{"id":146,"date":"2009-04-28T05:05:31","date_gmt":"2009-04-28T13:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=146"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:33:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:33:00","slug":"sweeetshrub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/sweeetshrub\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweeetshrub"},"content":{"rendered":"

SWEETSHRUB
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<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Some shrubs are useful but annoying.\u00a0 Privet falls into that category, especially when massed into a hedge.\u00a0 In my experience, the top and sides of a privet hedge need trimming every other week during the growing season and the base is invariably full of noxious weeds.\u00a0 Privet and poison ivy, for example, go together like ATM’s and transaction fees. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

If, for whatever reason, you have such useful but annoying shrubs in your garden, you should make a point of compensating for them by giving equal space to worthy shrubs that offer nothing but pleasure.\u00a0 Calycanthus floridus or sweetshrub is one of those plants.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you saw Calycanthus floridus out of flower, you would probably walk right by it.\u00a0 A medium-size shrub, it grows to about six feet-tall, with elongated oval-shaped leaves that run up and down the stems in opposed pairs.\u00a0 Those leaves are aromatic when crushed, which is about the most complimentary thing you can say about them.\u00a0 They turn yellow in the fall before departing for the winter, but the fall color is not particularly exciting. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What is so great about calycanthus?\u00a0 The flowers–or, more accurately, the flowers’ fragrance.\u00a0 On an average, everyday sweetshrub, the flowers, which appear in early summer, are about two inches wide and mahogany to reddish brown to dark red.\u00a0 The shape is somewhat reminiscent of a spidery water lily.\u00a0 The flowers appear a bit disorganized, with half of the narrow petals curving back towards the stem and half standing erect as if guarding some treasure in the blossom’s center.\u00a0 The growing popularity of sweetshrub is predicated mostly on the fruity or spicy aroma exuded by the flowers.\u00a0 Some sources liken the scent to strawberries or pineapples.\u00a0 Southerners sometimes call Calycanthus floridus “Carolina allspice,”\u009d possibly an allusion to the scent, which my nose perceives as spicy.\u00a0 Noses differ of course, and “Carolina allspice”\u009d might just as easily refer to the shrub’s fruits. Depending on your point of view, the fruits look a little like brown rose hips or, possibly, allspice berries. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Southerners tend to reward their favorite things with evocative nicknames and Calycanthus floridus is no exception.\u00a0 In addition to sweetshrub, the species is known as “bubby blossom,”\u009d “spicebush,”\u009d “strawberry shrub,”\u009d “sweet bubby,”\u009d “sweet Betsy”\u009d and “Sweet Bettie.”\u009d\u00a0 Breeders have not toyed with the species too much–yet–but there are several cultivars available.\u00a0 ‘Athens’ sports yellow flowers instead of the usual brownish red, while Michael Lindsey has a more rounded habit and flowers that lean more towards the red end of the spectrum.\u00a0‘Edith Wilder’ grows up to ten feet tall, with mahogany blooms and leaves that are more rounded than those of other varieties.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Being a competitive suburban gardener, I recently acquired the latest thing in the calycanthus world, a new hybrid called ‘Venus’.\u00a0 Bred by Dr. Tom Ranney at North Carolina State University, ‘Venus’ has large white flowers, which the advertising copywriters call “magnolia-like”\u009d.\u00a0 The picture on the plant tag backs that up.\u00a0 Unlike Venus in Botticelli’s famous painting, ‘Venus’, the calycanthus, does not rise up from a giant shell.\u00a0 It does, however, rise to about five or six feet tall and is reputed to have the same heady fragrance as other calycanthus.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ‘Venus’ is the result of many crosses among existing calycanthus species and relatives, including Calycanthus floridus; Calycanthus occidentalis or California calycanthus and Sinocalycanthus, a Chinese shrub.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shade gardeners who have read this far are undoubtedly wondering if any of the calycanthus can be grown under shady conditions.\u00a0 The answer is yes, but with qualifications.\u00a0 In the wild, calycanthus is an understory shrub that grows at the edges of forests and sometimes along stream banks.\u00a0 Therefore, it can take light shade, but will flower better with more light.\u00a0 Given those parameters, I would save the sunniest spaces for the roses and install the calycanthus where it will get sun for part of the day.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Native plant enthusiasts can install sweetshrub without guilt pangs because it is native to the American southeast.\u00a0 While it does not draw butterflies, it does attract other pollinating insects, making it a valued contributor to garden ecosystems.\u00a0 If it is happy, it will increase in size by putting out root suckers or shoots that arise from underground roots.\u00a0 If you like that idea–fine–if not, it’s very easy to clip off the unwanted shoots.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Calycanthus cultivars, except for ‘Venus’, may be hard to find in local garden centers.\u00a0 Many varieties are available from <\/font><\/font>Woodlanders, Inc., <\/font>1128 Colleton Avenue
\nAiken, SC 29801, (803) 648-7522, <\/font><\/font>www.woodlanders.net<\/font><\/a>.\u00a0 There is no paper catalog, but you can download an order form from the website.\u00a0 Also try Fairweather Gardens, P.O. Box 330, Greenwich, NJ 08323, (856) 451-6261, <\/font>www.fairweathergardens.com<\/font><\/a>.\u00a0 Catalog $5.00.
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SWEETSHRUB \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some shrubs are useful but annoying.\u00a0 Privet falls into that category, especially when massed into a hedge.\u00a0 In my experience, the top and sides of a privet hedge need trimming every other week during the growing season and the base is invariably full of noxious weeds.\u00a0 Privet and poison ivy, for example, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-spring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1638,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/1638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}