Other Names:  Pepper Pot Aucuba, Spotted Laurel, Japanese Laurel

Description:

This stunning evergreen solves the problem of the most shaded garden areas; shiny, dark green foliage is heavily flecked and spotted in creamy yellow; perfect for smaller spaces; drought tolerant once established; protect from cold winter winds

Ornamental Features

Pepperpot Aucuba has attractive yellow-spotted dark green foliage with hints of creamy white on a plant with a round habit of growth. The glossy lobed leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Pepperpot Aucuba is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and can be pruned at anytime. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Pepperpot Aucuba is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Pepperpot Aucuba will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in partial shade to shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Pepperpot Aucuba makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.