About seven years ago, I planted two Carolina allspice shrubs in my garden. I had seen this shrub in another garden and really liked the unusual looking flowers that appeared in summer. Carolina allspice or Calycanthus floridus is a deciduous shrub that grows about 6 to 9 feet tall and wide. It grows in zones 4 to 9 and it produces beautiful purple-red flowers that smell very fragrant and spicy. The blooms appear from April to July. The shrub has dark green leaves that are slightly rough to the touch.
Calycanthus or Carolina allspice is a Southeastern United States native shrub that prefers a sunny location in the garden but can tolerate part shade. It is a low maintenance plant that can survive in clay soil, has no serious insect or disease issues and the deer will leave it alone. It makes a great specimen plant around patio or entrance doors, due to the wonderful fragrant smell of the flowers that smell like a combination of pineapple, strawberry or banana. This shrub also goes by several different common names such as sweet bubby, sweet Betsy, spicebush, strawberry-bush and sweetshrub. What do I think about this shrub? It's a sweet shrub for the garden!
Happy Gardening!
Debbie