Handkerchief tree, <em>Davidia</em>: planting, pruning, care
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Handkerchief tree, in a nutshell
- Davidia is a Chinese tree commonly called ‘handkerchief tree’, producing one of the most enchanting flowering displays with pure white bracts that adorn its branches in May–June.
- Its glossy pale green leaves resemble those of lime. It grows to 12 m tall in cultivation and spreads to about 10 m. It flowers after roughly ten years, except cultivars such as ‘Sonoma’ or ‘Lady Sunshine’, which come into flower more quickly.
- This robust and hardy tree (-15°C) prefers cool but well-drained, fertile, well-worked soil and sheltered positions protected from wind.
- Consider showcasing it alongside pink Florida dogwoods, Cornus controversa with its tiered silhouette and white-variegated foliage, pale pink rhododendrons, etc.
A word from our expert
If there is one tree that inspires universal admiration, it is the handkerchief tree, also known as Davidia involucrata. The spectacle of its flowering is fairly fleeting, lasting around 3 weeks, which only adds to its charm! Initially, it appears only after 12 to 20 years, at least for the species involucrata and involucrata var. vilmoriniana. The beauty of the flowering actually comes from its white, pendulous, dentate, heart-shaped bracts, reaching 15 cm in length as with bougainvilleas. They accompany the spherical inflorescence, shimmering greenish or dark red, which appears like a pearl in its oyster shell, composed sometimes of white stamens or purple pistils. Male and female flowers are indeed separate on the same tree.
The immaculate whiteness of the bracts set against the pale green foliage arouses wonder, giving an intense impression of freshness, of peace… Some see doves, others ghosts. Wilson, one of Davidia’s discoverers in China, described it as a « flight of immense butterflies ». Words alone cannot describe it — you have to see it!
The introduction of recent cultivars such as Davidia ‘Lady Sunshine’ with cream-variegated foliage and Davidia ‘Sonoma’ has given us much faster flowering, often occurring as early as the first year after planting on very young trees. Their growth is fairly slow and limited to 12 m in height, which allows Davidia to be planted in relatively modest gardens.
This remarkable tree, so rare in our gardens, nevertheless grows quite easily in cool, deep soil, from acidic to calcareous. It pairs romantically with other seasonal blooms such as Cornus florida, preferably ‘Rubra’, and rhododendrons with white or pink bell-shaped flowers. Also consider autumn, when its foliage takes on bronze tones that harmonise with the soft pink of a caramel-coloured tree or with the golden displays of a Liriodendron or a Gingko biloba.
Description and botany
Botanical data
- Latin name Davidia involucrata
- Family Nyssaceae
- Common name Dove tree
- Flowering May to June
- Height between 12 and 20 m
- Exposure sun or partial shade
- Soil type any loose soil, fresh and well-drained, even calcareous
- Hardiness Good (-15 °C)
Dove tree, pocket tree, pigeon tree (dove tree) or even ghost tree, it is hard to find words to evoke its extraordinary flowering. Davidia involucrata made an impression when Père David first described it in 1871. The famed naturalist was then on an 11-year journey in China, rich in discoveries such as the panda. Davidia remains rare in gardens, even though growing it is not difficult.
Davidia’s botanical classification is complicated: it was first placed alone in family Davidiaceae, then joined family Nyssaceae, which previously contained only Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo), before being absorbed into family Cornaceae (APG II and III). Recent genetic analyses led to Cornaceae and Nyssaceae being split again under APG IV, so current consensus is that it is indeed a nyssaceae.
Davidia is therefore the sole representative of Nyssaceae alongside American tree Nyssa sylvatica. Its habit is pyramidal, rounding with age, and its tender green, dentate foliage recalls lime tree. Davidia can live for more than a century. If allowed to grow freely, it often forms multiple trunks. Its height at maturity varies between 12 and 20 m. Its leaves, grooved with deep veins and edged with large pointed teeth, measure 8 to 16 cm long and emit a slight scent when they unfold. The lamina shows a bright light-green tint, greyish and pubescent beneath in the type species, while the leaf is entirely glabrous in variety (or subspecies) vilmoriniana, at least when mature. In autumn, foliage takes on a lovely glossy bronze shade.
Development of flowering of a dove tree (fruit photo Leonora Enking – Flickr)
Around age 10–12 years, branches become covered with a profusion of white “handkerchiefs”, 15–20 cm long, which earned the tree its many names. In fact, these structures are not flowers but bracts, unequal and paired two by two around the inflorescence as in poinsettia or bougainvillea, and borne on a long peduncle. Tiny flowers form a 2 cm diameter sphere in the heart of the bracts, composed of stamens or pistils.
In October, solitary fruits resembling olives, 2–4 cm long, gradually turn reddish-brown and persist on the tree after leaf fall. They contain 3–5 very hard seeds but, as history has shown, germination is not easy! Over-ripe fruits are edible.
Foliage of dove trees: Davidia involucrata in spring, autumn foliage, variegated foliage of Davidia involucrata ‘Lady Sunshine’
Main varieties of Davidia
Main varieties
Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriniana - Dove Tree
- Flowering time May, June
- Height at maturity 12 m
Davidia involucrata Lady Sunshine - Dove Tree
- Flowering time May, June
- Height at maturity 12 m
Davidia involucrata Sonoma - Dove Tree
- Flowering time May, June
- Height at maturity 12 m
Discover other Davidia - Dove tree
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Available in 2 sizes
Available in 2 sizes
Available in 1 sizes
Available in 1 sizes
Planting
Where to plant the dove tree?
