Chimonanthus praecox Seeds | Winter Sweet
LATIN NAME: Chimonanthus praecox
COMMON NAME: Wintersweet
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox is a shrub in the calycanthus family, native to China. Wintersweet opens its small, waxy, translucent, pale-yellow flowers on bare branches, and fine, sweet scent carries through cold garden. It is a shrub of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground. Its flowers draw a steady traffic of bees and other beneficial insects. Not many plants ask so little and repay so much.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the calycanthus family, Chimonanthus praecox contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. For practical purposes the message is encouraging: generations of cultivation have produced plants of predictable, well-mannered garden character.
Uses & Benefits
Wintersweet works well in borders, containers and dedicated beds. Wintersweet is a fine, quiet shrub of cold garden and study collection. It is a fine, quiet shrub of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden. Give young shrubs sunny, sheltered spot, and waxy flowers will come in winters to come. Establishment is uncomplicated, and afterwards ordinary care suffices.
Wintersweet flowers are among the most fragrant of all blossoms, used to scent teas in China and distilled for perfumery; the seeds are toxic and not for use.
Growing from Seed
Wintersweet is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
The medicinal tradition behind this species, outlined above, is a large part of its interest. Wintersweet settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Sun and good drainage cover most of its demands.
Related Reading
If Wintersweet appeals to you, these related plants are worth a look: