Growing Peanut Butter Shrub
Have you ever heard of a plant called the peanut butter plant? Supposedly, the leaves smell like peanut butter? My daughter-in-law received one from a lady that lived in Tennessee. Can you tell me more about the plant and offer any tips for how to find one?
Crush the leaves and you may crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The smell of peanut butter gave the harlequin glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum) its other common name. It prefers moist well-drained soils and full sun but will tolerate some shade. It has white tubular flowers in summer followed by a bright blue berry-like fruit. Some people love this plant and others find it a bit unkempt when not in bloom. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 it is treated like a sub shrub in the northern reaches of its hardiness. There the plants are cut back to 4 to 6 inches above the ground at the end of each winter. In warmer regions it can be grown as a shrub or trained into a tree form if the suckers are continuously removed.
Related
Upcoming Live Events
& Webinars
March 27, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
How to Start a Garden for Beginners
Register now
April 3, 2024
Garden Trends
Franklin Public Library, Franklin, WI
April 10, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
Container Gardening Throughout the Year
Register now
April 11, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
7 Steps to Managing Water Where it Falls in Your Yard
Register now
April 17, 2024
Landscaping for Birds:
A Gardener’s Perspective
Glendale, WI
April 18, 2024
Be a Waterwise Gardener
Golden Rondelle Theater, Racine, WI
Register now
April 20, 2024
Pruning Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs
Pasquesi Home & Gardens, Lake Bluff, IL
April 27, 2024
Ridges & Rivers Book Festival
Viroqua, WI
April 28, 2024
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
May 1, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
Ornamental Fruits and Vegetables
Register now
May 9, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
How to Plant Your Rain Garden
Register now
WATCH ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Learn More