Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Gold Rush’

Edgeworthia chrysantha, also known as the Chinese paperbush, provides superb winter interest and fragrance. This shrub holds its white flower buds throughout the late fall and early winter like ornaments on its branches. Once the temperatures rise on warm winter days the buds will open to golden yellow clusters of flowers. The individual florets are tiny, but a few dozen make up a 1-1/2 to 2-inch cluster blooms. Like Daphnes, you can smell Edgeworthia long before you can see it. The fragrance is a bit like gardenia, definitely a bit heavier than Daphne.

Edgeworthia thrives in partial shade and appreciates well-enriched, moist soil. In spring, after the blooms pass, it sports lovely 5 to 6 inch long bluish foliage with silvery undertones that are both eye-catching and soothing. In the summer you might mistake it for Rhododendron. It has a beautiful shape and form. Grown in the sun, the foliage is still acceptable, though not as lush green as a Rhododendron grown in a shaded area. In autumn the foliage turns rich shades of yellow.