Symplocos Seeds | Symplocaceae
LATIN NAME: Symplocos
COMMON NAME: Sweetleaf
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Sweetleaf, Symplocos is a shrub in the sweetleaf family. Sweetleaf glazes twigs with small, white flowers, smooth, glossy leaves around them, and the whole shrub carries the fine, fresh look of the shaded woodland. It is a plant of shaded, deep, rich, moist, well-drained ground. Bees find the flowers quickly, and that pollinator traffic is a garden benefit in its own right. It is the sort of plant that quietly justifies the space it occupies.
Science & Biotechnology
Symplocos sits in the sweetleaf family, a group that keeps botanists, horticulturists and plant breeders busy with questions of classification, adaptation and ornamental potential. Continuing work by breeders and collectors keeps good seed of this species moving through the trade.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Sweetleaf has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Sweetleaf is a fresh, useful plant of shaded woodland and study collection. It is a fresh, useful plant of shaded, deep, rich, moist, well-drained garden. Sweetleaf seeds prefer a sandy, gritty mix in a shaded, cool place with steady moisture. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Symplocos species are refined evergreens of Asian forests; some yield traditional dyes and folk astringents.
Growing from Seed
Starting Sweetleaf from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray bright light. Pot the young plants on as they grow, harden them off gradually, and plant them into their final positions when sturdy.
Our Take
Being a shrub, it asks for a permanent spot and repays it yearly. In a sunny, freely drained position it needs little looking after.
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