Scented Box

Scented Box or Christmas Box (Sarcococca confusa) are really outdoor plants, but when they are young they make decorative pot plants in a cool room, producing tiny fragrant flowers in the winter and early spring.

While your box is indoors, keep it as cool as you can and make sure there is plenty of natural light but not direct sunlight. An East or West facing window is ideal. Your box is hardy and will ideally prefer a shady outside spot if you have one and can even be planted out if the ground is soft enough.

Keep your box well watered, the compost should feel wet to touch. After flowering your box plant can be repotted in a larger pot with suitable compost, and put outside on a patio or balcony or planted out into the ground. They are not too fussy about soil type but do best in a damp part-shaded position where you can smell the winter flowers.

Over time your evergreen box can grow into quite substantial bushes several feet high. They can be clipped into a hedge or neat topiary shapes or allowed to form a more naturally looking bush.

If your plant seems to be suffering indoors and prone to leaf drop, try putting it outside or in a cooler room. These are garden plants really and will always be happiest outdoors long term.