{"title":"Aucuba (Japanese Laurels)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAucubas are the great survivors of deep, dry shade, the place in every garden where nothing looks well. Broad leathery leaves hold a hard polish year round, and the gold-splashed forms throw light into corners that get none. The Victorians were mad for the variegated Japanese laurel and grew the plants in sooty London courtyards where little else would live, which tells you most of what you need to know about their tolerance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA useful piece of the biology: aucubas are dioecious, male and female flowers on separate plants, so the big red winter berries follow only where a male grows within range of a female. 'Rozannie' sidesteps the arrangement and fruits unaided, and is the compact green form worth starting with. \u003cem\u003eAucuba chinensis\u003c\/em\u003e and the northern \u003cem\u003eAucuba japonica\u003c\/em\u003e var. \u003cem\u003eborealis\u003c\/em\u003e push hardiness further than most gardeners expect from a plant that looks so tropical. Give them shade and drainage, and keep them out of afternoon sun, which scorches the leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"aucuba-japonica-var-borealis","title":"Aucuba japonica var. borealis","description":"\u003cp\u003eAucuba japonica is one of the great problem-solvers of the shade garden, a glossy broadleaf evergreen that thrives in the dry, difficult shade where few other shrubs will, and var. borealis is the toughest of the clan. Drawn from the cold northern reaches of the plant's Japanese range, this small-leaved form was selected for hardiness, holding very shiny, dark green, leathery leaves through winters that would burn a common aucuba. The genus name is a Latin rendering of the Japanese aokiba, for the ever-green leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhere most aucubas are content only from the middle South and warmer, var. borealis pushes the boundary north, recorded surviving four degrees Fahrenheit at the U.S. National Arboretum in the winter of 1994. That cold tolerance, roughly to USDA zone 6, makes the northern Japanese aucuba a rare thing, a broadleaf evergreen for shade in gardens too cold for the rest of the genus. Like all aucubas, the plant is dioecious, and female plants carry glossy red berries into winter when a male grows nearby.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAucuba has long been a city gardener's ally, shrugging off pollution, salt, deep shade, and neglect, and this hardy form brings that resilience to colder ground. Set the shrub in part to full shade in good, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, as a foundation planting on a north wall, a filler in a shaded border, or an evergreen anchor in a woodland corner. The small, dark, lacquered leaves catch what little light reaches them and give substance to the dim places.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe small maroon spring flowers pass almost unnoticed, for the ornament here is the foliage and, on pollinated females, the scarlet fruit. A gentle caution worth noting: the leaves and berries contain compounds that can cause stomach upset if eaten, so site the plant accordingly where small children graze. Slow, durable, and quietly handsome, var. borealis rewards the patient gardener with decades of evergreen presence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057815982195,"sku":"AUCU-JAPO-BORE-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Aucubajaponicavar.borealisJCRA.jpg?v=1784297897"},{"product_id":"aucuba-sp-himalayica","title":"Aucuba sp. (himalayica?)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is one of the quiet mysteries of the Woodlanders collection, a narrow-leaved evergreen aucuba received years ago from the U.S. National Arboretum under the name Aucuba himalayica, and quite possibly the slender japonica form known as 'Longifolia' instead. Either way the plant is a striking departure from the usual aucuba, trading broad, spotted leaves for long, willow-like, finely serrated blades of glossy dark green. Woodlanders has not seen this aucuba offered anywhere else, which makes the plant a true collector's piece whatever the correct name proves to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe uncertainty is real and worth telling honestly. A genuine Himalayan species, Aucuba himalaica, does exist, distinguished from the Japanese aucuba chiefly by narrow leaves and fine hairs on the young shoots and flower stalks, where japonica is smooth. Because the narrow-leaved japonica form 'Longifolia' looks much the same, plants passed along as himalaica are often one or the other, and only a close look at the new growth settles the question. Woodlanders offers the plant as received, an intriguing narrow-leaf aucuba awaiting a final verdict.