Aralia Spikenard Sun King

Bring bold texture and luminous color to your shade garden with Sun King Japanese Spikenard, featuring large golden compound leaves that emerge lemon yellow in spring and deepen to rich gold throughout the season. The foliage is more intensely yellow-gold in brighter light. Airy white flower clusters appear from mid to late summer, creating a striking contrast against the golden foliage, followed by deep purple-black berries in fall. This rounded, ground-hugging perennial reaches 4 feet tall and wide, making it a stunning woodland accent plant. The bold, coarse texture adds architectural interest to shade gardens. Attracts birds and bees, and tolerates urban conditions. The berries are ornamental only and not edible.

Plant Details:

• Botanical name: Aralia cordata 'Sun King'
• Common name: Japanese Spikenard, Golden Japanese Spikenard
• Flower color: White (airy star-shaped racemes)
• Bloom time: Mid to late summer
• Foliage color: Lemon yellow in spring, maturing to gold; large serrated pointy compound leaves
• Fruit: Deep purple-black berries (early to late fall, not edible)
• Mature size: 4 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide
• Growth habit: Rounded, ground-hugging
• Sun exposure: Full sun to full shade
• Hardiness zones: 3
• Water needs: Average to moist; should not be allowed to dry out
• Attracts birds and bees
• Tolerates urban pollution
• Spreads by suckers
• Suitable for mass planting and naturalizing in woodland gardens
• Plant type: Perennial