First Editions Tianshan Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides ‘Minhep’)

• 4 Seasons of Interest
• White Flowers
• Sweetly Scented
• Showy, Long-lasting Flower Bracts follow the bloom

This large flowering shrub truly is a rare find. While not many gardeners know about this brilliant deciduous shrub, we’ll let you in on the secret: the First Editions® Tianshan® Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides ‘Minhep’) is spectacular. It produces an extravagant show of blossoms and fruit followed by its second act of the bright red flower calyces after the petals drop! These calyces turn bright red and are showy for weeks in the fall.

This unique species was discovered over one hundred years ago in China but not cultivated until the 1980s when it was recollected. This rare variety is often only found at arboretums and universities. It’s a member of the honeysuckle family but looks quite distinct from its honeysuckle cousins. You will notice that it does have a subtle honeysuckle scent, though.

How did this fantastic plant earn its name? The Tianshan Seven-Son Flower covers itself with white blooms in the summer. It sprouts with a sea of whorls. Its buds that unfurl to perfectly white blossoms. Each whorl contains about seven buds that will form seven delightful flowers. These flowers are reminiscent of honeysuckle flowers with their narrow white petals and protruding stamen.

The blooms can last for weeks but the real show for the Tianshan Seven-Son-Flower comes after the flowers drop off the plant. In early fall the plant produces inconspicuous fruits with a colorful calyx which turns bright red and that red display is a show-stopper for sure!

The Tianshan Seven-Son Flower features a multi-stemmed, vase shape that can be trained into a tree or kept as a large-scale shrub. How often do you find a shrub that should be celebrated for its bark? Well, this is one of the few. This shrub offers winter interest as its light brown, papery bark sheds to reveal dark dense brown inner bark.

This peppy plant produces shiny green ovate leaves that are long and narrow. These attractive leaves will turn yellow in fall for a lovely autumnal display.

If you want to keep the pollinators happy, this shrub will surely do that, too. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and more love this shrub’s fragrant flowers.

The Tianshan Seven-Son Flower is glorious and easy to grow! It does well in full sun or partial shade, making it a great choice for a specimen, understory plant, or for mixed planting. It does its best when planted in moderately dry soil that drains well.

Be a trendsetter, a visionary, a rebel with a Tianshan Seven-Son Flower. Your neighbors will all want to know what exactly it is, and you can decide if you want to share your best-kept garden secret or not.