Sweet Box is a shade-loving, evergreen, low shrub that matures to about 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. The plant spreads slowly by rhizomes to form a colony and does best in shady areas of the landscape. The dark green evergreen leaves provide an attractive winter interest with small, fragrant white flowers that bloom in the spring. Sweet box is drought tolerant, but leaves can lose their luster and become yellowish if grown in sun. It is particularly resistant to damage by deer. The genus name comes from the Greek words sarkos meaning flesh and kokkos meaning a berry in reference to the fleshy fruits. The species name honors Sir Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), a British botanist and explorer who was a director of Kew Gardens Sweet Box does best in organically rich, acidic, moist, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade with consistent moisture. Established plants have some drought tolerance and are cold hardy to about -10 F. You can prune the shrub in spring after flowering to maintain an attractive shape and desired height. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests. VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I: Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II: Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Mounding; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Opposite; Other/more complex
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf feel
Leathery
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Lustrous dark green leaves, 3 1/2 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide and slender pointed are evergreen. Typically alternate, but occasionally opposite.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Tiny, apetalous (without petals), unisexual, tubular, fragrant, white flowers (1/2 inch long) bloom in the leaf axils in March-April.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Female flowers give way to globose, shiny black fruits to 1/3 of an inch wide.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China, Central and Eastern Himalaya to South Eastern Tibet