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I have an affection for yellow leaved shrubs so I sought out this bright form of Whitebeam as soon as I found out about it
(1982). I hoped for golden candles of unfolding spring leaves but it hasn't quite happened like that.
The buds burst in a rather ordinary way and then gently expand and turn golden. Over the years it has slowly moved to the wrong place, or to be more accurate the right place it was planted in has slowly disappeared. I have tried a couple of times to graft a new one but I haven't yet succeeded. It is a subtle tree that fills me with joy and if I could have a grove of them, I would. Much better than 'Aurea' (not worth growing) and don't be misled by 'Lutescens' with new growth slightly creamy rather than silver. Writing in 'The Plantsman' in 1981, Hugh Johnson said: "The popularity of Robinia pseudacacia 'Frisia' shows there is a strong demand for a reliable yellow-leaved tree of a size suitable for a smallish garden. ... Before 'Frisia' becomes a cliche, however, let me recommend a remarkably little-known alternative - the golden whitebeam: Sorbus aria 'Chrysophylla'. I have yet to be see full grown tree, but one I have been growing for three years, starting with a 'maiden' from Hillier's, promises to be as excellent as 'Frisia' in its way. Sorbus aria 'Chrysophylla' is apparently going to be a graceful, rather slim-branched whitebeam with leaves slightly smaller and distinctly narrower than the type. The opening buds reveal the white undersides of the leaves, for a brief moment in spring as though the tree were decked with pearls. Then the unfolding leaves show that their upper surface is yellow. The lively combination of yellow and (more or less) white continues all summer; an excellent eye-catcher against a background of cypresses." Writing about the same tree thirty years later in the Saling Hall blog, Hugh Johnson says: "This golden whitebeam is a more practical tree. I planted two some 30 years ago and their performance has been exemplary. They make narrow upright crowns of several slender branches, now about 30 feet high. Their leaves are narrow for a whitebeam, some 4” long by 2” across, clear yellow in late May and staying a healthy yellow-green all summer. Apparently there is another yellow cultivar called ‘Aurea’, but ‘Chrysophylla’ is the one to choose. It would be excellent in a small garden." |
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| 20th June 2010 | ||
