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Illicium, also known as anise shrub, is a genus of flowering shrubs, with 38 known species. Of those, two are most commonly found in our NC landscapes, Illicium floridanum and Illicium parviflorum. These are both medium-to-large evergreen shrubs, mostly valued for their ability to create a screen or hedge, and both have an interesting flower display. Illicium floridanum, as you might have guessed, is native to Florida, as well as several other southeastern states, Mexico, and Central America. It typically grows 6-10 feet tall and grows best in moist, acidic soils in full to partial shade. When crushed, the leaves emit a smell similar to licorice or the spice anise, hence the common name. This odor is pleasant, and a helpful identification feature that distinguishes this plant from others with similar shaped leaves. The flowers are maroon and have a small central disk with radiating slender petals, creating the visual of a multi-pointed star when they open in summer. The blooms are also fragrant, although the fragrance is not necessarily pleasant. It’s often described as ‘fishy’ or ‘oily,’ but it is not usually noticeable unless you’re actively trying to smell the flowers. There are a few interesting cultivars of Illicium floridanum that have features that are slightly different than the species. ‘Shady Lady’, for example, has variegated foliage with dark green blades and creamy white margins. ‘Halley’s Comet’ has ruby red flowers that are slightly larger than normal for the species. ‘Aztec Fire’ has reddish-burgundy flowers that last from late spring through fall. Finally, ‘Swamp Hobbit’ is a dwarf variety, slowly growing to a mature size of 2 feet high by 5 feet wide. It also has, let’s face it, a pretty great name.
Top left: A flower on a stem of Illicium floridanum, Anise shrub. Photo: S. Zona, CC BY-NC 2.0 Bottom left: Immature fruit. Photo: D. Hill, CC BY 2.0 Right: The clumping, full form of illicium parviflorum. Photo: J. Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Illicium parviflorum is similar in many ways, particularly in terms of its preferences for soil and sun exposure, and its region of native origin. Key differences are that I. parviflorum typically grows to a larger size, at 10-15 feet high by about 10 feet wide. Bloom time is slightly earlier than I. floridanum, and the flowers have a pleasant, though somewhat faint, scent that is generally preferable to the less pleasing scent of I. floridanum types. The most notable of the I. parviflorum cultivars is ‘Florida Sunshine,’ a dwarf variety introduced by North Carolina’s own Plant Delights Nursery. At a height of 6-12 feet, this dwarf variety is slightly smaller than the typical species, though most Florida Sunshine cultivars that I’ve seen have been on the low end of that range. Flowers are yellow, and the foliage is a yellow-green, almost chartreuse color, which stands out and impacts the landscape twelve months out of the year.  'Florida Sunshine' is a dwarf variety introduced by North Carolina's Plant Delights Nursery. The bright yellow-green foliage provides vibrant color all year. Regardless of which Illicium makes the most sense for your landscape, note that the most important consideration when placing and planting them is to ensure they receive adequate shade. These plants are valued primarily for their foliage, whether it’s the ornamental appeal of the variegated ‘Shady Lady’ or the chartreuse ‘Florida Sunshine,’ or the dense lime-green coverage of any other type. When grown in too much sun, the leaves will burn along the margin, diminishing the aesthetic value substantially. As always, choose the right plant for the right place.
Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.
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Spring officially begins each year on the Vernal Equinox on March 20th. That’s what your calendar says. Ask a group of gardeners when the first day of spring is, however, and you might be surprised by some of the answers you’ll hear. Some might site the day of our last predicted frost, the day it’s ‘safe’ to plant annuals and warm season vegetables. In our area this is roughly April 15th. Some might pick the day their favorite spring-blooming tree or shrub blooms, whether it’s forsythia, dogwood, redbud, cherry, or something else. That could be just about any time in March or early April, depending on which plant they select. Some might choose the bloom time of the first “spring” bulb, be it daffodil, crocus, or tulip. That could mean their definition of spring starts as early as January or February. Still others will pick the first day it’s warm enough to work outside without a jacket. Perhaps it’s the unpredictability of the weather, changing from year to year, or the way some winters linger longer than others and some springs start early. Whatever the reason, it can be tough to build consensus on whether plants that bloom around this time are ‘winter-blooming’ or ‘spring-blooming,’ particularly if their blooms last long enough to blend officially or unofficially from one season to the next. Sometimes the common names of the plants give us a hint, at least of what the botanists want us to believe. One such plant is the winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum  Above: Winter jasmine provides an early bold flash of color, blooming in January or February. This plant is a rapid grower, with shrubs up to four feet tall, and vines growing 10-15 feet tall. The flowers appear before the leaves. Photo: Margrit, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Winter jasmine is often confused with forsythia, another early-blooming shrub. Both have golden yellow flowers that are similarly tubular-shaped. Both bloom at a time when relatively few flowers are to be found in most landscapes. Winter jasmine, however, blooms as much as three to five weeks before forsythia in most years, meaning it may start flowering in January, certainly by February. Because of their similarities, they fill similar niches in the landscape – an arching deciduous shrub that provides an early bold flash of color to give a hint of what is to come in the remainder of spring and summer.
