College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources

Plant Database

Deutzia gracilis

Slender Deutzia

Saxifragaceae

Slender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender DeutziaSlender Deutzia
Expand

Habitat

  • native to Japan
  • zone 4

Habit and Form

  • small, deciduous shrub
  • broad mounded shape
  • 2' to 4' high with an equal spread
  • slow growth rate
  • fine texture, medium in winter months

Summer Foliage

  • deciduous, simple leaves
  • opposite leaf arrangement
  • lanceolate leaf shape
  • 1" to 3" long and about 0.5' wide
  • leaf base is rounded
  • leaf tip is pointed
  • unequal serrated leaf margins
  • medium green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

  • no fall color

Flowers

  • pure white flowers
  • small, only about 0.5" in diameter
  • blooms in late May
  • borne in racemes
  • plants become covered in flowers
  • short blooming time, 1 to 2 weeks

Fruit

  • dry brown capsules
  • not ornamentally important

Bark

  • very slender stems
  • older bark tends to exfoliate
  • young bark in yellowish, glabrous
  • linear leaf scar
  • sessile buds, brownish

Culture

  • easily transplanted
  • prefers well-drained soil
  • full sun
  • prune after flowering
  • pH adaptable
  • renewal pruning is effective

Landscape Use

  • foundation planting
  • mass or group
  • flowering effect
  • shrub border
  • for texture

Liabilities

  • leaf spot
  • aphids
  • leaf minor
  • can look unkempt and need renewal pruning

ID Features

  • small mounded deciduous shrub
  • opposite leaf arrangement
  • unequal serrated leaf margins
  • white flowers in late May
  • linear leaf scars

Propagation

  • by softwood cuttings
  • by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Nikko' (perhaps the same as 'Nana') - A popular plant highly promoted in the last decade, 'Nikko' forms a neat, dense low mound or groundcover 2' tall and at least twice as wide. The blooms are abundant and pure white in spring, and the fall foliage can be a good red.

'Variegata' - A form occasionally encountered in specialist nurseries, this plant has leaves that are broadly-margined with white. Other traits are similar to the species. A striking shrub perhaps useful in lightening up small areas.

© Copyright Mark H. Brand, 1997-2015.

The digital materials (images and text) available from the UConn Plant Database are protected by copyright. Public use via the Internet for non-profit and educational purposes is permitted. Use of the materials for profit is prohibited.

Citation and Acknowledgements: University of Connecticut Plant Database, https://plantdatabase.uconn.edu/, Mark H. Brand, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Storrs, CT 06269-4067 USA.