I am keeping the three i have growing in a more shady location as well. Growing very slowly and I have given up on all the other seeds, but happy three made it.

That is great, the experiment goes on. They get very big, so before you plant them where they are going to remain, be sure to have enough space or you will be very unhappy. The Michael Lindsey has grown about two feet since I bought it about three years ago. The #2 I would guess is not 7 feet tall and the #3 is a good 11 feet tall. Wide also. In fact we were just discussing when and how to trim them as to not mess up next years blooms and, I hope to have more seeds this fall. Enjoy the fruits of your labor ladies. I know I am.

I have no more room in the ground here so if these babies survive they will be in pots.

I have been following your experiment and Glad you got some germination. In South Carolina the plant is apparently native but I don't know that I've ever noticed it. Found this on the Clemson University home gardening site:

Sweetshrub naturally grows as an understory shrub in mixed deciduous forests, along streams and in moist woodlands. Although it is easy to grow and adaptable, it’s ideal growing conditions are similar to those of its native habitats. For best results, plant sweetshrub in moist, well-drained, loamy soil, ideally in dappled or part shade. It is not salt tolerant.

I goes on to say plants grown in full sun will be shorter.

If anyone has too many seedlings I will happily buy or trade for one.

Please contact me at [email protected] and I will discuss what I have available.

SCButtercup said:I have been following your experiment and Glad you got some germination. In South Carolina the plant is apparently native but I don't know that I've ever noticed it. Found this on the Clemson University home gardening site:

Sweetshrub naturally grows as an understory shrub in mixed deciduous forests, along streams and in moist woodlands. Although it is easy to grow and adaptable, it’s ideal growing conditions are similar to those of its native habitats. For best results, plant sweetshrub in moist, well-drained, loamy soil, ideally in dappled or part shade. It is not salt tolerant.

I goes on to say plants grown in full sun will be shorter.

If anyone has too many seedlings I will happily buy or trade for one.

Thanks for that information. That environment is totally opposite of what we have here ! Poor little things do not have much of a chance here but I will do my best with the 3 I did get to germinate.

All of mine are in full sun and they are beautiful...they are just shorter by a few inches. The one is almost 12 ft. tall. The other two are cultivars that are smaller in size. They will grow in full sun with no problem...it is just that they will be shorter in height. The new seedlings I have were all raised in full sun most of the day.
Sorry to disagree, but that is just not something that you can say happens all the time. If they are planted in the shade they may grow taller, but do they grow as round and full as those in full sun? I can not find that answer. They also adapt to most any soil but they do like water. The only water the big ones get is when it rains or snows. They are out in the middle of a field with other shrubs and they are happy as can be.

There is something I must add to this thread. When we first started this I had thought I had three different shrub seeds. One was Michael Lindsey, one was Venus and the other was just called Spicebush. I found out later, my so called Venus was in fact not a Venus at all. All Venus are WHITE.....MY VENUS IS NOT. This is what happens when you get plants from a place that has a problem keeping the identification tags in the proper pots. I was really upset when I looked back on the invoice and I was charged for a Venus, when in fact I got a regular Carolina Sweetshrub instead. Now I am just annoyed and have decided since this has happened before at this particular place I am finished buying from them. They shall remain nameless but if anyone wants to know who they are you can send me a Tmail. I just want people to know that the error in the posts calling that bush a Venus was not intentional. I did not know until I was told by someone I had made an error and then it dawned on me. I was only going by what was on the invoice and what was left of the tag which was not much since it blew away in the storm. I also was not aware that ALL VENUS ARE WHITE. So, I learned something new again and am so grateful to the man who told me I had made a mistake. You are never too old to learn. Thanks again to all who have helped make this a very interesting experience.

I bought a venus online too. No flowers yet. If it does not come out white, I will be super upset. I bought mines from Amazon from a seller called Hirt's. As well as a sweetshrub as well. I am awaiting flowers to find out. Will probably take another year to know. Sigh. The thought of the wrong plant. Sigh.

Oh God...that is who I bought mine from that turned out NOT to be white. Please look out for Hirt ....they have been making mistakes lately that are costly to everyone. They sent me the wrong plant three times in a row and I finally had them cancel the order and told them to take it down from ebay and amazon. I am finished with them for sure. I will be anxious to see if your sweetshrub is white. Good Luck.

I bought seeds from them once. None sprouted.

Karen

If anyone wants seeds from Michael Lindsey, which is the hybrid and has a fabulous fragrance or #2, which was supposed to be Venus and is not....I have plenty to share and I will be happy to send them to you. Just send me a message with an address and what you want.
Michael Lindsey


No. 2...Unknown cultivar
Carolina allspice is what we can call it without.

Sorry for not keeping you updated, but I'm fighting cancer, so everything was neglected. I had a good germination in all 3 and kept 1 or 2 from each. They are still alive, but don't know if they will survive winter. They are all in pots, had no energy to do more..
Will update you next spring.

Joanna so sad to hear you are fighting cancer. I pray you win the battle !

I'm so sorry Jonna. Wishing you the very best. Please check in when you can and let us know how you are doing.

Karen

JONNA...I am so sorry to hear you are having some health issues. I hope your recovery is going well. I am certain that hope and prayers are the answer plus good meds of course. I spent 10 years of my life working for the American Cancer Society and back then they were making progress. I do hope your country has been doing the same. You take care and thanks so much for responding. We will pray for you and your family. Do not give up the fight....you can win.

And thanks, Jonna, for all the seed you've given me.
Godspeed

How are you doing Jonna? Kick cancer in the buttocks.

JB or anyone on here. Can you help me figure this out. What are the difference between all of the calycanthus plants?

I bought one labeled as Aphrodite red. Then a Venus. I bought seeds for floridus and Athens.

If they are all different. May I ask for seeds for the Michael Lindsay and the Carolina all spice if I do not currently have it. If I do have it from the list above. This seems a bit confusing according to the names and labels.

Update on my plants. I didn't label then after transplant so everything is mixed up. I am not sure what seeds made it and what didn't. I hope at least one floridus and 1 Athens made it.

JB update on my plants I bought that seemed like 1 year old when I got it that is now 2 years old has flower buds. The calycanthus Aphrodite is red and seems like the petals are sorta roundish. I awaiting for the buds to bloom. The Venus is a smaller bush but also has buds. It doesn't seem like red. Hopefully the flowers are white. It looks sorta greenish white. Once they bloom I will post a picture. I ended up giving them to my mother to plant at her house. I tend to give her most of the plants I buy and grow. It makes her house pretty and makes her happy.

My baby plants from seeds are growing very slowly. It seems about 6inches tall or so with about 8-10 leaves I recall. When I take pix of the plants, I will try take pix of the seedlings too. How is everyone's seedlings doing from the experiment now?

Here is a bit of information. I'm sure that other folks can add more information.
Calycanthus floridus/Common Sweetshrub/Carolina Allspice/Sweet Bubby; flowers are a dark or chocolate brown or maroon color and very fragrant.
It is a plant native to the US.
Cultivars:
'Athens' has yellowish flowers; plant grows to 6 feet tall.
'Edith Wilder' has reddish-brown flowers; plant grows to 10 feet tall.
'Michael Lindsey' has red-brown flowers; plant grows 6-10 feet tall.
=
'Aphrodite' and 'Venus' are not native to the US.
I believe they would be called 'complicated hybrids' as they were created first by crossing two plants, then crossing the resulting plant with a third plant. If you save seeds from them, there is no telling if the seeds would be viable, and if viable, no telling what type of plant would grow from the seeds. If you bought seeds online from eBay or another seller, there is no way to know what seeds you actually received.

'Aphodite' is a cross/hybrid. The parents are a hybrid of Calycnathus floridus crossed with C. chinensis; the result was crossed with C. occidentalis to make a new plant called 'Aphrodite'.

'Venus' should have white flowers with some markings of purple and yellow. This is also a cross/hybrid made from Calycanthus floridus/C. occidentalis and C. chinensis.

Greene, you are great. I have no clue how to answer that except I do know the the Venus I bought turned out not to be a Venus at all. The flowers are same color as the rest of the three I have and only one of them has a nice strong fragrance and that is the Michael Lindsey. The other two I have never had cultivars mentioned and do not have a fragrance to speak of. I get so frustrated when these nurseries online mislead you with descriptions and no names. I should know better. But, they are lovely and still are beautiful plants for any garden. Here is a picture of the early forming of buds this year on the plant I thought was Venus....but as I said is far from white.