Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 6b |
|---|---|
| Flower color | white |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | oval |
| Mature height | 15 feet |
| Spread | 10 feet |
| Light requirements | partial shade to shade |
| Moisture requirements | average to moist |
| Plant origin | import |
Bronze Beauty Cleyera
Botanical name: Ternstroemia gymnanthera ‘Conthery’
This plant is noted for its striking foliage which emerges bronze, then turns dark green and glossy; perfect along a border, trained up a wall, or in a container; prune to encourage compactness; susceptible to and should be protected from spider mites.
Other names: Japanese Ternstroemia
Ornamental Features
Bronze Beauty Cleyera has attractive dark green foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The glossy narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. Neither the flowers nor the fruit are ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Bronze Beauty Cleyera is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a shapely oval form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;
Insects
Bronze Beauty Cleyera is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Accent, Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Container Planting
Planting and Growing
Bronze Beauty Cleyera will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.
This shrub does best in partial shade to shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Bronze Beauty Cleyera makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
