Lindera benzoin
Benjamin Bush · Northern Spicebush · Spicebush
About the plant
What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.
The plant
- Habit
- Perennial, ShrubExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Habit
- shrub or treePlants of the World Online
- Height
- 8-15 ft2.4-4.6 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Spread
- 6-15 ft1.8-4.6 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Flower
- Gold/Yellow, GreenExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Blooms
- SpringExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Native range
- Canada, lower 48 statesPLANTS Database
- Hardiness zones
- 5-9Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Growing conditions
- Sun
- Partial ShadeExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Soil
- Adapted to medium, fine textured soilsPLANTS Database
- Soil pH
- 4.5-6.0PLANTS Database
- Moisture
- Moist, Occasional Flooding, Occasionally Dry, Occasionally WetExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Watering
- Drought tolerance: LowPLANTS Database
Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.
Sources: Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — NC State Extension; Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS.
Worth knowing
- Called the forsythia of the wilds in the North, for the faint yellow its early flowers give lowland woods. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lindera benzoin
- The leaves and twigs are aromatic enough for tea, and the dried fruit has been used as a spice. It is a caterpillar food plant of the spicebush swallowtail. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lindera benzoin
Protocol
DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993Difficulty High
Clean the flesh off the seed
Warm moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C
7 germinated in this phase.
Cold moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C
Warm moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C
about 6 months from start to step 4. Germination happens during step 4, in 42 days.
21% germination in 7–42 days.
How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.
Germination trials
Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials
No trials shared for this species yet.