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Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower, form by Uryah

Photo by UryahView Original Photo

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox distinctive bark, flower by Kenpei

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower by Uryah

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox foliage, fruit by Luigi Chiesa

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox fruit by Kenpei

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox foliage by Kenpei

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower by Danger Garden

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox by Grace Peterson

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower by Kristine Paulus

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower by Anna Kullgren

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox landscape by Anna Kullgren

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox flower by plant lust

Photo of Chimonanthus praecox fruit by manuel m. v.

Buy Chimonanthus praecox

Also Known As

Chimonanthus fragrans
Fragrant Wintersweet
Japanese Allspice
Wintersweet

Plant type

shrub

size

H: 8'-15'
W: 8'-12'

planting zones

7a-10b

1 gallon bagged root ball | $45

Ships UPS, flat charge based on order total

Fewer than 29 at Gossler Farms

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Chimonanthus praecox plant details

Chimonanthus praecox is an easy to grow, slow-growing broadleaf deciduous shrub with green foliage. In spring and winter purple and yellow flowers emerge. Drought tolerant once established. Does well in average, rich and well-drained soil.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Chimonanthus praecox

Plant type: shrub
Plant family: calycanthaceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 8 FT - 12 FT - wide, 8 FT - 15 FT - tall
Flowers: purple and yellow blooms in spring and winter
Uses: fragrant, winter interest, year round interest

GROWING CONDITIONS for Chimonanthus praecox

USDA Zones: 7a - 10b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade

Soil needs: average, rich and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

This shrub is an absolute delight for your senses! Incredible, sweetly fragrant winter flowers are waxy and pale-yellow with a burgundy center. These delicious blooms appear on bare branches in late-winter perfuming the entire garden. This large (10-15') shrub has outstanding glossy dark green lance-shaped leaves that make it a wonderful backdrop for other plants; the foliage turns butter-yellow in autumn. Used in China for over 1,000 years in cosmetics and as a tea flavoring; make sure to plant this shrub where you can enjoy its sublime scent. S/M

By: Forestfarm

Can't believe we have these again! Most wholesalers are deleting plants that don't sell hundreds (thousands) per year. This is obviously not a huge seller but the scent in January-February is fabulous. The flowers are small (1/2") yellow with the center petals purple. Needs light to bloom heavily. I saw a plant last spring with thousands of flowers. Delicious fragrance.

By: Gossler Farms

Fragrant inch-long, many-petaled flowers in spring on the bare branches, the outer petals sulfur-yellow, the inner petals marked purple-brown. Deciduous shrub to 12 feet with glossy green 6" leaves. China.

By: Avant Gardens

An unusual deciduous shrub that blooms 6-8 weeks ahead of the ubiquitous Forsythia. Cut branches bearing fragrant yellow flowers bring refreshing good cheer when arranged indoors.

By: Heritage Seedlings

Deciduous, pale yellow, fragrant, winter flowers. Related to Calycanthus. Does best when planted in dappled shade not full sun. Zone 6-9. 10', China, part shade, humus rich well drained

By: Keeping it Green Nursery

First of all, I took this pic yesterday, December 27 so you see this Wintersweet is in full flower, and more important, it is in full fragrance; so as I go out my office door (just to the left of the window that you see there), I feel the sweetness to my toes. This is a pretty straggly large shrub (8'), but it is fairly well contained, so it is not a nuisance; and even if it were, it's winter offering would make up for it. zone 6

By: Whitman Farms

An unknown, unassuming plant that delivers the same impact in your garden in gray days of winter as when you're walking thru a mall and some store (Victoria's Secret comes to mind) is pumping scent out the door! Ranking up there with magnolias, lilacs and winter honeysuckle in the scent department, the fragrance is not overpowering but spicy and lemon-like and romantic. Like lilacs, most of the year it doesn't add anything to the garden but its mass, which isn't unattractive, just not particularly noticeable. HOWEVER, the scent in the dreary dead of winter earns this plant a spot in your shrub border. Just under-plant it with bulbs and let a Clematis or other vine scramble around through it for interest if you need to dress it up for the other season when it isn't the absolute star of the garden. Has fairly nice yellow fall color. Can be pruned to tree form.

By: Lazy S'S Farm Nursery

This multistemmed shrub single trunk tree if trained is an excellent addition to the small yard. It bears very fragrant, translucent yellow, purple tinted flowers in winter and grows to 10-15' at maturity but can be cut 6-12" from the ground in late winter to rejuvenate if necessary. Adaptable to many soil types, but requires good drainage. Enjoys full sun to partial shade.

By: Greer Gardens Inc.

Bare wintertime branches are adorned with pendent fragrant yellow flowers with a reddish-purple eye in June and July, and then bright red bracts that clasp shiny black berries. A feast for the nose. Deciduous shrub 8-10' tall and wide.