Habitat

• native to Japan and Taiwan
• hardy to zone 6

Habit and Form

• a deciduous shrub
• small to medium size (4' to 6' tall)
• width is just as great
• multistemmed
• slow growth rate
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• ovate leaf shape
• 2" to 4" in length
• cordate leaf base
• dentate leaf margin
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• yellow to golden fall color

Flowers

• yellow flowers
• fragrant
• 2-5 blooms dangle on an inflorescence
• flowers early Spring

Fruit

• dehiscent capsule
• not ornamentally important

Bark

• brown, slender stems
• zigzag stem pattern
• lenticels

Culture

• readily transplanted from containers
• prefers moist, acidic, well-drained soil
• full sun to light shade
• prune after flowering, if needed
• shelter from winter wind and late frosts

Landscape Use

• early flowers and fragrance
• massing or grouping
• shrub borders or specimen
• small size well suited to landscapes
• good alternative to Forsythia
• use with Rhododendron mucronulatum

Liabilities

• late frost can kill flower buds
• not as hardy as C. glabrescens
• often expensive, difficult to locate

ID Features

• a deciduous shrub of low spreading habit
• greenish-brown, sessile buds
• zigzag stem pattern
• yellow, fragrant flowers in late winter
• blooms dangle in small chain
• alternate leaf arrangement
• cordate leaf base

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

• none