Habitat

• native to Japan
• hardy to zone 4
• Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, .

Habit and Form

• a medium sized semi-evergreen shrub
• 10' to 12' tall with an equal or greater spread
• multistemmed
• broad horizontal branching
• fine texture
• medium growth rate

Summer Foliage

• opposite leaf arrangement
• simple, elliptical leaves
• 1" to 2" long
• entire leaf margins
• deep green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• leaves turn reddish-purple
• not showy

Flowers

• white flowers
• foul odor
• blooms in June
• borne in narrow panicles
• somewhat showy

Fruit

• black fruit
• small drupe
• ripens in September
• persists

Bark

• thin stems
• gray-brown bark color
• smooth

Culture

• transplants easily
• extremely adaptable
• full sun to partial shade
• prune after flowering

Landscape Use

• screen
• border
• hedge
• foundation planting

Liabilities

• powdery mildew
• leaf spot
• aphids, leaf miners, mites and whiteflies

ID Features

• white fragrant flowers in spring
• black fruit
• opposite leaf arrangement
• small appressed buds
• green stems
• gray bark
• purplish fall color

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

var. regelianum - This form is popular and useful due to its branches that spread horizontally to a height of 5'. The leaves are arranged in one plane for a neatly textured effect.

'Constitution' - A compact form with dense habit, this plant reaches 8' tall and wide with leaves that twist slightly.