© The Dabney Nursery
Plant: Hosoba Hoshifu - Aucuba Variegata
Aucuba · Aucuba japonica 'Hosoba Hoshifu'
Size: 3 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
Hosoba Hoshifu is a selection of Aucuba japonica, a slow growing broadleaf evergreen shrub with an arching to rounded, dense habit and large glossy, leathery, toothed leaves. The species carries small cross shaped purple maroon flowers in spring, and female plants with a male pollinator produce showy red half inch drupes that ripen in fall and persist into winter. It wants partial to deep shade and soil high in organic matter that stays moist but drains well, since foliage burns in summer sun, and it tolerates heavy shade, drought, pollution and salt. It is used in shaded corners, as a hedge or screen and in containers.
- Full Shade
- Grows to 8 ft tall and 6 ft wide
- Blooms in spring
- Hardy in USDA zones 7-10
- Evergreen foliage
Plant description
Hosoba Hoshifu is a selection of Aucuba japonica, a slow growing broadleaf evergreen shrub with an arching to rounded, dense habit and large glossy, leathery, toothed leaves. The species carries small cross shaped purple maroon flowers in spring, and female plants with a male pollinator produce showy red half inch drupes that ripen in fall and persist into winter. It wants partial to deep shade and soil high in organic matter that stays moist but drains well, since foliage burns in summer sun, and it tolerates heavy shade, drought, pollution and salt. It is used in shaded corners, as a hedge or screen and in containers.
- Flowers
- Purple-maroon, 4 petals, 4 sepals, cross-shaped with white anthers.
- Fruit
- Red, ellipsoid, one-seeded, berry-like drupes to about half an inch that ripen in fall; female plants need a male pollinator to fruit.
- Light
- Dappled/Filtered Light, Deep Shade
- Native range
- East Asia and Japan
