About
Aralia cachemirica is a robust, arching perennial that reaches heights of 1.5 to 3 meters. Its leaves are large and pinnately divided, displaying a vibrant green that transitions to shades of crimson and purple as autumn approaches. The plant produces open panicles of small, creamy-white flowers that can extend up to 30 centimeters in length, ultimately yielding maroon-black berries.
About the genus
Aralia includes deciduous trees, shrubs, and perennial plants characterized by their sizable, either simple or pinnately compound foliage. The species produce small greenish-white flowers that cluster in large groups at the ends of branches, which eventually give way to small black fruits.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- West-facing, East-facing, North-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 2.5-4 metres
- Spread
- 1.5-2.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 5-10 years
- Suggested uses
- Architectural
- Native to
- Afghanistan to Himalaya, Tibet
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Ideally plant in full to light shade in humus-rich, evenly-moist soil. When grown on drier soils the lower leaves are often lost. Mature plants do not transplant well as they have an extensive fleshy root system. They can take several years to settle in the new position
- Pruning
- Cut down after frost
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed; sow seeds as soon as ripe and keep in cold frame, or sow indoors after four weeks of cold stratification. Take root cuttings in spring or autumn
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to aphids
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus in gardens where it is present but insufficient data to determine degree of susceptibility