• Image of Sarcococca saligna|Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC|JLBG

    Photo by JLBG taken at Juniper Level Botanic Gdn, NC

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Sarcococca saligna

Narrow-leaf Christmas False Box

This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

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Item #: 9360

Zones: 8a to 10b, at least

Dormancy: Evergreen

Height: 48" tall

Culture: Light Shade to Shade

Origin: Himalayan Mountains

Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)


This Himalayan boxwood cousin is prized for its evergreen foliage and ability to thrive in deep shade. Sarcococca saligna forms a thick, slowly-spreading mass of upright, arching stems, each adorned with glossy, narrow evergreen 4.5" long x .5" wide leaves...our 9-year-old clumps are 4' tall x 7' wide. The clump is adorned with very fragrant small flowers in late winter. Well-drained soil and no full sun are key to growing Christmas false box. We also see severe foliage burn below 10 degrees F, although the plant returns fine from the ground. In its other life as a medicinal plant, "the methanolic extracts exhibited ganglion-blocking activity by decreasing or abolishing the effects of nicotine on blood pressure and the smooth muscles of isolated guinea pig ileum." I guess you nicotine users need to take a chaw.