{"id":14718,"date":"2024-07-01T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=14718"},"modified":"2024-07-01T17:51:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T21:51:55","slug":"sun-king-aralia-glows-in-the-summer-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2024\/07\/01\/sun-king-aralia-glows-in-the-summer-heat\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Sun King’ Aralia Glows In the Summer Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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‘Sun King’ golden aralia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plants with golden foliage can brighten up almost any drab garden patch. Sun King golden aralia (Aralia cordata <\/em>‘Sun King’) is no exception, hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-9. It is also known as Japanese spikenard and mountain asparagus. Under ideal conditions this thornless, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial grows rapidly to 3-5 feet tall and as wide in a single season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The golden compound foliage emerges in mid-spring and retains its bright color throughout the summer. Growth rate is rapid and dies back to the ground in late autumn. In mid-summer numerous small clusters of tiny white flowers shoot up, borne on 2 feet tall racemes. Lustrous purplish-black berries follow in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun King makes a bold almost tropical statement in a semi-shade garden. Grow it in a compost-rich moist soil and in \u00bd-day sunlight (morning hours preferred). The foliage will retain the golden color if given at least 2-3 hours of sun each day. More shade will result in lime-green or chartreuse foliage; 4 or more hours will likely burn the foliage. In Southern USDA zones 8 and 9, grow only in dappled sunlight to avoid leaf burn. Golden aralia should be mulched and watered over dry spells lasting 10 or more days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summer seed heads develop (Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sun King aralia mixes well in large containers planted with green and other brightly colored foliage plants. It combines with the following perennials: coral bells (Heuchera spp<\/em>.), and astilbes. Golden aralia is deer resistant. Tiny white flowers in early summer attract numerous honeybees. After a few years plant may colonize from its own germinated seedlings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No pruning is necessary as golden aralia usually dies back to the ground in cold winter. Dead stems and plant debris can be removed once new spring growth emerges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No serious insect or disease problems trouble this reliable perennial. Aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, slugs and snails are occasional pests.\u00a0Leaf spots may be a problem under overhead irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Sun King’ golden aralia was selected the 2020 Perennial Plant of The Year by the Perennial Plant Association. It is an excellent complement to hostas and woodland perennials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Sun King’ golden aralia is not easily found in garden center commerce. However, several online nursery companies do list it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plants with golden foliage can brighten up almost any drab garden patch. Sun King golden aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’) is no exception, hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-9. It is also known as Japanese spikenard and mountain asparagus. Under ideal conditions this thornless, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial grows rapidly to 3-5 feet tall and as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,398,1124,1048,657,1319,1037,1498,778,645,853,1632,1257,742,551,1571,625,843,812,1059,601,729,1140,962,777,630,706,646,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14718"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14723,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718\/revisions\/14723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}