Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Description:
A unique elegant tree unlike any other tree on the planet. Heart shaped purple-pink tinted leaves unfurl in early Spring and pinkish red flowering spurs cluster at the nodes. Quite lovely. Gradually the leaves turn blue-green for Summer, but come Autumn its colours of yellow, scarlet to demerera brown are dramatic enough BUT its sweet caramelized sugar scent of the leaves makes this tree truly one of a kind. Can grow to 20 meters with a 10 meter spread. Trouble free. Grows quickly. Gendered species.

Notes:
You just want hang up the hammock or lay in the heap of its raked leaves with your favorite book and let its sweet scented leaves bury you! One of the few uplifting scents before the coming of winter. The fragrance itself is described differently depending on your life experience, but to me its a blend of ripe strawberries, brown sugar and candy floss. Does not transplant well when grown in nursery beds with big wondering roots so pot culture is best before seating in its final position. Prick out when dormant into individual pots to grow out. Drought intolerant when young, but when established needs minimal care.

Cultivation:
Small seed. Easy to start. No special pretreatment needed. Sow very thinly! Mix seed with a small quantity of coarse sand and spread evenly on prepared nursery pot of moisture retentive yet well draining medium. Press into surface. Do not cover seed. Keep moist; plastic cover improves germination but keep out of direct sun as surface seedlings will fry. Will germinate within 10-20 days at 20 C. Needs warmth to germinate so a heat matt or other bottom heat source will greatly increase your germination/seedling happiness level.