Habitat

• native to Japan
• zone 4

Habit and Form

• a evergreen groundcover
• spreads by rhizomes
• forms a dense and solid carpet of vegetation
• grows 6" to 10" high

Summer Foliage

• leaves are held clustered at the tips of shoots in whorls, with several inches of naked basal stem present
• leaf arrangement is alternate
• leaves are 2" to 3.5" long and 0.5" to 1.25" wide
• diamond-shaped leaves
• coarsely serrated on the upper third of the leaf
• leaves are glossy, dark green

Autumn Foliage

• evergreen, no fall color

Flowers

• blooms in late March and early April
• small white flowers in terminal spikes
• spikes are 1" to 2" long
• flowers are not usually that numerous and are not especially showy

Fruit

• small and inconspicuous
• greenish - white

Bark

• stems are green
• true bark doesn't develop

Culture

• easily transplanted
• requires weed control during establishment
• once established, relatively easily grown
• needs partial shade to shade
• soils that are moist slightly acidic and high in organic matter are best
• avoid poorly drained, heavy clay soils

Landscape Use

• one of the best groundcover for shade
• good for erosion control, sloped shady banks
• works well under shade trees where lawn growth is poor

Liabilities

• somewhat overused and common
• volutella leaf blight and stem canker can be serious in excessively dense or stressed plantings
• scale
• will yellow in too much sun
• leaf removal can be challenging

ID Features

• low evergreen groundcover
• rhizomatous growth
• foliage in terminal whorls
• diamond-shaped leaves with coarse serrations at the end of each leaf

Propagation

• by cuttings, easy

Cultivars/Varieties

'Green Carpet' - Becoming more common in the trade, this selection bears waxy deep green leaves on compact stems that do not trail like the species. It grows neatly and uniformly.

'Green Sheen' - Selected by Dale Chapman in Connecticut, this universally praised plant has leaves so lustrous as to appear polished. They are deep green and look good in sun or shade. The plant appears to be more tolerant of hot conditions than the species, but it is also more slow growing.

'Variegata' (also known as 'Silver Edge') - This form bears clean white marginal mottling on the glossy leaves. It is much slower growing than the species, but handsome when established.