A tree that does something in every season: bronze-red young leaves, green through summer, then a spectacular turn of purple, red and orange in autumn — and once the leaves drop, flaking bark and small red flowers on bare stems.
Free click & collect from the nursery, or delivery on larger orders.
Parrotia persica ‘Vanessa’ is a small to medium tree grown above all for its colour, though it has far more to offer than a single autumn display. The young leaves emerge bronze and red, settle to green through summer, and then turn brilliant shades of purple, red and orange before they fall.
What happens next is the part people do not expect. The bark flakes attractively once the tree is bare, and small red flowers — not unlike a witch hazel's — open on the naked stems in late winter and early spring, when almost nothing else is in flower.
‘Vanessa’ is narrower and more upright than the straight species, which makes it a far easier tree to place in a smaller garden. Grown as a multi-stem it keeps that upright character while gaining the sculptural, layered look that suits a courtyard or an architectural planting scheme.
Give it full sun and any soil that drains freely. It is a genuinely low-maintenance, reliable tree.
Every plant we sell is backed by four decades of growing. Tell us about your garden and we’ll tell you honestly whether this is the right plant for it.
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