White Fringe Tree vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

White Fringe Tree vs Early Blue Violet

Viola adunca

Chionanthus virginicus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Early Blue Violet
White Fringe Tree

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 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 Quick Facts

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

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

Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans

Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
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: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree