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Lindera benzoin (Spicebush)

Photo/Illustration: Susan A. Roth

(Based on 2 user reviews)

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Hardiness Zones:

Botanical Name: Lindera benzoin lin-DARE-ah BEN-zo-in Common Name: Spicebush Genus: Lindera

This dioecious shrub has much to offer the garden. Male plants have showier, tiny, pale yellow flowers in early spring, but the female counterparts take center stage in early fall, when they're laden with half-inch-diameter berries that turn from green to yellow to high-gloss crimson. About the same time, the leaves turn a hypnotic soft yellow and make the red berries visually pop. Spicebush becomes a large, 5- to 8-foot-tall shrub that is slightly wider than tall. It is the preferred food for the black and blue spicebush swallowtail butterfly larvae.
Noteworthy characteristics: Aromatic foliage, showy fruit, good autumn color. Host plant for swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
Care: Grow in partial sun to light shade and wet to moderately dry soil. Plant a male and a female plant for berries.
Problems: Infrequent.

Overview
User Reviews
Photos

Height	6 ft. to 10 ft.
Spread	6 ft. to 10 ft.
Growth Habit	Clumps
Light	Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture	Medium Moisture
Maintenance	Low
Characteristics	Attracts Birds; Attracts Butterflies; Fragrant Flowers; Fragrant Foliage; Native; Showy Fall Foliage; Showy Flowers
Bloom Time	Early Spring
Flower Color	Yellow Flower
Uses	Beds and Borders, Naturalizing, Waterside
Style	Shade, Woodland Garden
Seasonal Interest	Spring Interest, Fall Interest
Type	Shrubs

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posted by Dogweak
9/29/2012
Region: Northeast
Zone: 5

FG's description above is spot-on! A favorite woodland shrub. Tolerates average to moist soil and shade; often seen on edges of wet woodlands. Medium-green foliage turns golden yellow in early fall. Fuzzy yellow flowers in early spring. Host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar; resistant to deer and other pests. Can get to be 7-8' tall and wide. Nice natural shape, but can be lightly pruned to keep a little smaller. May be hard to find in nurseries.

posted by eartharto
5/17/2010
Region: Midwest
Zone: 5

Lindera is one of my favorite local natives for myriad reasons. The twigs have a very nice sassafras-like flavor, but deer don't seem to bother them(knock wood)while munching on most everything else in my area. I've transplanted many 4' to 5' specimens successfully from wooded areas where they were plentiful to similar conditions in woodland gardens. I've seen them available in a garden center ONCE, and the small sheared plants bared little resemblance to the lovely native specimens. The flowers are small but noticeable in the spring, but the golden-yellow fall color makes the woodland understory glow. The bright red berries on the females are lovely, though sparse in my experience. While usually 4' to 6' individual specimens, I have seen a localized thicket of 8' to 10' plants. Spicebush definitely deserves wider use in naturalistic plantings.

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