Sweetshrub

Size, growth and what to expect

Sweetshrub grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It makes a rounded shrub of many stems, 6 to 12 feet tall and as wide or a little wider, and in time it spreads into a colony.

Maroon to reddish-brown flowers about 2 inches across open from April into May, and a few more follow into July. Their many strap-shaped petals give off a scent of strawberry, pineapple and banana, strongest in warm weather. The leathery, urn-shaped pods ripen in September and October and hang on through winter. The leaves turn a soft yellow in fall.

It grows wild in woods, along streams and at woodland edges from Virginia, eastern Kentucky and central Tennessee south to the Florida Panhandle and west to eastern Louisiana. Centuries of planting have blurred that range, and in states such as Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts it grows wild only where it has escaped from gardens. Ohio and Florida list it as endangered.

How to grow Sweetshrub

Sweetshrub grows in full sun to deep shade, and it does best in part shade with shelter from the hottest afternoon sun. It flowers more in sun and grows taller and looser in shade. It wants a rich, moist soil that drains well, and it takes clay and brief flooding but struggles in dry, sandy soil. It suckers into a colony, so pull stray shoots if you want a single clump. Plant it 6 feet from a wall and set plants 6 feet apart. It can stand within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship potted. Nursery stock can be slow to settle in. Plant it while dormant, in a hole wider than the pot and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and mulch over the shallow roots, clear of the stems. Water often until new growth starts. Pick the pods as they turn from green to brown, since seed from older pods rarely sprouts. Sow it outdoors at once, in fall. For spring, keep it in the refrigerator for three months first.

Water weekly through the first summer and in dry spells after that. Deer and rabbits seldom bother it. It flowers mostly on last year's wood, so prune right after flowering. Cut an old, leggy plant back hard to renew it.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, and beetles drawn by the fruity scent carry the pollen. Not every plant sets seed readily, and some flower heavily without fruiting. The seeds are poisonous if eaten. No pest or disease troubles it much, though crown gall and powdery mildew turn up now and then.