Everyone’s dream plant is evergreen, flowering, scented, shade-tolerant and low-maintenance. Oh, and edible. Sweet box ticks all of those boxes, except for the last. Its headily scented flowers come at a bleak time of year too – from December to March, followed by long-lasting berries in blue, black or red.

Are Christmas Box berries edible?

Everyone’s dream plant is evergreen, flowering, scented, shade-tolerant and low-maintenance. Oh, and edible. Sweet box ticks all of those boxes, except for the last. Its headily scented flowers come at a bleak time of year too – from December to March, followed by long-lasting berries in blue, black or red.

Do birds eat Sarcococca berries?

The evergreen, tapered foliage looks good in a vase, and the strange, thin white flowers last long enough to be enjoyed inside. Then come the big berries that the birds enjoy. The most common is Sarcococca confusa, a dense, low-maintenance bush.

Can you eat Sarcococca berries?

Sarcococca confusa has no toxic effects reported.

Is fragrant sweet box poisonous?

The flowering period is usually 4 to 5 weeks. Berries for all types are not usually listed as poisonous, but are not recommended for consumption; in fact, even most birds ignore them and they persist after flowering long into the spring.

How do you identify Sarcococca?

It is an upright, dense shrub, to around 70cm high, with glossy, dark-green leaves and highly-scented white flowers, opening from red buds. The male flowers have red anthers and the female flowers are followed by spherical berries that ripen from red to black. Sarcococca hookeriana var.

Is Sweet Box edible?

Is Sweet Box Edible or Medicinal? As far as medicinal value goes, sweet box is used in Chinese herbal medicine but more research and experimentation is needed for scientifically safe application and efficacy.

How tall does Sarcococca grow?

You should expect to see Sarcococca grow to an approximate height of 60cm (24”) and a spread of 45cm (18”).

Will deer eat Sarcococca?

Tolerant of tree roots and low irrigation (once every two weeks for a mature specimen), Sarcococca also does well in a large container for years. Irrigation must be often for plants in a container. The deer do not touch this gem!

What goes well with Sarcococca?

Sarcococca is a shade to part-shade plant, but will tolerate what these islands call ‘full sun’. Try pairing Sarcococca with Hosta, Heuchera, Ajuga, or Hellebores for an attractive shade garden bed.

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What does Sarcococca smell like?

Christmas or sweet box, Sarcococca confusa, is a wonderful shrub to have in the garden. Robust and easy to grow, it can be grown in shade or sun, and the evergreen foliage can be clipped into shapes or hedges. Best of all, vanilla-scented blooms appear from December to March.

Which Sarcococca is the most fragrant?

Also highly scented is the variety Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem‘ with its reddish-purple young shoots, pink-tinged flowers and the same graceful narrow pointed leaves and blue-black berries.

What soil does Christmas box like?

They prefer a humus-rich, moderately fertile, moist, but well-drained soil that doesn’t dry out in summer. Sarcococcas are perfect for growing in containers of John Innes Compost No.

Is Sweet Box invasive?

How many ground covers do you know that out compete the weeds and spread steadily but don’t become invasive problems? Well here’s a plant that meets both those criteria. It’s low growing, dark green, weed-smothering, and handsome. It’s also fragrant when it blooms in the early spring.

Does sweet box get blight?

Boxwood blight is caused by the pathogen Calonectria pseudonavicu-latum, and will also affect other shade-loving plants like sweet box and pachysandra.

Why is my Sarcococca yellow?

The reasons are usually nutrient deficiency, wet or poor soils. In garden plants the yellowing is often accompanied by poor flowering and fruiting and stunted growth in extreme cases. … Excessive dryness or waterlogging can affect the plants ability to take up the nutrients required.

Can you move a Sarcococca?

Deciduous plants and shrubs should be moved in autumn. … Grasses, evergreen plants, late-flowering varieties should be moved in spring, such as box, asters, miscanthus, pennisetum, sarcococca, crocosmia and kniphofia.

How fast does Sarcococca Confusa grow?

Sarcococca confusa (Sweet box) will reach a height of 2m and a spread of 1m after 5-10 years.

How fast does sweet box grow?

The plant typically reaches about 7′ feet tall and 3′ feet wide. It may take about five to seven years for sarcococca confusa to reach its full height.

What does sweet box smell like?

Few plants rival sweet box, Sarcococca confusa, for providing sweet-scented flowers in winter. The fragrance of the tiny white flowers is heady, but not overpowering.

How do I take a cutting from a Sarcococca plant?

Propagating Sarcococca Sarcococca suckers freely, so the easiest way to propagate is to pot-on the rooted suckers or divide up an established plant in early spring. Alternatively, semi-hardwood cuttings can be taken in late summer. Root these in a cold frame using a rooting hormone.

Is Sweet Box deer resistant?

Virtues: We love dwarf sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) for its very fragrant late winter flowers and its evergreen foliage. It is a good evergreen groundcover for full or part shade. Deer resistant.

Is Himalayan sweet box deer resistant?

Appeal: Himalayan Sweet Box is the perfect evergreen flowering ground cover for shady areas. Its dark green foliage provides a nice background for its bright white flowers that bloom in spring and are fragrant. … Himalayan Sweet Box is a low maintenance ground cover shrub that is also deer resistant.

Is sweet osmanthus deer resistant?

This is a deer resistant shrub. These evergreens work well in a mixed border or for privacy screening. The dark green foliage may have reddish orange tints on the tips of new growth.

How do you take care of a sweet box?

Choose a full shade location where soil drains freely. They will even thrive under trees where lighting can be minimal. Soil should percolate well and yet be rich in organic matter and kept moist. If soil is properly nutrient rich, you rarely have to fertilize this plant.

Should you prune Sarcococca?

There is no need to prune Sarcococca at all. Providing the soil remains a little moist, and they have shelter from cold winds, they will grow almost anywhere including full sun if required.

When should Christmas boxes be cut back?

Garden care: In late winter or early spring lightly trim or prune back shoots that spoil the plant’s symmetry. After pruning apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted compost around the base of the plant.

What is Christmas box plant?

Sarcococca, or Christmas box, is a slow-growing, evergreen shrub which provides beautiful winter interest throughout the Christmas period. Known as the Christmas box or sweet box, they are small shrubs with fragrant flowers and dark green foliage. … The genus name sarcococca comes from the Greek for “fleshy berry”.

Can you hard prune Sarcococca?

Long stems can be shortened to a whorl of foliage or a side shoot after flowering, whilst old stems that have become bare at the base can be cut hard back. Sarcococca confusa and S. hookeriana var.

How do you transplant a Sarcococca plant?

  1. Loosen the soil with a shovel in a shady location with good drainage. …
  2. Dig a hole in the center of the planting area the same depth as the plant’s root ball. …
  3. Remove the sarcococca bush from its container. …
  4. Spread the root out in the hole.

Are all Sarcococca scented?

A mix of earlier and later varieties will keep all forms of life happy in the cold days between December and April. The main types of Sarcococca, shown here (and all scented) are Royal Horticultural Society award winners for general garden merit.