Calycanthus Hybrid, Carolina Allspice, Eastern Sweetshrub, Florida Spice Bush, Raulston Allspice 'Hartlage Wine'

Blooms on the previous year's growth---prune shortly after flowering.

This hybrid lacks the apple scent of C. floridus. 'A...Read Morephrodite' is a more complex hybrid that looks similar and is also fragrant.

Blooms best in full sun here.

Usually considered hardy to Z5.

Growth is very rapid, and the habit is a little rangy. Spreads by suckering.

Thankfully, due to recent changes in nomenclature, this is now correctly named Calycanthus x raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine'.

This has been the 3"rd summer we've had this plant. It was in bloom when purchased, and did well last summer with about 10 gorgeous bloom...Read Mores. This season, here in CT, we had one rainy day after another, and behold this plant has borne at least 50 gorgeous blossoms. There are still 2 lingering on it now. We are so happy to have this addition.The only problem is that over this spring & summer, the woody stalks of the plant have grown incredibly, are looking very rangey, awkward and unattractive. Could someone please tell me WHEN and HOW toprune my beautiful "Hartlage Wine" Calycanthus.....I'm new to this site(joined about half an hour ago), and will try to post a photo of this plant.The photo, however was taken last summer when the plant didn't have as many blooms, but looked in far better proportion. Thank you so much. Now where do I look for an answer. PS, I already subscribe to Garden Gate.

This tree prefers some shade but can tolerate full sun if watered frequently.

History taken from Friends of the Arb...Read Moreoretum Newsletter
Vol. 6, No. 1

Raulston Allspice
By Nancy Doubrava, Interpretive Specialist

×Sinocalycalycanthus raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine'

This exciting, new hybrid from the JC Raulston Arboretum is celebrating its first spring with a new botanical name, xSinocalycalycanthus raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine', and common name, Raulston allspice. This unique intergeneric hybrid is the first successful cross between Calycanthus floridus, our native sweetshrub or Carolina allspice, and Sinocalycanthus chinensis, its rare Chinese counterpart.

The creation of the new genus, xSinocalycalycanthus, has an intriguing story. It all began within a few years following the first flowering of the parent, S. chinensis on the North American continent. Sinocalycanthus chinensis was first discovered in eastern China in Zhejiang Province in 1963. It was distributed from Shanghai Botanical Garden to the University of British Columbia (UBC) Botanical Garden, where it bloomed in 1984. Cuttings were obtained by J. C. Raulston, Ph.D., Director of the NCSU Arboretum from Gerald Straley, Ph.D., then curator of the Asian Collection at UBC Botanical Garden. By 1991, the plant at the NCSU Arboretum was thriving at nearly six feet tall.

One day while observing C. floridus in the Arboretum, it was noticed that although the flowers were very different, the fruits looked similar to those of S. chinensis. Was it possible that these two different genera might be able to be successfully crossed? Richard Hartlage, who was an undergraduate in Horticultural Science at NCSU working at the Arboretum, was asked to take on the project.

In 1991, under the direction of J. C. Raulston, Richard performed a series of reciprocal crosses between the two parents. Using S. chinensis as the female parent and C. floridus as the male, one seedpod was successfully produced with six seeds inside. After stratification (cold treatment) all of the seeds germinated readily. As the seedlings grew, only four survived, which were eventually transferred to field plots.

The four remaining plants continued to grow. It was soon realized that one of the plants had leaves with characteristics intermediate between the two parents. This was the first clue that the plant might be a new hybrid. Five more long years passed before this one amazing plant bloomed for the first time in the spring of 1996, with its unique wine-red flowers, thus confirming it was truly a new intergeneric hybrid.

In July 2001, a scientific paper published in HortScience (authors: Todd Lasseigne, Paul Fantz, J. C. Raulston, and Gerald Straley) officially validated the name as xSinocalycalycanthus raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine'. Following rules of botanical nomenclature, the new genus name was made from the first half of the female parent generic name and the second half of the male parent generic name, creating the tongue twister, xSinocalycalycanthus. The "x" that precedes the new genus designates the intergeneric cross. The hybrid species name, "raulstonii," was given in honor of J. C. Raulston who directed the successful hybridization. The cultivar name, 'Hartlage Wine' was given in honor of Richard Hartlage's contribution to the project. 'Hartlage Wine' refers to any plants propagated and subsequently distributed from the original clone growing at the JC Raulston Arboretum.

Raulston allspice is a great choice for woodland to moderately sunny gardens. This robust, deciduous shrub grows best in part shade. You can also grow it in full sun if ample moisture is provided. In mid-spring, look for its absolutely beautiful, unique, 3-4' wide, maroon, wine-red flowers, each gently splashed with white in the center. This medium to large deciduous shrub has bold, medium-green foliage and subdued yellow fall color.

Currently, Raulston allspice is in the marketing phase as a JC Raulston Arboretum Selection™. Look for it to become available from commercial growers this year or next. Tom Ranney, Ph.D., at the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research and Extension Center in Fletcher, NC, is continuing more hybridization work, including crosses with the western sweetshrub, C. occidentalis, a native of the Pacific Northwest.