CAROLINA SILVERBELL
An old Greek proverb says, “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” With the heavy, rocky soil the way it is around here, many old men would be hard pressed to dig a hole big enough to plant a tree. However, despite the fact that I am not one of those old men, I have planted a Carolina silverbell tree. It will reside in front of my house, on the strip between the sidewalk and the street. Right now, the silverbell looks a little like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree–small and frail, short on leaves and branches and giving every appearance of readiness to blow over in a strong breeze. I don’t know if I will eventually sit in its shade, but next spring I hope that it will be big enough to produce at least one silvery, bell-shaped flower.
A friend saved the silverbell, a plant sale remainder, from an appointment with the composter at a local botanical institution. It is yet another of those plants that I have always wanted, but never seem to have bought. Why? The reasons are legion. There always seems to be a perennial that is a little flashier, or a nagging concern that our property isn’t really big enough to accommodate another tree or worries that the tree might not survive a New Jersey winter. This time all those reservations were trumped by the fact that if I did nothing, the plant was doomed. As a good gardener, it offends me to think of a perfectly healthy specimen put to death.
More people should know about and grow the Carolina silverbell, an American original that goes by the Latin name, Halesia carolina. Plant taxonomists, nurserymen and horticulturists have also been known to refer to the tree as Halesia caroliniana and Halesia tetraptera. “Tetraptera”, which means four-sided, refers to the tree’s single drupes or fruits, which are enclosed by a tough, four-sided covering. I like the common names, including snowdrop tree, mountain silverbell and, especially, opossum-wood.
The silverbell is native to the Piedmont area of the Carolinas, but has been cultivated much farther north and west. It is what arborists call an “understory” tree, which means that it grows on the edges of wooded areas dominated by taller species. Depending on growing conditions, it can reach thirty to forty feet tall, though some cultivated varieties are shorter. The medium green leaves are roughly oval-shaped. Dr. Michael A. Dirr, in his authoritative Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, states that under normal conditions, a young tree will reach six to twelve feet tall in the course of six or eight years. It is not a fast grower, but at least if you plant one now, you will see some real progress in a relatively short span of years. You may not be able to sit under its shade for awhile, but you will be able to appreciate the steadily increasing number of flowers each spring.
And those flowers, which range from on half to one inch long, are the real attraction of the Carolina silverbell. Generally the petals are white, but there are also silverbell varieties with pink flowers.
If you are trying to draw pollinating insects, the silverbell is your ticket. Bees are happy to use the trees as a nectar source. If you want to draw appreciative humans, silver bell is also perfect, as those flowers are fragrant.
Halesia takes its name from Stephen Hales, an eighteenth century clergyman, scientist and inventor who made extensive studies of plant and animal physiology. The great taxonomist Linnaeus was prone to naming new species after respected scientists and public figures and he did so with the silverbell. Hales, like many scientific men of his day, maintained a brisk correspondence on a number of subjects, including plants. That correspondence extended to like-minded individuals in the American colonies, giving him a tie to the country that gave rise to his namesake plant.
As I look at my frail little tree and think of its common name–opossum wood–I worry that the opossums in the neighborhood will try to climb it before it is big enough to support even the smallest ones. I am not sure how you “opossum-proof “a tree anyway. I will just have to be vigilant and hope for the best. I am too busy worrying about the raccoons and groundhogs to spare much thought for the opossums.
Silverbells are not always easy to find in local nurseries, but you can browse the selection of species and cultivars at ForestFarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, OR 97544; (541) 846-7269; www.forestfarm.com. Catalog $5.00