Sundrops (Oenothera missouriensis), East Friesland Meadow Sage (Salvia nemorosa `East Friesland`) and Grecian Pattern Plant (Acanthus mollis `Oak Leaf`).
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Average Landscape Size
Moderate grower to 20 ft. tall, 15 ft. wide. |
Key Plant Benefits
Spectacular color from long, drooping clusters of fragrant bright yellow flowers! Attractive deciduous garden tree planted singly in a lawn or grouped. Can be espaliered. |
Care Instructions
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. |
Growth Conditions
| Growth Rate |
 Moderate Growing |
| Growth Habit |
| Spreading |
| Heat Zones |
High:
| 8 (>90 to 120 days) |
| Low: | 3 (>7 to 14 days) |
| Cold Hardiness |
| High: | 8 (10 to 20 F) (see map) |
| Low: | 6 (-10 to 0 F) |
| Water Requirements |
| Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry. |
| Sun Exposure |
| Full sun |
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Flowering
Flower or Bloom description:
Long, drooping clusters of pea-shaped flowers
| Flower Color |
| Yellow |
| Flowering Time/Season |
| Early summer. |
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Propagation
| Propagation Method |
1
| Grafted |
| Best time to Prune |
| Winter |
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Attributes
Attracts Butterflies
Cottage Garden Plant
Deer Resistant
Espaliers
Foliage Poisonous
Fragrant
Fruit Poisonous
Hummingbird Friendly
Showy Flowers
Spring Flowering
Summer Flowering |
Foliage
Composed of 3 leaflets, dark green
| Foliage Shape | Elliptic |
| Normal foliage color | Green |
| Underside foliage | Green |
| Juvenile foliage | Green |
| Mature foliage | Green |
| New foliage | Green |
| Spring foliage | Green |
| Summer foliage | Green |
| Fall foliage | Green |
| Winter foliage | No Value |
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Plant Lore
Both flowers and seeds of the golden chain tree are highly poisonous. |
Plant History
This tree is a hybrid of L. alpinium and L anagyroides, both species of southern Europe. The flowers indicate its presence in the Pea family, the genus conferred by Fredrich Medicus, 1736-1808, from the original Latin vernacular. |
New Plant
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