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Sweet Box

Sarcococca confusa

Sweet Box
Photo: Denis.prévôt, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sweet box is an evergreen shrub from western China, grown for its glossy leaves and honey-scented winter flowers. It is very adaptable, tolerating deep shade and dry soil, but needs damp soil if grown in sun or part shade.

Family
Buxaceae (Bux family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil damp in sun or part shade; it tolerates dry soil once established in deep shade.
Soil
Ordinary well-drained garden soil; tolerates a range of soil types.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates; protect young plants from severe frost.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Berries and other parts are generally considered poisonous to people if eaten; the sources do not specify symptoms.
Native range
China (Sichuan, Hubei)
Climate
temperate

About

Sarcococca confusa, the sweet box, is a species of flowering plant in the family Buxaceae, probably native to western China. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 1 m (3 ft) broad, with glossy green ovate leaves and honey-scented white flowers in winter, followed by glossy black spherical fruits, 5 mm in diameter.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other Sarcococca plants

Himalayan Sweet Box · Sweet Box · Christmas Box

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sarcococca confusa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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