Sweetshrub / Calycanthus floridus
Family: Calycanthus / Calycanthaceae
Characteristics: Sweetshrub is a deciduous flowering shrub with medium texture, medium growth rate, and an upright oval to mounding form. It tends to form colonies by spreading outward from the mother plant. Foliage is aromatic when crushed. Flowers, borne in April to May, are highly fragrant, with a clove-like aroma. Fall color is yellow.
Landscape uses: Use Sweetshrub as a specimen plant or grouped within a shrub border or woodland setting. A nice choice for a fragrance garden. It prefers moist, fertile soils in full sun to partial shade, but it is moderately tolerant of adverse conditions.
Size: 8 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet
Zones: 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Found in fertile woodlands along sandy streams and hillsides. Grows in acid soils in the Southeast, predominantly in the Piedmont and mountains.
Native to: Virginia to Florida.
Comments: A yellow-flowered cultivar is available in the nursery trade.