Halesia diptera

Common Names

Two-winged Silverbell, American Snowdrop Tree, Silverbell Tree

Summary

Halesia diptera, commonly called the two-wing silverbell, is a native southeastern U.S. deciduous shrub or small tree that typically reaches 15 to 30 ft tall and 15 to 25 ft wide with a rounded crown, featuring pendulous bell-shaped white flowers in spring and distinctive two-winged dry drupes, along with ovate to obovate leaves 8 to 17 cm long and 5.5 to 12 cm wide that turn yellow in autumn, bark exfoliates in thin scales, and the plant grows in sandy soils of wooded floodplains, ravines, swamps, hammocks, and upland woods from 0 to 100 m elevation, culture favors full sun to partial shade in well-drained, evenly moist soils and tolerates sandy soils and moist, acidic to neutral conditions with mulch around the root zone, hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, it can be grown as a large multi-stemmed shrub or trained as a single-trunk tree and is suitable for specimen plantings or woodland borders in sheltered locations, with the Magniflora Group cultivar offering larger flowers and drought tolerance, propagation is by seed, though cuttings may be difficult to overwinter and seeds require two cold periods to break dormancy, bees are primary pollinators, hummingbirds are attracted to its nectar, squirrels may eat the fruit, and it experiences little pest or disease pressure

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

20-30 feet

Spread

20-30 feet

Hardiness Zones

Zones 5-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full Sun to Full Shade.

Soil Type

Well-draining, evenly moist, acidic soil.

Soil Drainage

Well-drained soil

Soil pH

pH below 6.0, acidic, lime-free, well-drained soil

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Time

Spring (late March through early April)

Foliage Color

Green, turns yellow in autumn

Fall Foliage Color

Yellow

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Medium

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Fall.

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Layering, Stem cuttings, Root cuttings, Softwood cuttings

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts birds, Attracts hummingbirds