Aralia cordata 'Sun King'

Aralia cordata 'Sun King', the golden Japanese spikenard, lights up shade with big, golden-yellow compound leaves. It forms a rounded, clump-forming perennial about 1.2m tall and wide. With a few hours of sun the leaves hold their gold all summer; in deeper shade they turn lime-green. It is also the udo of Japanese cooking: the young spring shoots are blanched and eaten as a vegetable, with a fresh, celery-like flavour.It is fully hardy, rated RHS H7. The top growth dies back in autumn and the crown regrows in spring, so there is nothing to protect over winter. Spikes of tiny white flowers in late summer are visited by bees and followed by purple-black berries that birds eat; it is the shoots, not the berries, that go in the kitchen.Plant it in moist but well-drained soil, out of strong winds that damage the large leaves. It brings colour to shady corners and makes a bright partner for green foliage in exotic borders.What you receive: a plant in a 17cm, 2 litre pot.