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A beautiful native North American native, the Carolina Silverbell is a small understory tree that can be found in the wild growing on moist slopes, bluffs, and stream banks in rich, mesic soil. It is adored for its pretty bell-shaped flowers which appear in drooping clusters of 3 to 5 in March or April, depending on location. It will bloom when only a few years old. Four-winged, brownish, nut-like fruits appear in the fall and often persist well into the winter. Attractive finely toothed, oblong ovate dark green leaves up to 5 inches long turn an attractive yellow in fall. A moderately fast grower to 35 feet tall and maybe as wide, the Carolina Silverbell is ideal for use in sunny or shady landscape and woodland borders and is especially at home near bodies of water. In hot-summer climates it will appreciate some filtered sun or shade during the afternoon hours and prefers a consistently moist soil.

The flowers attracts hummingbirds and support 7 different species of lepidopteran caterpillars including the Promethea moth. It is a host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Eastern Comma, Red-spotted Purple, and Viceroy butterflies. Buds and flower clusters are eaten by birds. Butterflies, bees, and other beneficial pollinators enjoy the nectar from the flowers.

Note: Some horticulturists draw a genetic distinction between H. carolina and H. tetraptera. Both have the same characteristics but some feel that H. tetraptera is better acclimated to the more northern USDA Zones of 7 and 8.