American snowbell
Styrax americanus · Styracaceae
American snowbell (Styrax americanus) is a perennial shrub in the Styracaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -16°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub Derived |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 10 ft USDA |
| Light | part-shade USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.5–8.5 USDA |
| Bloom | March–May USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 5 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It grows in partial shade. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.5 to 8.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 5.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 10 ft, making it a plant that will finish above head height.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of March through May. Flowers are white.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, fine in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. It carries conspicuous autumn colour.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 16 to 70 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 207 frost-free days to finish its season.
Propagating it
Cuttings is the only propagation method USDA lists. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Styrax
- bigleaf snowbell Styrax grandifolius
Similar role and hardiness
- red chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia
- sweet mock orange Philadelphus coronarius
- swamp azalea Rhododendron viscosum
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol STAM4, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer, Type.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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