,
Common Name: silverbell tree
Type: Tree
Family: Styracaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Native Range: Southeastern United States
Height: 20 to 30 feet
Spread: 20 to 30 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Fruit: Showy Fruit
Uses: Flowering Tree
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, acidic, organically rich soils in part shade. Mulch the root zone. May be grown as a large, multi-stemmed shrub or trained as a single trunk tree.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Two-winged silverbell is a small deciduous tree or large shrub that is native to stream banks, wet woods and swampy areas primarily along the Gulf Coast from South Carolina and northern Florida west to Texas. It grows with a rounded form to 20-30’ tall. Showy clusters (3 to 6 flowers per cluster) of bell-shaped white flowers with deeply lobed petals appear in spring (April-May). Flowers are followed by two-winged fruits (dry drupes to 2” long) that ripen in fall. Oval to obovate, irregularly toothed, dark green leaves (4-8” long). Bark exfoliates in thin scales. Genus name honors Stephen Hales (1677-1761), British clergyman and plant physiologist . Specific epithet comes from Greek words di (two) and pteron (wing) in reference to the fruits.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Garden Uses
Lawns. Near patios. Woodland gardens. Shrub borders.