White Fringe Tree vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

White Fringe Tree vs Early Blue Violet

Chionanthus virginicus

Viola adunca

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

White Fringe Tree
Early Blue Violet

White Fringe Tree is known for its fringe-like white flowers. It can either grow as a small tree or a large multistemmed shrub. The White Fringe Tree has separate male and female plants. Both male and female flowers have white fringe-like petals, but the male flowers are longer and showier. The female flowers give way to clusters of dark blue to black berries. These berries are not edible for humans but attract birds and other wildlife.

The White Fringe Tree is tolerant of clay soils, saline soils, and air pollution but does not do well in prolonged dry conditions.

Early Blue Violet is a low-growing native perennial wildflower valued for its striking early-spring blooms. The flowers range in color from vibrant blue to deep violet, often marked with pale highlights and fine white hairs. They provide an important early nectar source for pollinators and serve as a host plant for several fritillary butterfly species.

It spreads by both seed and rhizomes, gradually forming small colonies. Its dark green, heart-shaped leaves add ornamental appeal, and the plant shows some resistance to deer browsing. Early Blue Violet is well-suited to naturalization projects and pollinator-friendly gardens, and has also been used in coastal butterfly habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Early Blue Violet Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - medium
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Bloom time: mid spring to early summer
Berries: blue to black
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, YT, NT
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree
Other Names: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet