Temple of Bloom^® Seven-Son Flower Heptacodium miconioides

Hello - This is my second zone 9 CA summer trying to find a permanent spot for my Temple of Bloom tree. I have burned it twice and discovered that it does not appreciate being pushed into direct sun. The summer of 2022 it was in an east facing spot where it received sun from 7 am-1 pm and it burned, I moved it to where it barely stays in the shade and it recovered. This summer of 2023 I tried a spot where it received sun from 9:30 am-1:30 pm and the leaves burned again. I placed it back in the same barely shaded spot. I don't have any locations with early sun only. Next summer my new shade trees might be big enough to provide dappled shade. Happy gardening!

I’ve grown three of these in different regions in Wisconsin. My first Heptacodium was purchased from a popular mail order nursery located in Ohio. It was the species tree and not a cultivar. I believe they only sell the cultivars in their catalog now and not the species. I lived in Wauwatosa at the time, zone 5. The plant arrived via mail order literally the size of a pencil. I planted it, and I’ve never seen something so small grow into such a large tree in such a short amount of time. We had very rich compacted soil in Wauwatosa. If you want to attract pollinators to your yard, I guarantee this will be covered with bees. We had bumble bees galore buzzing all around this tree. It’s a beautiful tree, easy to prune. I wanted to grow mine as a multi-stemmed specimen. I still look at google earth snapshots of my old property to see how this tree has matured and I can see from the google street views this tree is flourishing. It is STUNNING. I now live further north in Green Lake County (zone 5a) and I have planted another of the species AND a Temple of Bloom cultivar. The soil here is very sandy and acidic. This will be the second growing season for me here so I’m hoping they take off in terms of growth rate like it did at my last home. The blooms and the bark and the multi stemmed form is just beautiful, as well as the foliage. Rabbits never bothered mine though they devour my serviceberry shrubs. I have to fence around my serviceberry but not my heptacodium. If I moved again, the heptacodium would be the first thing I would plant in my yard. What a glorious tree.

I ordered directly from Proven Winners. The plant was only available in the small size, but I really wanted to give it a try so I ordered it and planted it In late fall. I was worried about planting such a little one with Wisconsin’s winter coming soon. I fenced it off because rabbits would have killed it. I also put a good amount of shredded fall leaves around the base in the hope of keeping it a little warmer. It is very tiny but it looks healthy and the leaves are very pretty even on such a little one. I’m very optimistic and excited to give this plant a try. We’re making a garden bed around her to give her a showy setting. There will also be 2 aphrodites in that same bed.

I ordered this plant in spring of 2019 and planted it in my new front flowerbed. It has thrived and grown wonderfully. I am shocked at how quickly it has grown and now I am enjoying the new blooms already on the first year. Very impressed. The only thing I'm unsure about is if I need to prune it this winter. It is fairly bushy rather then upright. I am hoping I can trim and train it to be a small tree.

This is pollinator heaven and outstanding. Very beautiful year around. I'm growing it in Zone 7a. It does need water during drought periods, and I recommend giving it morning light up until maybe 2 pm, thus siting it away from the hot western sun.