This variegated cultivar is among the most spectacular variegated plants, but it must be grafted and is therefore rare and expensive. It is a large deciduous shrub or small tree with a few main, unbranched stems that have irregular prickles. Plant this shrub in cool, moist, fertile soil but it tolerates a range of soil types. Remove any suckers that develop from the rootstock or the plant may revert back to its non-variegated form. 'Aureovariegata' has yellow-edged leaflets and creamy white flowers that appear in large clusters in the late summer and is the most common cultivar. Use this shrub as an accent or specimen in a cottage or Asian garden or naturalized areas. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Susceptible to leaf spots, aphids, spider mites, and scale insects. Fungal diseases can occur in wet situations with poor air circulation. More information on Aralia elata .
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) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Mature size
Height: 12 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
High; Medium
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Oval; Rounded
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver; Green; Variegated
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
This plant has alternate, bipinnately compound leaves that are 16 to 32 in. long. The gray-green leaflets are 3 to 3.5 in. wide with broad irregular yellow-gold margins.
Flower color
Cream/Tan; White
Flower form
Panicle
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
This plant has tiny creamy-white flowers on large terminal panicles in late summer.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Purple/Lavender
Fruit type
Berry
Fruit detail
purple, globose fruit
Bark color
Light Gray
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Berry
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area
Landscape theme
Asian Garden; Cottage Garden
Design feature
Accent; Specimen
Garden tags
#deciduous #cream flowers #white flowers #full sun tolerant #purple #summer flowers #purple fruits #partial shade tolerant #flowers late summer #showy leaves #small tree #variegated #deciduous shrub #spines #high maintenance