gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’

A tall spreading shrub with upright branches with twigs that are shiny green-brown.

The unique male catkins are produced in masses before the leaves in February-March and open ruby-red before turning black. They are particularly showy especially when the anthers appear, dark orange at first, turning yellow. Native of Japan, Korea, China. Flower-bud hardy to Zone 5; after a hard winter (–25°F) ours flower sparsely in our Zone 4 climate, but it grows well here. In 2012–2014 they flowered prodigiously; after –25°F for thirty straight nights in 2015 we had zero flowers! Plants OK!