AUCUBA jap. Picturata

Aucuba japonica Picturata is a slow-growing, evergreen shrub valued for its bold, glossy, variegated foliagedeep green margins surrounding a bright golden-yellow centre. Ideal for brightening shaded areas in Irish gardens, it thrives in partial to full shade and will cope with dry shade once established. Grow in moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil; it also tolerates chalk. Forms a dense, rounded shrub, typically maturing to around 23m, making a reliable, low-maintenance structural evergreen for shaded borders and background planting.

To help give a clear sense of scale, the stone wall shown in our photos measures approximately 265cm in height. We also use familiar garden tools as visual references: a digging fork (110cm tall) and a hand fork (30cm tall). These are included purely as size guides to help you better judge proportions when viewing the images.

Position: Partial to full shade (north or east-facing) Rate of Growth: Slow-growing Soil: Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained; tolerates chalk; copes with dry shade once established Hardiness: Fully hardy Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Plant at a Glance

light:light-shade
light:shade
facing:east
facing:north
soiltype:moderate-fertile
soiltype:chalky
soilmoisture:normal
foliage:evergreen
flowering:april
flowering:may
flowercolour:purple
leafcolour:variegated
size:2m-5m
specialconditions:dry-shade