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Sorbus aria ‘Chrysophylla’

June

Golden trees can look trite. The golden poplar is perhaps the most effective where there is space for it;  a great cumulus cloud of golden light, its leaves translucent, shifting in the lightest wind and staying yellow all summer.

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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