Sarcococca confusa
Evergreen shrub with glossy dark-green leaves and fragrant winter flowers, followed by black berries, highly shade-tolerant and well suited for hedges or containers.
Common Names
Sweet Box, Christmas Box, Fragrant Sarcococca
Summary
Sweet Box is a dense evergreen shrub native to China with a compact, bushy habit and glossy dark-green, ovate leaves. In winter it bears fragrant creamy-white flowers, followed by glossy black berries.
It thrives in shade to partial shade and moist, well-drained soils, tolerating chalk, loam, clay, or sand and pH 4.5–7; grows slowly to about 1–2 m tall and about 1 m wide; hardy in USDA zones 6–9; deer- and rabbit-resistant; low maintenance with pruning after flowering; propagation by semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer or seed; suitable for borders, hedges, screens, patios, walkways, and containers; provides nectar for winter bees and berries for birds.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
3-5 ft
Spread
3-5 feet
Hardiness Zones
Zones 6-9
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally partial shade; tolerates full shade.
Soil Type
Moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil, pH around 6
Soil Drainage
Moist, well-drained soil
Soil pH
Tolerates all pH levels
Bloom Color
White to creamy-white
Bloom Time
Winter to Spring
Foliage Color
Dark green
Fall Foliage Color
No fall color
Leaf Lifecycle
Evergreen broadleaf
Growth Rate
Slow-growing
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Propagation Methods
Seeds and Cuttings
Attracts Wildlife
Bees, birds, other pollinators
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Sealy
- Publication
- J. Roy. Hort. Soc. 74: 302 (1949)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Buxales
- Family
- Buxaceae
- Genus
- Sarcococca