This variegated cultivar of is among the most spectacular variegated plants, but they must be grafted and are 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 including clay. Remove any suckers that develop from the rootstock or the plant may revert back to its non-variegated form. Variegata' has white to cream margins on the leaves and creamy white flowers that appear in large clusters in the late summer. Use the shrub as an accent, in groups or as a specimen. It can also be used in 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; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
Mature size
Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
High
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 with 3 to 3.5 in. wide gray-green leaflets with broad irregular yellow-gold margins.
Flower color
Cream/Tan; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
This plant has creamy-white flowers on large terminal panicles in late summer.