Christmas box
Sarcococca confusa · Buxaceae
A neat, glossy, evergreen shrub of deep shade. Its tiny white flowers, hidden among the leaves in midwinter, scent the air for metres around. Black berries follow.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early January to early March
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Christmas box
The planner designed this bed around Christmas box when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Christmas box stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Christmas box × 1, white
- 2 Green-and-gold × 8, yellow
- 3 Leadwort × 10, blue
- 4 Solomon's seal × 5, white
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Coral bells 'Berry Smoothie' × 3, red leaves
- 7 Snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 10, yellow
Why this plant
- The only fine leaves here. The rest are medium and bold. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- A classic partner for snowdrop. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does Gray's sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Gray's sedge (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early January to early March.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by Solomon's seal and Christmas box, the tallest plants on the plan. The scheme leans hot (yellow) and uses blue for relief, with white and green to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Christmas box goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Plant it by a door or path used in winter. It thrives in dry shade under trees, takes clipping, and makes a low, informal hedge.
- Winter scent by a door
- Evergreen structure in deep shade
- Low hedges under trees
What to plant with Christmas box
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late March; bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Snowdrop: takes over when it finishes, flowering from early March; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Autumn fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (22 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Christmas box
Does Christmas box need sun or shade?
Christmas box grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Christmas box grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Christmas box flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early January to early March. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Early January to late February |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Early January to mid February |
| Zone 8 | Early January to early February |
| Zone 9 | Early January to early February |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Christmas box be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Christmas box plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Christmas box poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Christmas box?
Christmas box comes from China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Inkberry 'Shamrock': the same job in a bed; 4 in wider, grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Pee Wee': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in shorter, flowers mid June to early August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Christmas box?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after Christmas box?
Christmas box is over by early March. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lenten rose: from late March to early May, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Snowdrop: from early March to late March, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Polyanthus primrose: from late March to mid May, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Christmas box look like in winter?
Christmas box keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone. It is grown for winter scent by a door as well.
More Sarcococca
- Sweet box Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- The first flowers of spring
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early January to early March; dense clusters; white, cream
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Buxaceae
- Comes from
- China
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.