Hartlage Wine sweetshrub

A hybrid between eastern sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) and Chinese wax shrub (Sinocalycanthus chinensis), ‘Hartlage Wine’ is a modern ornamental selection known for its large, wine-red flowers with subtle cream centers. Unlike its parents, this cultivar boasts significantly larger blooms and a longer flowering period, often reblooming lightly into summer. The flowers have a mild fragrance and emerge on current season’s wood, making it easy to maintain with spring pruning.

This deciduous shrub grows vigorously with an upright, vase-like habit and thrives in full sun to part shade with average to moist, well-drained soil. It’s named after Richard Hartlage, who developed the hybrid at the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina.