Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Red Dragon'

'Red Dragon' is a magnificent shrub, with a very open, interesting branching habit, spidery yet rounded. Expect it to reach 5 to 6 feet high and wide, its dark brown stems covered in long, pointed, elegant olive-green foliage from mid-spring through fall. Very slow-growing, it gradually acquires a beautiful shape, its outline almost as exciting as the blooms on the its bare winter silhouette.

Appearing in earliest spring, the blooms are about the size and exactly the shape of golfballs, with dozens of tiny florets that emerge from green buds to sport long creamy trumpets with a flare of watermelon-red at the tip. Intensely fragrant, they appear at the very end of each long, elegant branch, creating a very stylized, unusual look. 'Red Dragon' is destined to be the talking point of your early-spring garden, so find a site worthy of its presence and design an accent planting around it!

The flowers remain for weeks, and may be cut for indoor arrangements, though the heavy musky-sweet aroma -- not unlike that of Lilies -- is not to everyone's liking indoors. After they pass, the foliage emerges in whorls at the ends of the branches, giving an entirely different look to 'Red Dragon.'

The open habit of this shrub makes it a good choice for climbing plants such as Clematis, which add another long season to its display of beauty. It is a friendly plant in a crowded border, its widely-spaced, bowl-shaped branches admitting the stems of other plants easily into their midst. But because of its rarity, it also holds sway as a specimen.

Give 'Red Dragon' moist, well-drained soil. It is suitable for large containers, and makes a fine impression in the sunny to partly shaded border. Untroubled by most pests and diseases, this Asian native is long-lived and carefree. Highly recommended, but do order early as quantities are very limited. Zones 7-9.