Japanese Aucuba
Aucuba japonica
アオキ
Garryaceae
Aucuba japonica is a shade-tolerant evergreen shrub native to lowland
Native Container Wildlife value: high Maintenance: low shrub
Planting calendar (Tokyo baseline)
Pick a region in the header to shift the window.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planting | ||||||||||||
| Flowering | ||||||||||||
| Fruiting |
Tokyo baseline: months 3, 4, 10
Growing requirements
| Light | part shade → shade |
|---|---|
| Water | medium |
| Soil | humus-rich, well-drained loam; tolerates a wide pH range |
| Hardiness | Tokyo lowland |
| Container | Yes · Min container size: 20 L |
| Maintenance | low |
| Common issues | scale insects (summer, on stems and leaf undersides); sooty mould (secondary, follows scale) |
Where to source
Seedlings, divisions, or seed. Native plant suppliers in Japan are the right starting point.
- Search Japanese suppliers for seedlings · native-plant suppliers
About this native
Aucuba japonica is a shade-tolerant evergreen shrub native to lowland
broadleaf forests of central and western Japan. It thrives in the dim,
awkward corners of Tokyo gardens — north sides of walls, under deciduous
canopy, narrow side-yards — where most other broadleaf evergreens fail.
Dioecious: a female plant in fruit holds bright red drupes from late
autumn through midwinter, providing critical cold-season forage for
bulbuls and shrikes. Avoid harsh afternoon sun and prolonged drought.
For containers, choose at least 20 L and amend with leaf mould.
Usage
Hedging, north-facing borders, container specimen for shaded courtyards.
Variegated cultivars exist but if you want the wildlife-supporting native,
plant the plain green form.
Practical info
| Native | Yes |
|---|---|
| Edible | No |
| Wildlife value | high |
| Attracts |
|
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Cosine similarity over the attribute vector — plants with comparable light/water/life-form profiles.
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Sources
Primary references, publications, and observation data this page draws on. How sources are picked is described in About the data .
- Tokyo Metropolitan Parks — Native Plant List
- 環境省 自然環境局 種の保存
- ヤサシイエンゲイ (京都けえ園芸企画舎 / Kyoto Kee Engei Kikakusha, 2026-04)
- Catalog editor (niwa, 2026-05)