Show us your A.S.K (Aralia Sun King)
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
4 years ago
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Pseudopanax laetus & Aralia 'Sun King'
Comments (10)I have grown both. The Sun King can take from light shade to full sun. Mine was grown in light shade, but probably in the PNW with less sun and temperature would have done better in full sun. I bought two Pseudopanax laetus spring of 2014. One I planted under the canopy of large hemlock trees, the other out in full sun. Deer chewed the one under the trees down to a nub, but after I sprayed it with deer repellant it has recovered. The one in the sun was missed by the deer but I spray it with repellent which makes them lose interest after they did find it. It has gone from the one foot tall plant I bought to over three feet tall. They went through both winters without any damage, but then our last two winters weren't very cold. The 2014/15 winter got down to around 20 degrees, while this winter only got to 27 degrees. From what I have read they can't handle much below 15 degrees, but these being from Dan Hinkley's collection that Monrovia Nursery is selling, with him claiming them to be hardy into zone 7 I thought I would give them a try. Mr. Hinkley is known to find the hardiet sources of plants he collects. When we have a real Arctic storm with temperatures into the low teens or lower, then we will know how they will do here. I do like the look of the plant with evergreen palmate leaves giving that jungle look. If you like the look of P. laetus I would suggest you get Schefflera delavayi, Schefflera taiwaniana, or Schefflera fengii. All of these are very hardy west of the Cascades in the PNW. The director of the Rhododendron Species Foundation, Steve Hootman, says these three are the hardiest of the Schefflera. I believe him since I have all three of them and they have handled temperatures into the low teens. The owner of Cistus Nursery, a mail order source for S. delavayi, claims S. delavayi is hardy to 0° F. You can buy S. fengii from Far Reaches Farm, if they haven't been sold out yet. They also sold S. delavayi in the past. Their source of S. fengii is from Steve Hootman's collection from the RSF which also sells it from time to time. The RSF have Schefflera minutistllata in their spring catalog, and I saw three plants for sale at their gift shop nursery. I don't know how hardy they will be since I have only had them for three seasons. Schefflera taiwaniana has been sold throughout the PNW nurseries that handle Monrovia plants. This is another Dan Hinkley plant....See MoreWhy isn't my "Sun King" Aralia growing?
Comments (16)I should add that I really worked on having beautiful soil when it was planted. The bed was new and the soil that was there was basically builders junk from almost 30 years ago with that many years of whatever happened to decompose on it, which wasn't very much at all. I added high quality compost (I compared the analysis sheets of the compost near me and chose the one with the highest nutrients) and peat to the soil, making it nice and fluffy for root growth. It's possible those additions helped my plant along. I have three other aralias, all bought late last summer, and they are about the same, all in good soil. Maybe it was their size at the time of purchase. The only place that had them at that time was a froufrou nursery for the more...blessed...among us. They were in pretty big pots, definitely bigger than the standard gallon pot. They were roughly 3 feet when purchased. Could that be it, as well?...See MoreAralia ‘Sun King’
Comments (11)Aralia cordata is very manageable. While it gets quite big in my climate (6'x6'), it does not spread aggressively. And if it should, both the white tubers and the young foliage are highly edible :-) This is cultivated as a food crop in Japan. I use 'Sun King' a lot in my design work and find it a wonderful big splash of easy to almost no care color. While it can grow happily in full sun, I prefer it in part shade. Too much shade and it will lose that golden yellow color and become more of a limey, chartreuse green...See MoreAralia 'Sun King'
Comments (7)Here are a couple of threads that include photos that show its potential for growing large. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5751053/show-us-your-a-s-k-aralia-sun-king#n=23 this first thread has a photo of a person standing next to a clump of them at the Coastal Maine Botanic Garden. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3079688/rouge21-how-s-that-aralia-sun-king-looking#n=64 In this second thread is a photo posted by Thyme2dig with her 6’ tall husband standing next to it. I have seen this one in person, and is is huge and requires pruning to keep it out of the path and to prevent it smothering surrounding plants. it is growing on the north side of the house, but I think it gets some afternoon sun in midsummer. Both are in New England and quite happy....See Moredeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5bgdinieontarioz5
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agogdinieontarioz5
4 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
4 years agoRockdale (RI Z6)
4 years agomxk3 z5b_MI
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agogracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
4 years agoMarie Tulin
4 years agoRockdale (RI Z6)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoStevePA6a
4 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
4 years agogracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agokitasei
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agoSue W (CT zone 6a)
4 years ago
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