|
Azara microphylla
boxleaf azara, chinchin
|
|
Image © Al Dodson (www.aldodson.com) |
Printer-friendly Fact Sheet
|
|
|
| Outstanding Qualities |
|
Azara microphylla is a shrubby tree of fine texture and a Chilean native. In spring it produces little yellow pom-pom flowers at the leaf axils that are sweetly scented of vanilla. The dark green foliage is glossy, evergreen and held tightly on spray-like branches for an airy effect. It grows well on the north side of a structure and in a bright woodland. The open habit and fine texture are very attractive in the shade garden. Plant it with other woody companions like Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’, Corylopsis pauciflora, Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’, Elaeagnus pungens ‘Maculata‘, and Fatsia japonica: and herbaceous plants that thrive in the shade such as Primula ‘Guinevere‘, Pulmonaria ‘Benediction’, Polystichum polyblepharum, Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’, Lathyrus vernus, Hosta ‘Sum and Substance‘ and ‘June’, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart‘ and Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’. Azara does produce light brown fruits that are essentially insignicant and edible but not very tasty. |
| Culture |
|
Azara microphylla grows best in part shade with average moisture in any well-drained soil. If the plant becomes overgrown and too leggy, it will respond to severe pruning, even pruning it nearly to the ground if such drastic treatment is deemed necessary. |
| Growing Habit |
|
Azara microphylla is a narrow-growing, small evergreen small tree that matures at about 15 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. |
| Hardiness |
|
USDA zones 7 to 9 |
|
© 2009 Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden