Carolina Allspice
Calycanthus floridus
Delightful, strawberry-like fragrance to maroon-brown flowers carried at the ends of leafy branchlets. Blooms are followed by brownish, pear-shaped capsules that are fragrant when crushed. Deciduous.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | kal-i-KAN-thus FLOR-i-dus |
| Key feature: | Fragrant |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Deciduous |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 5 - 9 |
| Light needs: | Partial shade to full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate grower to 10 ft. tall, 5 to 8 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Round |
| Flower attribute: | Fragrant |
| Special features: | Attracts Birds, Deer Resistant, North American Native Selection |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Firescaping/Fire Wise |
| Flower color: | Red |
| Blooms: | Late spring through mid-summer |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 1451 |
| Retailers for this plant: |
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. Pruning time: spring.
Design Ideas
Exceptional shrub for the all native gardens. Integrate into wild garden compositions for color and fragrance. Works well along fence lines and against bare walls. Superior background for the perennial garden or as low maintenance choice to the shrub border.
Companion Plants
Grow with other specatcular southeastern natives such as Yellow Trumpet Vine, (Campsis radicans 'Flava'), Hummingbird Summersweet, (Clethera alnifolia 'Hummingbird'), Glowlight Louisiana Iris, (Iris louisiana 'Glowlight') and Belle Etoile Mock Orange, (Philadelphus x lemoinei 'Belle Etoile').
History
This shrub is native to the American south, its range spanning many states from the Gulf Coast to Virginia and as far north as New York. It was named Calycanthus after the Greek for calix and flower, describing its characteristic colored calix. The current name was recorded in 1726. It is perhaps the most widely planted and beloved native of the southeast.
Lore
This shrub is called allspice because its flower fragrance resembles the culinary spice.
Delightful, strawberry-like fragrance to maroon-brown flowers carried at the ends of leafy branchlets. Blooms are followed by brownish, pear-shaped capsules that are fragrant when crushed. Deciduous.
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. Pruning time: spring.
Design Ideas
Exceptional shrub for the all native gardens. Integrate into wild garden compositions for color and fragrance. Works well along fence lines and against bare walls. Superior background for the perennial garden or as low maintenance choice to the shrub border.
Companion Plants
Grow with other specatcular southeastern natives such as Yellow Trumpet Vine, (Campsis radicans 'Flava'), Hummingbird Summersweet, (Clethera alnifolia 'Hummingbird'), Glowlight Louisiana Iris, (Iris louisiana 'Glowlight') and Belle Etoile Mock Orange, (Philadelphus x lemoinei 'Belle Etoile').
History
This shrub is native to the American south, its range spanning many states from the Gulf Coast to Virginia and as far north as New York. It was named Calycanthus after the Greek for calix and flower, describing its characteristic colored calix. The current name was recorded in 1726. It is perhaps the most widely planted and beloved native of the southeast.
Lore
This shrub is called allspice because its flower fragrance resembles the culinary spice.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | kal-i-KAN-thus FLOR-i-dus |
| Key feature: | Fragrant |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Deciduous |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 5 - 9 |
| Light needs: | Partial shade to full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate grower to 10 ft. tall, 5 to 8 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Round |
| Flower attribute: | Fragrant |
| Special features: | Attracts Birds, Deer Resistant, North American Native Selection |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Firescaping/Fire Wise |
| Flower color: | Red |
| Blooms: | Late spring through mid-summer |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 1451 |
