🎨 AI-generated botanical illustration
🌱 Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
native_plants
deciduous shrub
Lauraceae
☀️ Sun
partial shade to full shade
💧 Water
moderate
🗺️ Zones
[4,5,6,7,8,9]
🧪 Soil pH
5.0-7.0
🪴 Soil Type
moist, rich
🚿 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
6-10 ft
📐 Height
6-12 ft
🤝 Companions (7)
🤝 Bloodroot
Spring ephemeral companion — blooms before spicebush leafs out
🤝 Comfrey
Dynamic accumulator
🤝 Comfrey
Dynamic accumulator
🤝 Marigold
Universal companion
🤝 Marigold
Universal companion
🤝 Pawpaw
Classic eastern woodland understory companions
🤝 wild ginger
Native groundcover beneath spicebush; both shade-lovers
⚠️ Keep Apart (3)
⚠️ Walnut
Juglone sensitive
⚠️ Walnut
Juglone sensitive
⚠️ none — but requires shade; won't thrive in full sun
📝 Growing Notes
The Appalachian allspice. Red berries taste like a blend of allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper — historically used as a spice when imported spices were unavailable. Tiny yellow flowers in earliest spring before leaves emerge. The sole host plant for spicebush swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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