Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna, 2L
Sarcococca hookeriana var. dignya is a well kept secret. Plant this delightful and compact evergreen shrub in a container by the front door or along a well trodden path and the scent it emits in late winter will repay your efforts. Hardy and undemanding, it prefers to be in the shade and produces inedible but decorative black berries in late spring.
Dimensions
- Pot size: 2L
- Height and Spread: 50-100cm (21½-24in) x 100-150cm (12-24in) after 5-10 years
Features
Sarcococca hookeriana var. dignya is a well kept secret. Plant this delightful and compact evergreen shrub in a container by the front door or along a well trodden path and the scent it emits in late winter will repay your efforts. Hardy and undemanding, it prefers to be in the shade and produces inedible but decorative black berries in late spring.
The challenging Latin name - Sarcococca - comes from the Greek words for flesh and berries; dignya means ‘two women’ or in this case two carpels. Hookeriana refers to Joseph Dalton Hooker, a brilliant Victorian botanist (a great friend of Darwin) who found the shrub in the Sikkim Himalayas.
- Flowers: December onwards followed by shiny black berries which are purely ornamental and not to be eaten.
- Hardy
- Evergreen
- Moist, well drained soil
- Shade or partial shade preferred
- West, east or north facing
- Sheltered
Because this is a suckering shrub, it will spread by shooting suckers from its base. Remove these by pruning in the spring and apply a good layer of well rotted mulch or compost around the base.
Heady vanilla