Plant in sun or light shade. Looks best with occasional watering. Evergreen to 25° F and root hardy to 10-15° F. Useful as a hedge and make an attractive small tree.

Xylosma congesta is native to China, Japan, and Korea where it is found growing along forest margins and in thickets where older specimens have been noted to reach to 50 feet tall. The name for the genus is from the Greek words 'xylon' meaning "wood" and 'osme' meaning "fragrance" that references the scented wood of some species in the genus and the specific epithet means "arranged close together" or "crowded" referencing the tight foliage on short internodes. Another common name for this plant is "Dense Longwood".

This plant has long been a common site in southern California gardens and commercial plantings and a compact selection of it is used in the median of Highway 101 running through Santa Barbara. It suffered in popularity as it often gets bigger than intended and it is a host to giant white fly, which when attacted causes the plant to have white tread-like masses on the undersides of the leaves. We grew this plant since the beginning days of our nursery but discontinued production because of this white fly issue. As this pest seems to be better under control from natural predators we began growing it again in 2022. 

The information displayed on this page about Xylosma congesta is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.