Wintersweet: How to Plant the Fragrant Wintersweet Shrub

Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox or Chimonanthus fragrans), known by its common name wintersweet, is a deciduous shrub that produces fragrant flowers with butter-yellow tepals for a short bloom time in winter. Since it is a deciduous flowering shrub, it is a member of both the Calycanthaceae family and Calycanthus genus. The plant is endemic to China, but people brought it to Japan, where it became a winter garden centerpiece, earning the colloquial nickname “Japanese allspice.”

Wintersweet produces its pale yellow flowers on bare branches in late winter, after its dark green leaves have fallen off. Since the winter flowers are the highlight of wintersweet, horticultural enthusiasts have bred a cultivar called Chimonanthus praecox 'Grandiflorus’ with larger, more fragrant wintersweet blooms. This plant type can grow to the size of a small tree.

Consider these important aspects of planting wintersweet to give your shrub the best chance of thriving:

• Plant wintersweet in a location that will receive full sun. A wintersweet thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 7–9. If you live in these temperate climate areas, carefully select a location in your garden that will receive full sun or partial shade.
• Plant this flowery shrub in a well-drained soil type. Dig a hole roughly twice the size of the root system of the seedling. Wintersweet plants can grow in either acidic or alkaline soils. When temperatures begin to drop in the fall, protect your root system with a few inches of mulch.
• Plant this winter-hardy plant in early spring. You will need to protect a young wintersweet seedling for several growing seasons before blooms appear. Plant this shrub in a location that has protection from heavy winds and surround it with other winter garden plants, such as witch hazel.

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