Above left: Bright yellow flowers pair with bright green stems to provide a welcome burst of color in the winter garden. Above right: The glossy green leaves grow opposite on the stem and are trifoliate (the leaf is divided into three leaflets). Both photos: J. Robbins CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Winter jasmine is native to Tibet and central China. As non-natives go, it is fairly well behaved. Branch tips touch the soil root easily, so if not attended, can creep from being an individual shrub to more of a thicket of multi-stemmed growth. From that standpoint, winter jasmine can be a bit ‘messy;’ however, it is usually not weedy from the standpoint of setting seed and popping up in unwanted places. An attentive gardener can keep it under control without extraordinary effort. It grows best in full to partial sun. It will tolerate heavy shade and grow reasonably well, but flowering will be limited in shade. Unlike forsythia which is somewhat non-descript in appearance once the flowers fade, winter jasmine has some interesting, if not overwhelming ornamental appearance, with both the glossy green trifoliate foliage and the bright green stems.
The Pitt County Arboretum’s Northside Plant Walk series is returning for 2025, and our first monthly iteration will be on March 14th at noon. The topic for this tour will be Straddling the Seasons- Am I Blooming in Winter or Spring? We will explore plants like winter jasmine, forsythia and so many others that bloom in and around this transitionary time of year. The tour is free, but we ask that you register at go.ncsu.edu/northsideplantwalks. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. A few weeks ago, I wrote in this space about a flowering shrub called Pineapple Guava, a plant that produces fruit that resemble neither pineapple fruit not guava fruit. Today I think I’ll talk to you about banana trees that produce fruit but which don’t resemble bananas. Actually, that describes all of the hardy banana trees that grow in North Carolina. Perhaps this will require a bit of explanation. The yellow banana we are all used to seeing in grocery stores comes from a subgroup of varieties known botanically as Cavendish types within the species Musa acuminata. These plants are native to Southeast Asia, and are large herbaceous perennials that grow 12-20 feet tall. Bananas grow from corms, a type of modified underground stem. The above-ground portion that looks like a stem or trunk is actually a sheath formed by tightly rolled, unopened leaves. The fully open leaves at the apex of the plant are large and paddle shaped. This particular banana plant is only hardy to zone 10a or greater, meaning it requires winters where the average low temperature is at least 20 degrees higher than what we would have in Pitt County. Fear not, however, as there are banana plants that will grow in our climate, as you’ve no doubt seen. They just aren’t the same species as the plants that produce the Cavendish bananas, and thus their fruit bear relatively little similarity to those fruit. For instance, Musa velutina, is a smaller plant that grows to about 4 to 6 feet high, and 3 to 6 feet wide. It doesn’t produce yellow fruit at all; its fruit are actually pink. Although they form in clusters similar to Cavendish types, the individual pink bananas are only 1 to 3 inches long and though the flesh of the fruit is sweet and creamy, the fruits contain many hard black seeds, making eating them a bit of a chore. Thus we grow this hardy banana strictly for ornamental reasons, and it provides a tropical look and feel to landscapes, particularly when grown in proximity to companion plants like cannas, ginger lilies, palms, and elephant ears.
Above photos: Musa velutina, Pink Banana, produces pink fruit that is edible but full of hard seeds. Most people grow this hardy banana for ornamental reasons, providing a tropical look and feel to the landscape. Both photos: C. DeWitt, CC BY 4.0. Lower photo: Musa basjoo, Hardy Banana, also grows in Eastern North Carolina. It has large, paddle-shaped green leaves and greenish yellow fruit that is inedible. Photo: Illustratedjc, CC BY-SA 4.0  Musa basjoo is a slightly larger species that grows up to 14 feet tall and wide. Fruit are 2 to 4 inches long, greenish-yellow, and may look a little bit more familiar than the pink Musa velutina, but have little pulp and numerous seeds and are all but inedible. Musa basjoo is actually cold hardy to zone 5, meaning it can withstand low winter temperatures to -20 degrees. Both of the hardy banana types produce a similar yellow-orange “torpedo-shaped” flower, with reddish-brown bracts at the top of the stem (pink bracts in the case of Musa velutina). Though cold-hardy, the above-ground growth will turn brown in winter. Many gardeners pack leaves, straw, or similar organic materials around the base of the above-ground pseudo-stem during winter, but that isn’t usually necessary for us in hardiness zone 8. Grow these plants in full sun, with lots of moisture but well-drained soil. Be aware they will multiply, so provide plenty of space and be prepared to thin your stand every few years to maintain control. They can also be grown in large containers to limit size and spread, if desired. Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705. |
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Pitt County Extension Director & Horticulture Agent Archives
March 2025
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