Description
Tripterygium –
There is 2 or 3 deciduous, scrambling to twinning climbers in this genus. They naturally occur in deciduous woodlands in Eastern Asia. They have large, alternate, pointed elliptic leaves. It produces abundant greenish white tiny, 5 petalled, saucer shaped flowers in terminal panicles in summer. Flowers are followed by prominent green winged fruits. T. regelii, is the most common cultivated species, and is suitable for training on a house wall or over a pergola, tree, or tall tree stump.
Grow in moist but well drained fertile soil in full sun.
T. regelii – This bushy, twinning climber, from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan climbs to 20-30′ feet high. It can be shrubby like when young, producing slightly angled, reddish brown warty stems and long stalked, ovate or broadly ovate to elliptic, slender pointed, toothed, bright green leaves, 3-6″ long, with paler undersides. In late summer, small, saucer shaped, green tinted white flowers are borne in leafy panicles, to 10″ long, followed by 3 winged, pale green to light brown fruit, up to 3/4″ long.
Zones 5-8
