Aphrodite Hybrid Sweetshrub

Common Name: Aphrodite Hybrid Sweetshrub

Scientific Name: Calycanthus x ‘Aphrodite’

Origin: Calycanthus chinensis is native to China; Calycanthus occidentalis is native to western U.S.

Family: Calycanthaceae

Bloom time: Summer

A different form of sweetshrub than we all may have been used to. This hybrid of a Chinese species and a western U.S. native species forms a rather large shrub up to 8 feet in height or larger. The blooms start in summer and continue on and off throughout the season. Many people mistake this for a magnolia with its giant 3- 4-inch magenta red blooms.