This low growing dense suckering shrub is 2-3 ft high with 3-4ft width and suckering habit which can be used as a ground cover. It is drought tolerant and accepts a range of soil types including clay. It will tolerate alkaline soils. Originally native to Korea, northern China and southern Japan, it prefers some partial afternoon shade in the hot, humid summers of the deep South. The compound bright green leaves take on a gold color in fall. In zones 5 and 6 it can be grown as an herbaceous perennial by cutting the stems back to the ground in the winter before new growth emerges. Even in warmer climates, the structure of the plant looks more attractive after giving it a hard winter prune. The flowering time is June and July, however, it can bloom sporadically to September. The pea-shaped blooms of pink are held in dense racemes of 4-5 inches. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Dense
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Bright green 7-11 rounded leaflets on pinnately compound leaves
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Pink
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
4"-5" total length erect rose-colored axillary racemes on new growth from June-July and sometimes intermittently until September. Resemble pea flowers.