Show us your A.S.K (Aralia Sun King)
An outstanding herbaceous "bush" for a very shady location:
This specimen is 4 feet tall and close to that in width. It gets not much direct sun and is in clay soil with no amendments:
(This plant is around 6 years old).
Comments (23)
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Show Us Your Landscape/Gardens - A Photo Thread - May 2019
Comments (54)So many pretty pictures. Prairiemoon2, I like that hosta, as well. I think we are all behind on our work. Spring is the time for doing things outside, and Ma Nature is not cooperating. I still have work to do on our little sailboat for the summer, and I can't get to it with this kind of weather! Very frustrating. I'm tired of the continual damp chilly wetness! I love the picture of you oriental poppy bud. I have a poppy the birds planted (in honor of their method of planting I call it my Oriental Poopy--because I'm just that funny and I have two boys) and each year I wonder how many gardeners pull a stray seedling because they so resemble thistles! As for Baptisia, I believe they do have a large taproot, which is why I wanted to start from seed. I've seen some in the store but I'm not keen to buy them. I'd pot up a seedling any day, but I don't like getting mature taproot plants form a nursery. They are supposed to be slooooooowwwwwwww growers, and mine sure did follow that path! I'm am very glad to hear they are tenacious, though! Claire, I don't remember seeing Spanish bluebells before. They go on the "want" list! Very nice! I also have an unnamed lilac in the same color, so I wonder if it is a Charles Joly. Still waiting for the buds to open so I can smell it. It is doing just OK in it's spot. I really need to pile some compost/leaf litter over it for some extra help. It gets plenty of sun, but I've been doing some pruning of very old growth the last couple or years and it still needs more work. Claire, I also want to say something about your "forest." My attitude towards trees and sun made a 180 degree shift last year after reading Ken Druse's book The New Shade Garden. It is really lovely, in my opinion, and was inspiring to me. He has multiple pictures of trees living in the canopy which are normally planted by landscapers in full sun. There is an astoundingly beautiful zen quality of seeing a redbud in the canopy with a few beautifully shaped branches reaching in all directions for the sun. Each bud seems to be highlighted and appreciated, instead of a mass bundle of buds like you see in full sun. I have fallen in love with what happens in the canopy of my tall oaks. It's really changed how I view my shade. I would love to see your natural forest. I'm sure it is just as inspiring! And, on a side note, I have one Aralia 'Sun King' which has obviously been the hotel for some slugs this spring. Finally put out the beer canisters, and boy are the slugs heading for the bar now, thankfully. Poor Aralia....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 MoreNote to self: Aralia "Sun King" can't take a freeze
Comments (14)E Asian plants often tend to be adapted to predictable climates. Otherwise anybody trying to garden with an interesting and large variety of plants is going to be limited in this pursuit if they have no willingness to provide special attention as required - same as with the keeping of livestock and pets. Hence the terms "animal husbandry" and "plant husbandry"....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 More
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agoWho doesn't love this plant in shade? Such a great cultivar. Been wanting to post, finally have a few minutes. I have four, all planted in late 2017. My tallest is this one, and I'm not sure why. Shade seems heavy, but maybe it gets more water because it's at the bottom of a slight slope. Last summer was very dry, and it was basically their first summer.
These two really need to get taller or I'm going to have to rearrange. They are supposed to rising above the dark cohosh plants. They are still young, so I'm certainly going to give them more time to expand.
This last one had a really unloved beginning this year with all our rain. I swear there is a slug nest right underneath it. They completely leaf stripped it until I put out beer just before June, which is the first photo. I just refreshed the beer two nights ago and I had about 15 crawl in the first night. Next is the plant today, still significantly shorter than the others.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
gdinieontarioz5
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years agogdinieontarioz5
4 years agomxk3 z5b_MI
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoBoth of these were planted this year - bought big ones right out of the gate:
I can't seem to get the pic of the puny one I've been grumbling about to post...ah technology...rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked mxk3 z5b_MImxk3 z5b_MI
4 years agoHere's the runt -- just refuses to get any taller, it's at least 3 years old. I think I'm just going to replace it with a new, large one-- I really want the effect the SK's give in this particular spot.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked mxk3 z5b_MIrouge21_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 ago
StevePA6a
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 agoThese are huge specimens at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden today.
kitasei
4 years agodeanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
4 years ago
Sue W (CT zone 6a)
4 years agoOut of the three I grow, this one is by far the largest. It gets quite a bit of sun. Very little rain has fallen here since the end of June. I've only watered this once or twice. A few of the leaves are showing some signs of burn but all and all it's holding up better than expected.
StevePA6a