Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  White Almond Bush, Tree Verbena

Description:

An upright shrub with slightly weeping branch tips; can be trained as a small tree in warmer climates; long blooming, fragrant white flower spikes appear from early spring through summer, over fine textured gray-green foliage; great along walkways

Ornamental Features

Sweet Almond Bush features delicate spikes of fragrant white bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from early spring to late summer. It has grayish green evergreen foliage. The serrated oval leaves remain grayish green throughout the winter. It produces brown capsules from mid summer to mid fall.

Landscape Attributes

Sweet Almond Bush is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sweet Almond Bush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sweet Almond Bush will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years. This is a dioecious species, meaning that individual plants are either male or female. Only the females will produce fruit, and a male variety of the same species is required nearby as a pollinator.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America..

Sweet Almond Bush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.