Wintersweet’s spicy smelling, wonderfully strange flowers make it one of the finest shrubs for winter effect. Borne on stiff naked stems, nodding waxy blooms produce a double row of petals: the outer pale yellow ones, nearly translucent and somewhat cupped, while the inner petals showcase purplish maroon streaks. Yielding sweetly scented essential floral oils employed in perfumes, sachets and tea flavorings, this beguiling Chinese denizen forges a rounded thicket-like deciduous green frame, cloaked with opposite, rough textured lance-shaped leaves. C. praecox, cultivated since 1000 BC, is enjoyed today near a threshold, south-facing wall or frequently trodden pathway, where it accepts either acidic or alkaline soil, but flourishes in bright well-draining sheltered abodes and requires little care.

Blooms December–February

Size: 8' 0" – 10' 0" high x 10' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 7.