TREE OF MERIT
Parrotia persica 'Vanessa'
T
he Persian Ironwood
Tree (Parrotia persica) has
been featured in City Trees
before, for good reason: it is
a great tree for urban areas!
While it is native to the lower
mountain slopes of northern Iran, it has been planted
widely in cities across Europe
and North America for many
years. It has great colour in
the spring, with glossy, green,
red-tipped leaves that later
turn a darker green through
the summer. Fall colour is
spectacular, often with leaves
of multiple colours on the tree
at the same time: orange, purple, yellow and green. When
older, this tree has flaky grey
bark that is very attractive,
giving it year-round appeal.
The
cultivar
'Vanessa'
emerged from Europe in the
1970s and is now widely cultivated in North American nurseries. 'Vanessa' is upright,
almost columnar, with branches that arch gracefully outward towards the tip. It is
a slow-growing small tree,
reaching a height of about 11
metres (36 feet) at maturity.
Perhaps because of its slow
growth rate, it seems that
much of the available nursery
stock is slightly smaller than
would be typical for street
tree planting programs.
City arborists repor t that
'Vanessa' has few pest problems, is drought tolerant, can
be grown in a wide variety of
soils, and is hardy in USDA
zones 4-8. Steve Shur tz,
urban forester and landscape
manager for Baton Rouge,
Louisiana says, "I love it;
it's not bothered by drought
nor long wet spells. No sign
of pests. Just a neat, well'Vanessa' on the streets of Surrey, British
Columbia by Owen Croy