There are so many beautiful blooms right now that are finally brightening up the landscape after a gray winter.
One of these blooms that I love to see is paperbush! It is so unique and provides gorgeous winter interest to the garden. I visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden last weekend and saw it featured throughout the grounds there. I have also seen it in various home landscapes throughout the city. Paperbush, or Edgeworthia chrysantha, is a great mid-sized shrub with a rounded habit and green lanceolate leaves that turn a yellow color in the fall. They have a nice dense branching habit and do not become leggy. Edgeworthia will start to form silvery buds in the late summer and will bloom from December through February, providing winter interest when not much else is. These blooms are umbellate clusters made up of multiple tubular flowers that are light yellow with a gardenia-like scent. I think it is a beautiful addition to the garden and looks great throughout the year.
This plant is not native to the United States but is well-suited for our region. It enjoys partial shade with rich, moist soil. It is not an particularly problematic plant- it does not suffer from many diseases but is susceptible to root rot. This is a woodland plant and likes rich, well-draining soil. You can amend your soil with plenty of soil conditioner to improve drainage and organic matter. Edgeworthia requires little maintenance; pruning is really only needed to removed diseased or damaged branches.
Edgeworthia is native to China and the Himalayas, and the bark has been used to make high-quality paper throughout the region. In Japanese, paperbush is called Mitsumata. It is widely grown in Japan to make washi paper, a versatile paper used in books and crafts, among other things. It has also been used for making Japanese banknotes since 1879; the quality makes it difficult to forge. However, banknotes are now made from both Edgeworthia and the Abacá plant, a fiber crop in the banana family.
Paperbush has become more available in the United States in recent years and is becoming a more popular shrub. It is always a treat to see it in the spring and I hope to see it featured in more home landscapes in the future.
Is this a shrub you would consider featuring in your garden?
Sources:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=293415,
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/edgeworthia-chrysantha/
https://sp.npb.go.jp/en/intro/tokutyou/index.html
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