Sycoparrotia semidecidua Purple Haze

The (x) Sycoparrotia semidecidua ‘Purple Haze’ belongs, like its two parents, to the hamamelidaceae family. Less known than the Parrotia persica, deciduous and native to Northern Iran and Eastern Caucasus, its second parent the Sycopsis sinensis, native to the Chinese mountains, has the advantage of having evergreen foliage. The result of this marriage, discovered and first described in Switzerland in 1968, is a large shrub reaching 3 to 4 m in height by 4 to 6 m in width, whose foliage and shape exhibit characteristics intermediate between those of their two parents. With a narrow and upright shape when young, the shrub over time develops a broadly oval and very dense canopy. Its foliage is deciduous below -10°C and its growth rate is moderate.

The Sycoparrotia semidecidua  ‘Purple Haze’ features a sturdy trunk and often naturally forms several trunks covered with a brown-grey bark. Its leaves arranged alternately on the branches are simple, elliptic to oblong, entire or toothed at the edges, shiny dark green on top, lighter underneath. Dark red in spring, the leaves turn dark green during summer. Then autumn arrives, bringing an explosion of colours: the leaves of Sycoparrotia semidecidua ‘Purple Haze’ transition, alternately from purple to scarlet red before turning golden yellow. Ultimately, as winter sets in, it takes on purple hues. The non-fragrant flowering occurs in February-March, at the leaf axils, in the form of slightly discreet reddish flowers, clustered in bunches. Each flower consists of stamens with yellow-green anthers surrounded by small violet-brown bracts. The fruit of this shrub is a capsule.

The Sycoparrotia semidecidua‘Purple Haze’ naturally finds its place isolated in a small garden, in a free hedge, or even in a shrub grove.  For example, associate it with heathers, camellias, Hamamelis, Leucothoe, and pieris in acidic soil. In neutral or slightly alkaline, well-draining soil, pair it for instance with the 'Grace' smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria 'Grace'), the katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), the winged spindle tree (Euonymus alatus), Nandina, large autumn asters and Japanese anemones to create a vibrant grove from September to November.