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Sarcococca confusa - Christmas Box

Sarcococca confusa  • 

Photo: Sarcococca confusa - Christmas Box

Photo: Sarcococca confusa - Christmas Box

A delightful evergreen very hardy plant. Its origins are not clear but is believed to have been introduced from China at the beginning of the 20th century. A medium growing fairly dense upright plant with small ovate leaves tapered at the end it produces masses of tiny white flowers clustered around the leaf axils in late winter which are followed by glossy black berries. Out of interest the male flowers are the visible ones the female flowers are in the same clusters but tiny. S. confusa is one of a number of varieties we offer. It is one of the taller ones and has pure green leaves and stems and very fragrant flowers almost certainly the most fragrant of all. An attractive evergreen that can be used for cutting it is primarily grown for its very strong heady fragrance which can often be detected metres from a group of bushes. For those of you with chalky soil Sarcoccoca is a must! This plant can be used in a mixed planting or as a stand alone specimen in the garden or a container. If planting in a pot or other container. Use a good quality John Innes compost as this plant will be there a long time and peaty types of compost eventually degrade and become too packed and choke the roots. Ensure you feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmoscote pro 12-14 month applied in the early spring. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires for the whole year. John Innes is a soils based compost. Variety hookeriana is very similar but is a more spreading lower growing variety.For more in .

Sarcococca confusa

Latin Name:Sarcococca confusa

Common Name:Christmas Box Sweet Box

Type:Medium Shrub

Hardiness:Hardy

Evergreen:Evergreen

Height:1 .5 - 2.5 mtrs

Spread:1- 1.5 Mtrs

Form of Growth:Upright

Rate of Growth:Slow

Flowers:Small white with yellow anthers

Fragrance:Very fragrant

Flowering Period:Late winter

Other Attributes:

Location:Shade or Semi Shade

Soil:Any well drained particularly good on chalk

Pruning:As required early spring

Difficulty:Easy

Properties

Height
1 cm
Color
Soil type
Any, Chalk
Sunlight
Partial shade, Full shade
PH
Acid, Neutral
Moisture
Moist but well-drained
Hardiness
Hardy