Reference specimenAccession  SKU-00264

Abeliophyllum distichum roseum

Fragrant Pink Forsythia

At a glance
Type
Shrub
Hardiness
USDA Zones 5–8
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade
Soil
Moist, Well-drained
Mature size
Height 3–5 Feet · Spread 3–4 Feet
Growth rate
Moderate
Seasonality
Deciduous
Abeliophyllum distichum roseum (Pink Forsythia) pale pink fragrant flowers on a bare early-spring branch
Abeliophyllum distichum roseum, Fragrant Pink Forsythia at Woodlanders
A plant Woodlanders once offered on our catalogue

This variety is no actively in production in our propagation house and may not return to our catalogue. We maintain this page purely for reference and archival purposes. If you would like to grow this plant, tell us. Your interest helps guide what we bring back.

For a larger installation or commercial project, write hello@woodlanders.net.

Abeliophyllum is a genus of exactly one species, a quiet distinction it has held since botanists first described it from Korea in 1919. It belongs to the olive family alongside lilac and true forsythia, and in the wild it survives at only a handful of sites in the Korean hills, where it is now protected by law as an endangered plant. By the 1930s it had reached gardens in Europe and North America and earned an Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society, and collectors have cherished it ever since. 'Roseum' is the blush-pink form of that rarity.

Where common white forsythia opens icy white, roseum carries a wash of clear pink through the petals, and an almond-sweet fragrance the yellow forsythias cannot offer. The flowers come impossibly early, breaking from purplish buds along bare grey wood in late winter, weeks ahead of any leaf, often while frost still lingers. It is one of the very first shrubs to wake in the garden.

A multi-stemmed deciduous shrub of modest size, three to five feet in time and a little wider, it can run leggy if left alone, so prune it right after bloom to keep it shapely. Dark glossy foliage follows the flowers and carries the plant quietly through summer. Give it full sun to part shade and ordinary well-drained soil; it asks little once settled and is hardy through hard winters.

In the garden, treat it as a herald. Set it where you pass close in the cold months, by a door or along a path, so the scent finds you, and cut a few branches to force indoors. It consorts beautifully with hellebores, snowdrops, and the first crocus, and can be espaliered against a warm wall to show off its flowering wood.

Design Notes

One of the earliest shrubs to flower, best placed where it will be passed in the cold months: beside a door, along a path, or under a window where the almond fragrance can be caught. Cut branches force easily indoors. Lovely among hellebores, snowdrops, and early crocus, and can be espaliered against a warm wall to display its flowering wood. Prune right after bloom to curb legginess.

Flower, Fruit & Foliage

pink, March - April

Flower. Borne in late winter on bare, leafless branches, opening from purplish-pink buds into small four-petaled stars of clear blush pink, each carrying a sweet, almond-like scent. They line the slender grey stems in profusion, weeks before forsythia stirs.

Fruit. Quietly ornamental: flat, rounded, winged seedpods follow the flowers, ripening pale and papery like small coins along the stem.

Foliage. Neat oval leaves emerge after bloom in two opposing ranks, the distichum that names the plant, deep glossy green through summer, sometimes flushing purple before they fall.

Care

Light: Full sun to part shade; the most generous flowering comes in full sun.

Soil: Ordinary, well-drained soil of average fertility; tolerant once established.

Water: Moderate while young; drought-tolerant after the first year or two.

Pruning: Prune immediately after flowering, since blooms form on the previous year's wood. Thin older stems to keep the habit shapely.

Hardiness: Hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8; flower buds open very early and are occasionally nipped by hard late frosts.