General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0)
Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 7a -17.8 °C (0 °F) to -15 °C (5 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 10b
Plant Height: 10 to 20 feet
Plant Spread: 10 to 20 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Fragrant
Other: When bruised, leaves emit a fragrance of peanut butter
Fruit: Showy
Fruiting Time: Fall
Other: Small, bright blue fruit surrounded by magenta calyxes
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Summer
Underground structures: Taproot
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Flowering Tree
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Birds
Butterflies
Hummingbirds
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Humidity tolerant
Toxicity: Fruit is poisonous
Other: Handling plant may cause contact dermatitis in some individuals
Propagation: Seeds: Other info: Some suckering
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Division
Stolons and runners
Pollinators: Various insects
Containers: Not suitable for containers

Image
Common names
  • Peanut Butter Shrub
  • Harlequin Glory Bower
  • Clerodendrum
  • Japanese Clerodendrum
  • Chou Wu Tong
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Clerodendrum trichotomum
  • Synonym: Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii
  • Synonym: Clerodendrum trichotomum var. ferrugineum
  • Synonym: Clerodendrum trichotomum var. trichotomum

Photo Gallery
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2021
Location: Newby Hall garden, Yorkshire UK
Date: 2018-09-01
Location: Newby Hall, Yorkshire, UK
Date: 2017-08-20
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2021
Small tree collection
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2023-09-01
Location: Arnold Arboretum Boston
Date: 2021-08-02
Location: Dragons, Chelmsford, Essex, UK.
Date: 2022-08-16
Location: Portland, Oregon
Date: October, 2017
Location: My garden in N E Pa. 
Date: 2018-08-19
Flowers and the hummingbird.

Date: 2016-12-10
took several years to get established before blooming
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2021
Small tree collection
Location: Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid
photo credit: Adrián Pablo Rodríguez Quiroga
Uploaded by treehugger

Date: 2016-09-23

Date: 2016-08-03

Date: 2016-08-12
Location: At a nursery, Belgium
Date: 2015-08-18

Date: 2016-05-09

Date: August
attracts butterflies

Date: August
Heavenly Smell
Uploaded by treehugger
Uploaded by treehugger
Location: Naugatuck Connecticut
Date: 06/30/2017 5:47 PM EST
Starting new plant
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Oct 22, 2012 
Seed pod forming
Location: Portland, Oregon
Date: October, 2017
Location: At a nursery, Belgium
Date: 2015-08-18
Location: Pacific Northwest
Date: 2009-09-15
Location: All pictures taken in/on my gardens/greenhouse/property
Date: 2021-07-05
Flower buds!
Comments:
  • Posted by sallyg (central Maryland - Zone 7b) on Aug 14, 2017 5:56 AM concerning plant:
    My shrub is about five years old now, and loaded with flowers. It does have a wonderful fragrance, bloom lasts a number of weeks. I've seen multiple Humming birds around it many evenings, butterflies as well. The form (so far) is wide and spreading, so give it room. This year I have a ton of seedlings underneath. it may be best to keep it mulched and only have spring bulbs underneath, so you can easily keep up with seedlings and suckers. After flowers it has beautiful purple and pink berry clusters. Leaves emerge late in spring, don't panic when it is bare as many other things leaf out.
    It's now November, and this is mobbed by bluebirds! They must be eating the berries.
  • Posted by critterologist (Frederick, MD - Zone 6b) on May 3, 2019 3:20 PM concerning plant:
    I adore this shrub at least as much as the hummers do! That said, I STRONGLY advise planting it in the middle of a grassy area that you'll mow around, in order to keep the root suckers in check. Mine is maybe 12 feet tall, with 3 main trunks that are 2 1/2 - 3 inches in diameter. It's sending out shoots at least a dozen feet from the parent plant. Lots of shoots. I tend to ignore them for a year or two (they aren't really in the way) and then dig them up to share... Just loosen the dirt and pull, then pot up until they grow a nice rootball.
  • Posted by Chantell (Middle of Virginia - Zone 7a) on Apr 29, 2016 11:11 AM concerning plant:
    Absolutely adore this shrub (more like a tree, though, size-wise). Its wafting lily-like scent fills the yard from July through Sept...sometimes early October. The hummingbirds and butterflies love the blooms. It does send up some suckers, but they're easy to recognize and can be pulled up with minimum effort if done so when young.
  • Posted by scvirginia on Jun 8, 2023 7:28 PM concerning plant:
    The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) gave its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM) to Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii, which is botanically synonymous with Clerodendrum trichotomum.

    'Fargesii' is apparently a bit more cold hardy, and has a somewhat more compact growing habit, so may be worth seeking out for cold climate gardens.
Plant Events from our members
Chantell From June 26, 2022 to June 30, 2022 Plant Ended (Removed, Died, Discarded, etc)
Sadly she didn't make it...will try again next year :(
Chantell On April 22, 2022 Obtained plant
Got a grandbaby from Critter to plant at new home.
Chantell On April 24, 2009 Obtained plant
Rec'd this in trade from dayflower/Ellen
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