Product Description
Aralia cordata 'Sun King' (4) 1-gallons
Common Name: Golden Japanese Spikenard.
Zones 3 to 9
Part Shade.
Mature height of 3 feet and a spread of 3 feet; Growth Rate is Medium to Rapid depending on conditions.
Herbaceous perennial quickly forms a large clump of foliage. It typically grows three feet tall and wide, though many reported it will grow larger over time.
2020 Perennial Plant of the Year
'Sun King ' emerges mid-spring with bright gold leaves on contrasting reddish brown stems. With at least a few hours of sun a day, the foliage will remain yellow all summer. In heavier shade, the foliage ranges from chartreuse to lime green. In mid to late summer, interesting racemes of tiny white flowers are produced followed by deep purplish black, inedible berries.
An excellent tropical-looking complement to Hostas and woodland perennials, the flowers attract honeybees.
This unique perennial grows best in part to light shade, though if given consistent moisture it can also grow in full sun. It prefers richly organic, deep loamy soil that is moist but well-drained. This plant is not drought tolerant. It typically dies back to the ground in winter and re-emerges in spring to quickly form a shrub-like clump.
Resists deer browsing!
- Remains yellow in part shade; chartreuse to lime green in heavy shade
- Tiny white flowers give way to purple-black berries in fall