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhatever the label, this is an aucuba, and aucubas are among the most forgiving of shade evergreens, tolerant of deep shade, dry soil, city pollution, and general neglect. The genus name comes from the Japanese aokiba, for the evergreen leaves, and like the rest of the clan this narrow-leaved form is dioecious, with small maroon spring flowers and, on pollinated females, red berries in the cooler months. The elegant, tapered foliage gives the plant a lighter, more refined look than the broad-leaved aucubas.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet this narrow-leaved aucuba in part to full shade in good, well-drained soil with steady moisture, as a foundation shrub, a shaded border filler, or a distinctive evergreen in a woodland planting. The slim leaves read almost like bamboo from a distance and pair well with ferns, hellebores, and other shade companions. As with all aucubas, the leaves and berries can upset the stomach if eaten, a small caution to weigh where children play.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057816047731,"sku":"AUCU-HIMA-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-281.jpg?v=1720136557"},{"product_id":"aucuba-japonica-rozannie","title":"Aucuba japonica 'Rozannie'","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost aucubas demand a matchmaker, a male plant set near a female before a single red berry will form, but Aucuba japonica 'Rozannie' needs no such arrangement. This compact, deep green selection is self-fertile, setting large, glossy scarlet fruit without a separate pollinator, and fruiting even more heavily when a male happens to grow nearby. Add to that lustrous, coarsely toothed, unspotted foliage and a tidy three-to-four-foot frame, and 'Rozannie' becomes one of the most useful aucubas for a shaded garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWoodlanders obtained this clone from the Massachusetts plantsman David Geiger. The great plantsman Michael Dirr, in his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, allowed that he was impressed by the plant's characteristics while warning that it may be too slow for commercial production, and slow the plant certainly is. That deliberate pace is the price of a dense, refined, long-lived shrub, and patient gardeners have long considered the trade a fair one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAucuba japonica has anchored southern shade gardens for generations, prized for thriving in the dry, sunless corners that defeat other evergreens. The genus name is a Latin form of the Japanese aokiba, for the ever-green leaves. 'Rozannie' keeps all that toughness, tolerating deep shade, poor soil, pollution, and drought once established, while offering something the old spotted laurels cannot, a reliable crop of red berries on a single plant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet 'Rozannie' in part to full shade in good, well-drained soil with occasional summer water, as a foundation shrub, a low evergreen in a shaded border, or a handsome container plant for a dim courtyard. The dark, glossy leaves and winter berries brighten the gloom, and the compact habit suits smaller spaces. As with every aucuba, the leaves and berries are mildly toxic if eaten, worth a thought where children play.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057816113267,"sku":"AUCU-JAPO-ROZA-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-2174.jpg?v=1720136560"},{"product_id":"aucuba-chinensis","title":"Aucuba chinensis","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAucuba chinensis\u003c\/em\u003e is the lesser-known Chinese cousin of the familiar gold dust plant, a rare, broad, evergreen shrub for deep shade. The thick, leathery, dark green leaves are coarsely toothed and dusted with scattered yellow flecks, holding their color year round and bringing a glossy, tropical-looking presence to a shaded bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike the Japanese aucuba, this species carries male and female flowers on separate plants, the small purple-maroon spring flowers giving way, on female plants with a male nearby, to glossy red berries. Native to China, undemanding and shade-loving, Aucuba chinensis wants moist, well-drained soil and shelter from hot sun, and asks little once settled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse Chinese aucuba in a shaded border, a woodland planting, or a dim courtyard, where the bold evergreen leaves fill space and lift the gloom. A fine choice for the difficult dry-shade and city corners that defeat most shrubs, and a rare alternative to the common gold dust plant. Plant a male and a female together for the red winter berries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057816178803,"sku":"AUCU-CHIN-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1080.jpg?v=1720136564"},{"product_id":"aucuba-japonica-golden-king","title":"Aucuba japonica 'Golden King'","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere is a strange romance buried in this plant's history, and 'Golden King' sits on the male side of it. \u003cem\u003eAucuba japonica\u003c\/em\u003e reached England in 1783 as a single female, the yellow-flecked gold dust shrub that Victorians went on to plant by the thousand. Aucuba carry their sexes on separate plants, and for eighty years every aucuba in the country was a clone of that one female, waiting on the famous red berries that never came, because Japan had sealed its borders and no male could be had.