Fatsia japonica seed

LATIN NAME: Fatsia japonica

COMMON NAME: Japanese Fatsia

The Japanese fatsia has the biggest, glossiest leaves of any easy shrub in the garden. The bold, evergreen shrub carries the very large, deep-lobed, glossy, dark-green leaves on the stout stems and the round, umbel-like heads of the small, cream flowers in the late autumn, to be followed by the clusters of the small, black fruits. The plant is one of the fine, generous presences of the shaded garden, filling the corner with the great leaves through the year. It is a shrub of the cool, moist, rich, well-drained, shaded ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Japanese fatsia is a bold, leafy figure in the plant science, studied for the very large, deep-lobed leaves and the way the plant fills the shaded ground. The way the shrub stands the city air and the shade has been examined closely, and it keeps showing up in the work on the foliage shrubs, the shade-tolerant plants and the members of the aralia family. The round heads of the cream flowers and the bold, evergreen habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the Japanese fatsia is a regular subject of the studies of the great-leafed shrubs of the shade.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Japanese fatsia is a bold, evergreen presence of the shady garden. The very large, glossy, deep-lobed leaves fill the shaded corner, the north wall and the city courtyard, keeping their good looks through the year, and the round heads of the cream flowers open in the late autumn, when the garden is quiet. The plant is one of the fine, easy choices for the difficult shade, and the clusters of the small, black fruits follow the flowers. It has been written about in the horticultural papers for the great leaves and the easy shaded ways, and it is a fine, long-lived shrub of the cool, moist, rich, well-drained, shaded garden.

The Japanese fatsia is one of the great-leafed shrubs of the shade, and the very large, glossy, deep-lobed leaves fill the shaded corner and the city courtyard through the year. The round heads of the cream flowers open in the late autumn.

To grow the Japanese fatsia from seed, sow the large, dark seeds about a centimetre down in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a bright, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings are up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the shade and the cool, moist, rich, well-drained ground, the great glossy leaves will open through the years.

Native to southern Japan, it is an evergreen shrub growing to 3-6 m tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are spirally-arranged, 20-50 cm in width and on a petiole up to 50 cm long, with 7-9 broad lobes, the lobes are edged with coarse, blunt teeth.

The flowers are small, white, borne in dense terminal compound umbels in late autumn or early winter, followed by small black fruit.