Japanese aucuba
Aucuba japonica · Garryaceae
A rounded evergreen with large, glossy, leathery leaves, plain green or splashed with yellow as if dusted with gold. It thrives in deep, dry shade where little else will grow.
- Size
- 6½ ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 10
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Japanese aucuba
The planner designed this bed around Japanese aucuba when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 7, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 535 that suit those conditions, and says below why Japanese aucuba stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese aucuba × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Leadwort × 10, blue
- 3 Blue star creeper × 11, blue
- 4 Tall astilbe 'Superba' × 4, purple
- 5 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 6 Large-flowered bellwort × 13, yellow
- 7 Siberian bugloss × 8, blue
- 8 Canada lily × 6, orange
- 9 Hardy cyclamen × 5, pink
- 10 Yellow trout lily × 8, yellow
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Canada lily (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 12 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 10 of the 11 groups (91%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height from early August, with 4 kinds out together. Astilbe 'Purple Candles', fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved Siberian bugloss, and each shows the other off.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Japanese aucuba goes in a border
At 6½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The gold-spotted forms light up the darkest corner. It burns in sun, so keep it in full shade. Female plants carry red berries if a male is nearby.
- Evergreen structure in deep shade
- Dry shade under trees
- Screening on the north side of a building
What to plant with Japanese aucuba
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cast iron plant: low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese holly fern: low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lilyturf: adds the flowers, early August to mid September; medium leaves against its bold ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about Japanese aucuba
Does Japanese aucuba need sun or shade?
Japanese aucuba grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Japanese aucuba grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 10. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Japanese aucuba be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6½ ft (200 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese aucuba plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Japanese aucuba poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat Japanese aucuba?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does Japanese aucuba look like in winter?
Japanese aucuba keeps its dark green and variegated leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6½ ft (200 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Bold texture, evergreen; dark green, variegated
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 10
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Garryaceae
- Comes from
- East Asia and Japan
- Stands up to
- Drought, salt, deep shade, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.