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly when Robert Fortune reached the newly opened country around 1861 and sent a male home did the first berried plant appear, a sensation when shown in London in 1864. Someone later wrote a whole book about the saga and called it \u003cem\u003eA Virgin for Eighty Years\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Golden King' is a male clone, and a generous one. They set no berries themselves, being the wrong sex for it, but they are exactly what you plant beside a female aucuba to draw hers into color, all the while wearing some of the boldest variegation in the genus: large, leathery, glossy leaves splashed and marbled in gold, often more gold than green, no two quite alike. They came to us through Michael Dirr's evaluations of the best forms. Give them the hard places, dry shade under trees, a sooty city corner, the spot where nothing else will brighten, and they will hold their light there straight through winter. The old Japanese name for them, aoki, means blue tree, from a time when one word still covered blue and green both.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057816244339,"sku":"AUCU-JAPO-GOLD-KING-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Aucuba_Golden_King_Woodlanders_d533d976-e5af-45e4-9463-61d69d8c03eb.webp?v=1773768142"},{"product_id":"aucuba-japonica-shilpot","title":"Aucuba japonica 'Shilpot'","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere is a book about \u003cem\u003eAucuba japonica\u003c\/em\u003e called \u003cem\u003eA Virgin for Eighty Years\u003c\/em\u003e, which sounds like a romance novel and is, instead, one of the strangest stories in horticulture. The species arrived in England in 1783 as a single female plant. Aucuba is dioecious, male and female flowers on separate plants, so for the next eighty years every aucuba in English gardens was a clone of that one original female. Gardeners knew the plant was meant to bear bright red berries, since reports came back from Japan, but Japan had closed its borders, no male could be had, and they simply waited.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot until the diplomatic opening of Japan in the 1860s did Robert Fortune finally bring a male home, an arrival reported in Curtis's Botanical Magazine with the kind of fanfare usually reserved for royalty. Aucuba went on to become the great Victorian shade evergreen, pollution-tolerant, deep-shade tolerant, and tough enough that London street vendors sold potted plants off barrows. By 1914 the horticulturist W. J. Bean wrote that \"for a bright and lasting decorative plant for rooms scarcely anything is so good.\" The Japanese name aoki translates literally as blue tree, a holdover from a time when one word covered the span that today splits into blue and green.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Shilpot', sometimes sold as 'Pepper Pot' in Britain, is a compact male clone selected for foliage that looks as though someone shook a salt shaker of butter-yellow paint over each glossy leaf, a fine, dense, even speckling rather than the broad blotches of older variegated kinds. The pattern is precise and almost confectionary. As a male, 'Shilpot' sets no berries, but stands as the pollinator you plant near female aucubas, such as 'Rozannie' or 'Picturata', to coax out their dramatic red drupes; one male will serve several females within reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCompact and slow, 'Shilpot' stays near three to four feet tall and wide, a refined shrub rather than the rangy ten-foot specimen older aucubas tend to become. Excellent in deep shade, on the north side of a house, in woodland borders, courtyards, and dim urban gardens, and as a structural evergreen wherever fussier plants would struggle, tough in the way only a plant tested by centuries of British weather can be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA plant for the gardener with too much shade, a Victorian streak, or a female aucuba sitting forlornly without a companion.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44907437359219,"sku":"AUCU-JAPO-SHIL-POT-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Aucubajaponica_Shilpot_Woodlanders2.jpg?v=1777492235"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/aucuba.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}