One truism we all learn and relearn over the holidays is that the best gifts don’t always come in the prettiest wrapping. (Remember those yellow suspenders that Aunt Betsy wrapped so magnificently?) Indeed, some of the most important planting surprises can come in the most unassuming forms. Quite often, the real garden winners are those that come dressed in the simplest packaging. Certain plants that become the dearest over time may start off shrinking into the background behind showier, frothier (and sometimes more fickle) ornamentals.
So it goes with the humble evergreen sarcococca shrub. Also known as sweet boxthe sarcococca or Christmas box (Sarcococca orientalis, S. confusa, S. ruscifolia) isn’t exactly the showiest number and is often dismissed as being a little boring. This small, evergreen shrub with its suckering ways is no towering beauty – but its glossy foliage, fragrant white flowers and dainty berries are sure to inspire devotion over time. Here’s why the sarcococca plant (also known as winter box) is such a gift for your garden, and how to make the most of your Christmas box plant.
How Festive is Christmas Box?
You aren’t likely to confuse the sweet box plant or Christmas box with a Christmassy tree. Yes, this shrub is an evergreen, but it’s a broadleaf evergreen, not a conifer. It has lush, glossy foliage rather than needles or tight green branches. And it generally only grows to 3-5 feet (1-1.5m) tall. It can get wide fast, however, since it uses suckers to form colonies.
If this description is not enticing, let’s consider some more impressive features of sarcococca sweet box, like its drought tolerance, deer resistance, pollution tolerance, and cold hardy character. It can thrive in sites where winter temperatures drop to -10 degrees F (-23°C), and thrives in USDA zones 6-8. The shrub is also long lived, and tolerates (indeed, prefers) shady sites.
Best of all, the Christmas box is a winter flowering shrubwith fragrant small white blooms covering its branches from January to March. Tiny creamy white flowers exude an intoxicating scent in late winter. These fragrant evergreen shrubs then produce tight clusters of berries, usually dark, but ranging from black to deep purple to red berrying varieties. You can buy ‘Fragrant Mountain’ Sweet Box from Nature Hillsfor a gorgeous container-friendly evergreen that flowers late winter and early spring.
(Image credit: Tom Meaker / Shutterstock)
The Allure of Sweet Box
I volunteer as a docent in the San Francisco Botanical Garden, which happens to have the largest collection of endangered magnolia trees outside of China. It hosts more than 200 magnolias (many rare and historic) with a bloom period in January and February. People come from all over the world to smell their intoxicating fragrance.
Of course, magnolia trees in bloom are just as beautiful as their fragrance suggests they might be, and often dramatically and emphatically so. With Christmas box, this is not the case. You may see them referred to as Christmas box trees, but they aren’t quite as memorable to look at as certain holiday evergreens and ornamentals. Indeed, the plants are so short, they are more accurately classified as shrubs than trees, and their flowers are termed inconspicuous.
But the Christmas box is nonetheless a lovely plant, both as a low maintenance evergreen and a fragrant flowering shrub. Each leaf is dark green, shiny and slightly rippled. And the scent of its flowers will create a romantic feel in the winter garden thanks to its sweet vanilla fragrance. Between the delightful berries, glossy foliage, and shiny berries, there are so many multi-season gifts in the humble Christmas box.
(Image credit: Tom Meaker / Shutterstock)
Growing a Christmas Box
If sweet-smelling garden plants appeal to you, the fragrant and hardy Christmas box is an easygoing evergreen to add to your backyard. This dense and compact shrub works equally well as an outdoor potted plant or an in-ground evergreen. You don’t even have to find a sunny location, since deep shade or partial shade is what this plant prefers. In fact, a full-sun placement turns its lovely leaves yellow.
You can plant at any time of year, as long as the ground isn’t frozen solid or waterlogged or excessively dry. Just make sure it is planted in soil with good drainage, ideally loamy, moist, acidic, and rich in humus. Use the Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon to check soil ph and moisture levels prior to planting.
Water your sarcococca shrub regularly for the first few months after planting. Once it is established, the Christmas box doesn’t need much water, Indeed, it thrives on neglect. This plant shrugs off pruning, so it’s no problem to trim it back in spring (after flowering) to keep it to your preferred height and shape. That said, you don’t need to prune it much, unless for tidying, shaping and more compact forms.
Sweet Box in the Garden
(Image credit: iPlantsman / Shutterstock)
Given the shrub’s shape and sucking ways, you may not be totally sure where to use it in the garden. It’s actually remarkably adaptable to different places, from patios and doorways to border plantings. Just make sure you choose a shady spot for these low maintenance shade plants. They aren’t fond of direct sunlight and produce their glossiest, richest green notes when they are allowed to dwell in lower light situations.
Next, don’t just plant one! Christmas box shrubs should be planted in groups to get the most intense aromas from its lovely perfumed blooms. Since it suckers and forms colonies, the shrub makes a good groundcover. But you could also place it in beds and borders near the patio, or right on it in a large container. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy that fragrance as much as possible. Sprinkle some mulch around the bases of shrubs to help regulate moisture levels in the ground. You can buy Back To The Roots Organic Mulch from Amazon and add it in fall or spring.
Christmas box is related to boxwoodand you can use it much the same way. These shade-loving plants work well as low border shrubs. Try clipping your sarcococca into a low formal hedge or plant around the edges of a cottage garden. I predict this shrub will quickly grow to become one of the most loved gifts in your winter garden.
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