How to Plant a Sweet Shrub

Last Updated: February 7, 2023

Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus floridus) goes by a number of names. You may hear it called Carolina Allspice, the Strawberry Shrub, Bubby Rose or Sweet Betsy. This highly aromatic plant can be recognized by its red-brown flowers, said to resemble small magnolia flowers. It grows in US zones 4 to 9 fairly easily. Its distinct perfume has been described a mix of strawberry, cantaloupe and spiced apple. It has also been compared to bubblegum!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preparing Your Garden

1
Make sure you have enough space in your garden. It's important to be aware that Sweet Shrub lasts a long time and can be quite invasive. As a result, you may prefer it in a large garden as it may spread too wide if you only have a smaller patch.
- Sweet Shrub is a prolific seed producer but the plant tends to spread by putting out suckers that root themselves. You may want to be vigilant about that if you want to control the plant in your own garden.
- Also take care that it doesn't invade your neighbors! Pinch out suckers in the spring to contain the plant’s spread.
2
Be aware that sweet shrub can grow very tall. Sweet shrub plants not only spread widely, they can also grow very tall; some gardeners report varieties ten feet tall but 3–8 feet (0.9–2.4 m) tall is more common for a mature plant. They are also long-lived.

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3
Grow sweet shrub in moist, rich, slightly acidic soil. Sweet Shrub isn't fussy about the kind of soil it grows in, but it will do best in a moist, rich soil with plenty of room for growth.
- Avoid boggy locations or anywhere puddles tend to linger after rainfall. The plant won’t mind a clay soil.
- Sweet shrub also has a slight preference for neutral or slightly acid soil.
4
Plant your sweet shrub in a shady location. Sweet Shrub will grow in both sun and shade but usually favors shady locations. Sweet Shrub plants grown in full sun will grow more slowly and won’t reach the same height as shade-grown plants.^{[1]
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Research source} In nature the plant would grow in woody areas, so it thrives best in dappled shade.
- If you have a patch of trees in your yard that offer partial shade, consider planting Sweet Shrub underneath.
5
Make sure to plant Sweet Shrub in a location where you can enjoy its scent. Many people like to plant the Sweet Shrub bush in proximity to a house, seating area or pathway to fully benefit from the scent. It’s also common to plant them under windows to enjoy the fragrance inside the house.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Planting Sweet Shrub

1
Grow Sweet Shrub from seeds. Sweet Shrub can easily be grown from seeds. Simply sow the seeds in springtime (March or April), preferably in a shady area of the garden in rich, well-drained, loamy soil.
- Some gardeners are unlucky enough to chance upon an unscented variety when growing from seed. To prevent this, you can try planting more seeds than you need plants and removing any that emerge unscented when the plants eventually flower.
- It will take two or three years for a plant grown from seed to flower. Flowers first appear in mid-March and continue into May.
2
Grow Sweet Shrub from cuttings. Your Sweet Shrub will flower faster if you grow it from plant cuttings instead of from seeds. Take the cuttings from a scented bush and plant them in July.
- Plant the cuttings in the same conditions as you would the seeds and water until well-established.
- Growing Sweet Shrub from cuttings will eliminate the chance of you growing an unscented variety of the shrub.
3
Grow Sweet Shrub from a nursery plant. If you are buying a nursery plant, try to buy it while it is blooming to get an idea of the fragrance. Plant in loamy soil, in shade conditions.
- Alternately you can buy a named cultivar that is known for having a good fragrance. 'Michael Lindsey' is known for having a pleasant fragrance as well as attractive shiny leaves.
- Avoid taking plants from the wild as these are endangered in some areas.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Caring For Sweet Shrub

1
Prune sweet shrub in early summer, after flowering. Sweet Shrub requires little in the way of maintenance, but you may like to prune it to keep the plant in shape and prevent it from growing too wide. Pruning should be done immediately after flowering, which means in the early summer.
- Due to the fact that this plant spreads by producing side shoots known as suckers, you can control the width by pinching these off as they emerge.
- Thinning out old growth will usually ensure the new growth comes through more vigorously the following growing season.
2
Water sweet shrub frequently until well-established. After you have planted Sweet Shrub, it's important to keep it watered until it is well-established, regardless of whether you planted it from seed, cuttings or nursery plant.
- Once established, Sweet Shrub is very tolerant of dry conditions. As a result, it will only need light watering during periods of drought, when you should water it once a week.
3
Protect your Sweet Shrub from disease. Sweet Shrub doesn’t tend to be bothered by disease but root rot can occur in poorly-drained soil. To avoid this, don’t plant the bush where puddles form and don’t easily drain away.
- If you observe warty growths on stems close to the ground, this may indicate bacterial crown gall.
- The best solution is to remove the plant and surrounding soil to prevent re-infection.
4
Transplant Sweet Shrub in fall or winter. If you need to transplant Sweet Shrub, do it in fall or winter. Take cuttings in July if you wish to quickly reproduce from a parent plant.
- To reproduce a plant from suckers, take a rooted sucker and replant it until a proper root system is established before planting on.
- This is usually the fastest way to get a mature flowering plant.
5
Harvest the seeds once they turn brown. Wait until the seed pods turn brown if you wish to harvest the Sweet Shrub seeds. Don’t wait any longer though – the seeds are best planted mature but fresh.
- The seeds are best planted immediately. If this isn't possible, keep them for up to 3 months wrapped in moss inside a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
6
Don't eat any part of the Sweet Shrub plant. Although it has been eaten as a spice in the past, Sweet Shrub is poisonous in large enough quantities, especially the seed. Don’t confuse it will true Allspice, which is best purchased from the grocery store!

Community Q&A

Question

Is it alright to plant a sweet shrub next to a house, or is it too big?

Community Answer

Plant at least 5 feet from the foundation. The root system will invade the foundation.
Question

Why won't my shrub bloom?

Community Answer

Try putting it in more sunlight. Put your sweet shrub on a window pan near sunlight. Water it 2-3 times a day.
Question

Can I root Sweet Shrub in water?

Community Answer

Your Sweet Shrub will flower faster if you grow it from plant cuttings instead of from seeds. Take the cuttings from a scented bush and plant them in July. Plant the cuttings in the same conditions as you would the seeds and water until well-established. Growing them in water will be a bit slower, but it should work.

Warnings

Sweet Shrub may need winter protection in the first year, but once established it tends to be pretty resilient and can survive more severe conditions.

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