Wintersweet is a deciduous flowering shrub in the Calycanthaceae family, native to forested areas of China, but has been introduced to Japan. The genus name comes from the Greek words cheimon, meaning winter and anthos, meaning flower. The specific epithet means very early in reference to bloom time. Winter sweet grows vigorously to 10 to 15 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide in full sun to partial shade. It prefers moist, well-drained soils and is drought-tolerant once established. Prune if needed after blooming to help control size and shape. Keep in mind the shrub blooms on old wood. It is best propagated from softwood cuttings, as plants started from seed can take up to 10 years to bloom. In warmer winter areas, the flowers can start appearing in December and continue through March. In colder areas, flowers may not appear until February or March. Masses of cup-shaped flowers with pale yellow-green outer petals and shorter reddish-purple inner tepals appear before the leaves. They are pollinated by flies, hoverflies and early spring bees. Shiny dark green leaves appear in spring and turn yellow in the fall. Two of its cultivars have received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society Use winter sweet in the winter or cottage garden, in a courtyard setting or in mixed shrub hedges. Quick ID Hints : Opposite leaves, rough to the touch. Cane-like growth, fountain-shaped bush Yellow, fragrant winter flowers, purplish inside Deciduous shrub, blooms in winter, when leafless Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I: Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II: Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Multi-stemmed; Multi-trunked
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Cuneate; Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are green lighter color.ed veins. Opposite, simple, lustrous, dark green leaves; 2.5-6 in. long; yellow-green fall color. Ovate-lanceolate, entire, acuminate, cuneate, rough to the touch.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy; White
Flower value
Fragrant
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
0.7-1 in. waxy, yellowish-white, cupped flowers in winter to early spring on leafless stems. The flowers are fragrant with purple centers and occur on the previous season's growth. The inner tepals brown or purple, outer tepals yellow.