Sweet Shrub or Spice Bush
Calycanthus species (CALYCANTHACEAE)
Planting and Growing Sweet Shrub
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow sweet shrub or spice bush in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, fruit, and seeds of sweet shrub or spice bush
- Growing conditions for sweet shrub or spice bush
- When and where to plant sweet shrub or spice bush
- How to plant sweet shrub or spice bush
- How to shape, prune and control growth of sweet shrub or spice bush
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of sweet shrub or spice bush
- Landscape uses of sweet shrub or spice bush
- Pest and disease control for sweet shrub or spice bush
Growing Sweet Shrub
Four species of slow-growing, branching, deciduous shrubs, 6–12 ft. (1.8–3.7 m) tall and wide, with shiny, bright to deep green, textured, oval, pointed, veined, fragrant leaves, 5–8 in. (13–20 cm) long, with gray-green undersides, turning yellow in autumn.
Commonly cultivated species include Carolina allspice, Calycanthus fertilis; Carolina allspice or pineapple shrub, Calycanthus floridus; and spice bush, Calycanthus occidentalis.
Allspice, the culinary ingredient, is made from from berries of an unrelated species, Jamican pepper, or Pimenta dioica, a tree native to the Caribbean and Central America.
Sweet Shrub Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Showy, very fragrant, fountain-shaped, upright, brown, red brown flowers, to 2 in. (50 mm) long, with straplike petals, in summer, form urn-shaped fruit bearing many seed with dry, papery covering, in late autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 4–9. Hardy.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained humus. Fertility: Rich. 6.5–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun to partial shade. Space 4–6 ft. (1.2–1.8 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize monthly. Prune to keep compact. Propagate by division, layering, seed, suckers.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, borders, fencelines, paths in cottage, meadow, shade, woodland gardens. Good for drying, sachets. Attracts bees. Pest and disease resistant.