Attract butterflies and birds with a beautiful native spicebush. This shrub has colorful fall foliage, red berries and pretty spring flowers.
How to Grow a Spicebush Shrub
- Common name: Spicebush, Northern spicebush
- Scientific name: Lindera benzoin
- Zones: 4 to 9
- Size: 6 to 12 feet tall and wide
- Water needs: Moist, well-draining soil
- Light needs: Full sun to partial shade
Spicebush gets its name because its yellow spring blooms give off a sweet, spicy fragrance. In fall, the shrub produces shiny red berries that birds love to eat. About 6 to 12 feet tall and wide when grown, and nicely shaped, this hardy host plant is happiest when growing in moist, well-draining soil. It will also tolerate damp soils along creeks and steam beds, and works well in low woodlands and swampy areas. As you might suspect, it’s the perfect specimen plant for a rain garden.
What Does Spicebush Look Like?
This shrub, native to the eastern North America, will turn up the heat in your borders and is a gorgeous problem solver for the low, wet areas in your landscape. Radiant yellow blooms offer a pop of spring color before the leaves unfurl. Spicebush’s fall foliage is also an eye-catching golden yellow hue. Once the foliage drops, watch for bright red fruit to steal the show (note: you will need both a male and female plant to produce fruit).
Read on for Korean spice viburnum care and growing tips.
Spicebush Wildlife Benefits
Wood thrushes, gray catbirds, northern cardinals, and many more bird species will flock to backyards in fall to gobble up the juicy red berries that provide essential fuel during migration. It’s also a host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, other types of swallowtails and the promethea silk moth, which lay eggs on the leaves. On the flip side, deer typically leave this shrub alone.
See more of the top 10 swallowtail host plants to grow.
