About
Aralia echinocaulis is a resilient deciduous shrub or small tree that can grow as tall as 10 meters in its native environment, though it typically reaches a lesser height in UK gardens. It features large, bipinnate leaves that display a range of colors in the fall, transitioning to yellows, browns, and purples. The plant is characterized by a single, dark brown stem that is sharply spiny. From June to August, it produces clusters of fragrant, purplish-white flowers, which are succeeded by small dark purple to black berries that appear from September to November.
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
- Partial shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Shrubs, Trees
- Habit
- Bushy, Columnar upright
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 2.5-4 metres
- Spread
- 2.5-4 metres
- Time to full height
- 10-20 years
- Suggested uses
- Architectural, Cottage and informal garden, Patio and container plants
- Native to
- China
- Fragrance
- Flower
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in humus-rich, moist but well drained soil in partial shade. Direct sunlight may scorch the leaves. Protect from very cold winters
- Pruning
- Tidy up in spring
- Propagation
- Propagate by division in spring or hardwood cuttings in 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