Fatsia japonica
(Japanese Aralia)
Family - Araliaceae
Category - Shrub
Origin - Japan, South Korea
Year of Introduction - 1838
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Hardiness - H5
Height - up to 4m
Location - The Stumpery
Description: Medium to large-sized Evergreen Shrub with upright branches and a spreading habit. Large, showy, dark green leaves are palmately lobed and have a leathery texture. Each leaf can reach to 40cm or more across. Small, creamy white flowers are star-shaped and held in spherical umbels from mid-autumn into winter. The umbels are produced on branched stems that are the same shade of creamy white as the flowers. Round berries are produced after the flowers have finished and ripen to black in late winter to early spring.
Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Synonym - Aralia japonica, Aralia sieboldii.
Additional common name - Japanese Fatsia
Flower:
Small, creamy white, star-shaped flowers are produced in spherical umbels. The umbels are held on branched, creamy white stems from October through December. The stems and umbels are covered in tawny-brown indumentum before fully extended. The flowers are followed by round berries that ripen to black in February and March.
Flower colour: White
Flower shape: Star-shaped flowers in umbels
Flowering time: October, November, December
Foliage:
Large and showy dark green leaves are palmately lobed and have a leathery texture. Each leaf is held on a long, sturdy petiole and can reach to 40cm or more across. The leaves are Alternately arranged up the tall, upright stems. Fatsia japonica produces suckers.
Foliage Senescence: Evergreen
Foliage Shape: Palmately lobed
Propagation:
Seed, cuttings.
Cultivation:
Best in a sheltered position in sun or shade. Fatsia japonica prefers fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.