Sweetshrub or Calycanthus is a wonderful flowering shrub. The shrub blooms profusely and the unusual flowers last a long time in bouquets.
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Growing Calycanthus or Sweetshrub
If you are looking for a beautiful reblooming flowering shrub than look no further than Calycanthus or Sweetshrub. I can see where it comes by the name Sweetshrub because it is one sweet shrub! It has rapidly become one of my favorite flowering shrubs.
Flowering Shrub
As you can see, we have it growing in the back of our shrub bed. It pairs beautifully with the crepe myrtle and the azaleas, providing bloom in the gap between the azaleas bloom time and the crepe myrtles bloom time. It is about 6 feet tall, has been blooming since early May, and is hardy in zones 5-9.
Aphrodite from Proven Winners
This particle sweetshrub is Aphrodite from Proven Winners. It is super easy to grow. Blooms on old wood and new wood. Flowers in mid summer, late summer and early fall.
Gorgeous Flowering Shrub
But let's talk about those flowers! They are a deep wine color and look like faded silk. Seriously. The most gorgeous flowers, they don't even look real. The petals are thicker almost like a magnolia petal. They last forever in a bouquet. They are unusual enough to be total show stoppers on their own! I haven't tried drying them, but I will and let you know how it goes.
In case you missed it, last week I did a post on Growing Columbine:
Philippa Ellis says
My Aphrodite is doing very well. No deer browsing. Surprised to watch Baltimore orioles "feeding" on the flowers. Not sure if they were eating pollen or insects but they certainly spent time hopping around the shrub from one flower to another. A delightful, colourful scene.
Sheila Thompson says
I just came across one of these bushes and fell in love!! The flowers are so unique in shape and color but the flowers did not last in a vase. I make arrangements from cut flowers all the time with great success but these blooms started to flop even before I got them into the vase. Please let me know if there's anything special I could do because it says here that they last a long time in a vase....I'm confused🫤
Thanks!!
Pam Greer says
Wow, I don't know. Mine lasted so long. Was it really hot? Did they get stressed from the cutting?
Ann Luggen says
I’ve never had such rewarding?shrub as calycanthus. In cincinnati it’s very hard to find. Had to order via Home Depot. Grew 3+ feet a year. Giant trees. Now. Incredible flowers . Tree covered with flowers. Have two now. Comes in white also.
Pam Greer says
There is a really pretty wild variety that we see while hiking in Tennessee. Smaller flowers, but still pretty!
Pam Richardson says
The sweetshrub is a beautiful addition to any garden. Pam, the blooms are beautiful, they really do look like silk! You always have great gardening info. Thank you for linking to Gardens Galore!
Sandra at Maison De Jardin says
This lovely post made me homesick for our previous home in Va. I had 2 of these shrubs in our garden and I can still smell the wonderful fragrance. I would cut and dry the blossoms and put them in potpourri. They dry nicely and are a wonderful addition to potpourri which has orange peel.
Thanks for the memories!
Pam Greer says
I am definitely going to dry them now!
Lisa says
I love the flowers on this shrub. They really are beautiful. I would love to plant some in my yard but I am having a terrible problem with deer eating everything I plant. Do you have deer in your yard and if so, do they munch on sweetshrub?
Pam Greer says
We don't have any deer. The website says that it's deer resistant.
Christine says
Wow, I am going to have to look for that shrub next time I am out plant shopping. Which is in about ten minutes after seeing that! Beautiful flowers!
Pam Greer says
It's gorgeous, you'll love it!
Linda S says
These blossoms are just gorgeous!
Thank you for sharing them this week at our Encouraging Hearts & Home Blog Hop!