Seven-son flower

* Common name: Seven-son flower

* Botanical name: Heptacodium miconioides

* What it is: A small, under-used, trouble-free and often hard-to-find tree that’s unusual for its late-season bloom. In late summer, red buds open to mildly fragrant clusters of white flowers. Soon after the petals drop, half-inch-long elongated purplish-red fruits (drupes) form to add fall interest. The light-tan bark also peels and shreds with age for winter interest. Seven-son flower can be pruned to a single-trunk small tree or left to become a large shrub with multiple stems. Won a 1995 Gold Medal Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as a woody plant deserving greater use in the regional landscape.

* Size: 18 to 20 feet tall, 12 to 15 feet wide.

* Where to use: Excellent as a specimen in a small front yard, at the corner of a house or as the centerpiece of a back-yard island bed. Late in the season, people will ask, “What is that tree?” Best in full sun.

* Care: Low-care, trouble-free and tolerant of a variety of soils and dampness conditions. Keep roots consistently damp the first year or two, then soak weekly in a drought. Otherwise, watering and fertilizing aren’t regularly needed. Prune at winter’s end to remove excess or crossing branches or to control size, if needed.

* Great partner: Daffodils make a nice early-spring underplanting while this tree is still waking up. Dwarf goldenrod and purple asters are perennials that overlap seven-son flower’s bloom.