Northwest Blooms · Shrubs
Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis
Himalayan Sweet Box
- Family
- Buxaceae
- Height
- 1 to 2 feet
- Width
- 2 to 4 feet
- Flower color
- Small, fragrant flowers are white or creamy
- Foliage color
- Dark green, glossy leaves
- Bloom time
- Winter
- Light
- Partial to full shade
- Water
- Regular
- Maintenance
- Low
- Growing zone
- USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 9
- Wildlife
- Small black berries attract birds
About this plant
Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis produces tiny, intensely fragrant creamy white flowers with prominent pink to crimson anthers in winter, often perfuming the garden despite being partly concealed beneath the foliage. Narrow, glossy dark green leaves are leathery and evergreen, densely clothing slender stems throughout the year. Glossy black berries follow the flowers, adding subtle ornamental interest among the foliage. Underground shoots gradually create a spreading, finely textured groundcover that remains attractive through every season.
Native to western China, this low-growing form of sweet box is especially valuable for bringing fragrance and evergreen structure to shaded landscapes. Its spreading habit makes it well suited beneath trees and shrubs, along woodland paths, on shaded slopes and banks, and in foundation plantings, where the dense foliage can form broad, continuous colonies.
Works well in
Shade Gardens · Woodland Gardens · Fragrant Gardens · Borders
Companion plants
Mahonia · Rodgersia · Primrose · Japanese aralia · Bergenia · Maidenhair fern
Design tip
Allow Himalayan sweet box to spread beneath taller shrubs, where its low evergreen growth can knit together otherwise bare areas of soil. Its glossy foliage creates a finished look year-round while the taller canopy provides the shaded conditions it prefers.
