Wintersweet not flowering

About 5 years ago, I planted three fragrant flowering shrubs in my front garden. The Lonicera Fragrantissima and Viburnum Bodnantense 'Dawn' are now both over 6ft tall and flowering well in Winter, but my Chimonanthus praecox is tiny and hasn't produced a single flower! Just over a foot in height. I've read that they can take up to 7 years to flower, but I was wondering if anyone else here has one in their garden and how long it took to flower. Do they typically reach a certain height before flowering?

Thanks,

Nick

 

Hello Nick, I've twice grown Chimonanthus from seed. The one in the UK garden was very slow to grow, like yours, and never did flower before I gave up and devoted the space to something more rewarding. Here in France the shrub has grown to 6' quite quickly and flowered from it's 2nd year. Perhaps the longer, hotter growing season has made a difference. It's really not worth the wait, though. What about Sarcococca hookeriana digyna or Mahonia 'Soft Caress'?

 

@noisette47 Thanks very much for sharing your experiences and the recommendations! I already have a Sarcococca confusa in my back garden and the scent is lovely, but I had never heard of Mahonia 'Soft Caress'. I've just read about it online and it sounds great! I think I'll add it to the border as it would flower before the Lonicera and Viburnum.

I've decided to give the Chimonathus another couple of years and see if it flowers, but if it doesn't, it's coming out!

Nick

 

@Nikolaos I have grown chimonanthus and it does take a while to flower, but yours sounds as though it is just not thriving - it is far smaller than I would expect for its age. Mine started flowering around 3 foot tall (about 3 years after planting) and this winter it was terrific - I'm sure @noisette47 is right and last year's hot summer helped. I would actually try lifting it and see what the roots look like...

 

@CarolineL This is what I just don't get Caroline, the foliage looks very healthy and yet its growth seems 'stunted'. I probably will lift it and inspect the roots, thanks for the advice! I'm wondering if I didn't loosen the soil around the shrub enough now before planting it, could the roots be struggling because of my clay soil being compacted around them?

Nick

 

Hi Nick - I gardened on clay soil and the chimonanthus grew fine, although I lost my first one to coral spot - suspect it was a bit poorly anyway. The second one grew fine and was about 6 feet tall when I left the garden - and what a perfume!!! Are there adjacent plants doing ok in the same area? Perhaps you have been unlucky and the clay has panned underneath it to waterlog it. In which case lifting and then improving the soil underneath shouldn't hurt - since the plant is so small there must be a fairly small rootball.

 

@CarolineL Thanks Caroline, this is why I'd like to keep it and hope it flowers at some point - people keep saying how amazing the fragrance is! Well, the plants around it seem fine but apart from being underplanted with a geranium (which would probably remain unaffected anyway) they are a couple of meters away and perhaps the problem is more localised than that. I shall certainly do that and see if there is any improvement in the next few weeks, thanks again for the advice!