Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 6a |
|---|---|
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | round |
| Mature height | 10 feet |
| Spread | 10 feet |
| Light requirements | partial shade to shade |
| Moisture requirements | average to moist |
| Plant origin | import |
Gold Dust Aucuba
Botanical name: Aucuba japonica ‘Gold Dust’
This stunning evergreen solves the problem of the most shaded garden areas and adds eye catching color; flowers and berries are not really noticeable; ideal as a dense screen; drought tolerant once established; protect from cold winter winds.
Ornamental Features
Gold Dust Aucuba has attractive yellow-spotted dark green foliage. The glossy pointy leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. Neither the flowers nor the fruit are ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Gold Dust 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.
Gold Dust Aucuba is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Accent, Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use
Planting and Growing
Gold Dust Aucuba will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast 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.