In its native range, Davidia grows in leafy forests, so it favours light shade especially in summer. But in humid regions it makes a very handsome solitary tree. It tolerates -15°C without problem, its hardiness increasing with age to -28°C. This tree copes well with frosts, even severe and prolonged ones.
Provide a cool but well-drained, fertile and well-worked soil. Plant it sheltered from strong, cold winds and spring frosts so it benefits from warm, sheltered conditions, semi-shaded or in gentle sun and avoids branch breakage. It nevertheless needs direct sunshine to thrive, but dislikes scorching exposures and heatwaves.
Variety vilmoriniana seems better suited to western climates.
When to plant?
Container-grown trees can be planted from February to April and from September to November, avoiding periods of frost.
How to plant?
This tree is easy to grow in cool, humid climates.
- Soak the rootball in a bucket of water to thoroughly moisten it.
- Dig a hole at least three times wider than the rootball and loosen the soil around it with the prongs of a digging fork.
- Add a few handfuls of sand and gravel to ensure good drainage around the roots and a generous amount of compost or well-rotted manure to make the soil humus-bearing.
- Insert a stake then place the plant into the planting hole.
- Backfill soil and firm lightly.
- Tie the trunk to the stake at one-third of its height using a soft tie.
- Water and mulch generously to keep soil cool and retain moisture.
Davidia involucrata (left photo Leonora Enking-Flickr)
Care and pruning
Water regularly and deeply in summer, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings so as not to suffocate the roots. Stop watering in winter.
You can fertilise in autumn or late winter by applying compost around the base or using an organic fertiliser.
Pruning is unnecessary except to remove dead or broken wood, unless you wish to train the tree to a single trunk and raise the crown to allow passage underneath. If you wish to keep only a single trunk, it is necessary to remove the secondary trunks that grow obliquely during the first five years of cultivation.
No parasitic pests are known.
Propagation: layering
Easiest method of propagation is air layering. Propagation by cuttings at end of summer or during winter is for professionals. As for sowing, as the anecdote goes, seed germination is unpredictable and can take up to 3 years. It is done by sowing whole fruit and requires exposure to cold!
Air layering
- Between April and 15 June, on vertical branches not too thick, make an incision in the bark and a second one 2 cm from the first.
- Peel back bark and surround wound with moss collected from a decaying stump (free from parasitic pests) and moisten it.
- Wrap moss with a sheet of plastic, secured at its base with fairly tight dry raffia. Compress moss well before closing top. Add an extra raffia at centre and a small stick pointing downwards to form a gutter. Usually takes 2 years for roots to colonise the pocket.
- Cut flush with insertion and wean layer for 1 year in a pot filled with molehill soil mixed with leaf mould, in a semi-shaded spot.
Uses and companion plants
This tree, which takes more than a decade to flower for type species, deserves a prominent place and a fine display while awaiting its flowering. Dogwoods, of a closely related genus, are also suitable — notably white or pink Cornus florida, which flowers at exactly the same time, and Cornus controversa, remarkable for its tiered silhouette clad with variegated foliage, ideal for creating a white garden when paired with Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’.
In heather soil, the full range of ericaceous plants can complete the picture, such as white or pale-pink rhododendrons, Pieris, Hydrangea, Leucothoe or Corylopsis, etc. In calcareous soil, opt for osmanthus, viburnums, Aronia, spiraeas, euonymus or Itea.
An idea for planting combinations in heather soil, through the seasons: Davidia involucrata ‘Sonoma’, Corylopsis pauciflora, Rhododendron ‘Dream Land’, Enkianthus campanulatus, Nandina domestica ‘Obsessed Seika’, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Twist and Shout’
Plant shade perennials at its base, capable of covering the ground, such as tiarellas, pachysandra, epimediums, hellebores, lungworts or hostas. Position it solitary or in groups of three within a short grass meadow kept well watered in a humid, cool climate. In drier situations, prefer light shade from a stand of leafy trees such as beech.
Did you know?
The tumults of its discovery
Davidia was first described by Father David (1826–1900), the famous naturalist who discovered the panda and whose name was given to several Chinese plants such as Buddleia davidii (butterfly bush) and, of course, Davidia. The tree was discovered in the Chengdu region of central China. Eleven years later the same explorer came across another, very similar variety. It was nurseryman-collectors such as Vilmorin in France and Veitch in England who respectively tasked missionaries Fargès and Wilson with bringing back seeds. The Frenchman was first to send seeds of a tree; only one seed germinated two years later, in 1899. The tree flowered for the first time in May 1906. Its May flowering can still be admired in the Vilmorin collection at Arboretum des Barres (Loiret) on the tree that now bears the name Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriniana. Indeed, Wilson had not lost out in his quest: he brought back a form slightly different from Fargès’s, with downy foliage, which was considered the type species. Genetics shows these two specimens do not have the same number of chromosomes, so their offspring is infertile and some botanists prefer to split them into two species.
Find out more
Discover our range of Davidia.
Find Pascale’s advice: Why is my dove tree not flowering?
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