Sweet Box Purple Stem

A compact, slow-growing evergreen shrub, Sarcococca Purple Stem provides exceptional interest during the winter months, and is highly regarded for its elegant, multi-stemmed habit and striking, deep purple-pink young wood. It has slender, tapering, dark green leaves, which are held alternately along the distinctively coloured stems. From December through March, the leaf axils fill with clusters of small, delicate, white flowers accented by pink-purple bracts. While visually discreet, these blossoms produce an incredibly powerful, sweet fragrance that drifts across the garden on cold winter days. The flowers are eventually followed by glossy, rounded blue-black berries that persist alongside the evergreen foliage. This hardy, low-maintenance shrub is notably resilient and adapts with ease to difficult garden spots. It spreads slowly via underground running roots to form a clean, dense thicket. It handles urban atmospheric pollution well, is ignored by most pests, and shows excellent resistance to honey fungus.

Site: Sheltered
Soil: Fertile, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Adapts comfortably to acidic, neutral, or alkaline ground.
Position: Partial shade, deep shade
Season of interest: All year, late winter in particular
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: up to 3-4’ (1-1.2m) Spread: up to 3-5' (1-1.5m)