Plant Portrait: Carolina Silverbell
- Jennifer Anderson
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
With its whitish-pinkish bell-shaped spring flowers and feathery fall seeds, Carolina Silverbell is among the best small trees for wildlife.
It attracts bumble and other native bees as well as hummingbirds and butterflies. It’s also a larval host to the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple and other butterflies, and birds feed on the buds and flowers.
In its preferred habitat, dappled sunlight or morning sun with afternoon shade, Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina) grows as a large shrub or small tree, topping at about 30 feet. In full sun, it may grow much larger, often featuring wildly twisting trunks.
Carolina Silverbell makes a great companion to Redbud (Cercis canadensis), which also blooms early and before the leaves emerge, and it looks great with Azaleas.
After the leaves fall, the feathery fruits form, turning from a rosy green to brown and hanging on through much of the winter.
Carolina Silverbell is native to the mid-Atlantic south to Florida, and it is hardy to New England and a featured tree at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.
For a single-trunk tree, prune off new shoots, and stake the tree for a straight trunk. Carolina Silverbell does not like compacted soil or salt, but it tolerates Black Walnut.
Sources:
Cullina, W. Native Trees, Shrubs & Vines. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2002, pp: 131-133.
Halesia carolina, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Halesia carolina, North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Hoffman, M. Underused Woody Ornamentals: The Joys of Silverbells – Halesia Carolina. PennState Extension. Oct. 30, 2023.
Sluder, E. Carolina Silverbell USDA Southern Research Station
About the author
Jennifer Anderson owns Tree Talk Natives, a native tree and plant nursery in Rochester, Mass. A former news reporter, she loves to talk native plants. Jennifer also gives presentations on native plants and can be reached at jennifer@treetalknatives.com.
Comments