Common Name: Japanese kerria
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 4.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 6.00 to 8.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Hedge, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer, Heavy Shade, Dry Soil, Wet Soil
Culture
Grow in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in part shade. Tolerates full shade. Flowers pale in too much sun. Prefers loamy soils that are moderately fertile. Avoid heavy clay soils. Blooms on previous year’s wood, so prune in spring after flowering. Suckering habit can be a problem, and unwanted suckers should be promptly removed. If necessary, plants may be renovated by cutting stems to the ground.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Kerria japonica, commonly called Japanese kerria or Japanese rose, is a tough-but-graceful, spring-flowering, deciduous shrub that is native to certain mountainous areas of China and Japan. It typically grows to 3-6’ tall and to 6-8’ wide on slender, arching, yellowish-green stems that remain an attractive green in winter. Single, five-petaled, rose-like, yellow flowers (to 1 1/2” diameter) bloom somewhat profusely in spring. Double-toothed, narrow, ovate-lanceolate, bright green leaves (to 4” long) turn yellow in fall.
Genus name honors William Kerr (d. 1814), Kew gardener and collector, who collected in China, Java and the Philippines.
Specific epithet means of Japan.
Plants in the genus Kerria are sometimes also commonly called Easter rose because the flowers typically bloom around Easter time and resemble roses.
‘Albescens’ features creamy yellow flowers (to 2” diameter) with irregularly shaped petals. It typically grows to 4-5' tall. Foliage turns pale yellow in fall.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to leaf spots, cankers, blights and root rot.
Uses
An attractive flowering shrub for shady areas of woodland gardens or shrub borders. Specimen, group or mass. Informal hedge or screen. Incorporate into foundation plantings. Also effective in wild gardens or naturalized areas where plants may be allowed to sucker and spread.