Associate the Aralia
6 ideas to invite Angelica tree into your garden
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With its exotic look and cold resistance, the Aralia is an interesting plant for the garden in more ways than one. Also known as Angelica tree or Spiny Angelica depending on the variety, the Aralia is a bushy plant with large, lobed, deciduous foliage and a silhouette that is often graphic.
Not to be confused with its cousin the Fatsia, also known as False Aralia, Aralias range from compact, small perennials to single-trunked shrubs that form a distinctive little tree. They can be paired with various types of plants, and it is interesting to incorporate them into natural displays, in beds of cool soil, or in exotic or Japanese-inspired settings.
Discover how to enhance your Aralias alongside other bushes or perennials and elevate them through multiple landscape associations.
In a room of fresh greenery
Giant perennial to plant in shade, the Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ or Golden Aralia features beautiful deciduous golden foliage, ideal for brightening shaded areas. Plant as groundcover the Aralia nudicaulis or Naked-stemmed Aralia, another rhizomatous perennial of the same genus, very comfortable in woodlands. Non-invasive and very hardy, this Aralia produces a single dark green, lobed leaf in spring and a floral stem adorned with clusters of small, pale greenish-white flowers.
These acid-loving plants will particularly thrive alongside Hydrangeas, such as the Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bombshell’, with a compact habit and long, abundant flowering in large, compound panicles of cream-white flowers. These imposing plants will contrast beautifully with the fine leaves of grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis ‘Krater’ featuring dark coppery-red, feathery inflorescences. To complete this fresh green space, plant Astilboides or Rodgersia tabularis. These shade plants par excellence offer both magnificent lush foliage and beautiful, airy white flowers.
Clockwise: Aralia nudicaulis, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bombshell’, Astilboides tabularis syn Rodgersia tabularis, Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ and Miscanthus sinensis ‘Krater’
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Aralia: planting, cultivation and careIn an exotic-inspired display
Golden Umbrella Angelica Tree Aralia elata ‘Golden Umbrella’ or ‘Aureovariegata’ is a very elegant shrub with a distinctly exotic appearance. It boasts immense, finely cut leaves variegated in cream yellow and forms a small tree with multiple trunks arranged like a parasol. Plant it in ordinary soil, in both shade and sun. By late summer, it is adorned with large, fragrant, cream-white umbels and takes on stunning autumnal hues of purplish yellow.
To perfect the construction of your exotic ambiance, plant alongside this exceptional Aralia some Cycas revoluta or Japanese Sago Palm, a type of small palm with a short trunk bearing a compact crown of stiff leaves, and a magnificent Tetrapanax papyrifera ‘Rex’ or Rice Paper Plant. This specimen will form a small tree with a very exotic appearance in a mild climate, with its large, lush, beautifully cut leaves. Finally, plant non-running bamboos such as the highly ornamental Fargesia nitida ‘Black Pearl’ with dark green evergreen leaves, which bears purple canes and has a very bushy habit. Reaching about 2.5m at ripeness, it is not invasive, adapts well to small spaces, and thrives in partial shade or even denser shade.
Aralia elata ‘Golden Umbrella’, Cycas revoluta, Tetrapanax papyrifera ‘Rex’, Fargesia nitida ‘Black Pearl'[/caption>
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At the edge of a sun-coloured border
With its particularly bright foliage, the Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ or Golden Aralia, a giant herbaceous perennial, pairs well with perennials in yellow and orange tones. Plant it in the background, in partial shade, for example under the foliage of large trees that cool the atmosphere. In the foreground and in full sun, plant the Daylilies Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’, wonderful perennials with golden yellow flowers and generous linear foliage. The Indigo Lupin Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’ features long stems with bright lemon-yellow flowers grouped in spikes and blue-green foliage in May-June. Both hardy and easy to grow, this magnificent perennial thrives in poor soils with no excess lime.
To add contrast and depth to this composition, imagine a Smoke Tree Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, a large deciduous shrub, ornamental in every way with its purple-violet foliage that takes on sumptuous scarlet hues in autumn. Its summer inflorescences are fluffy and purplish: a marvel! Very robust, hardy, and easy to cultivate, it adapts to all soils. Finally, bring brightness and delicacy with the spectacular Crocosmia crocosmiiflora ‘Zambesi’. Vigorous, this montbretia ‘Zambesi’ produces spikes of large and beautiful bright orange-yellow flowers in summer: a flamboyant and generous companion for the previous plants, easy to grow in cool but well-drained soil.
Clockwise: Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’, Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’, Crocosmia crocosmiiflora ‘Zambesi’, Baptisia ‘Lemon Meringue’
In a large shrubbery massif
TheAralia elata ‘Variegata’ develops its umbrella-like silhouette up to 6 m in height. It has its place in a large border alongside trees and bushes in fresh soil, with a variety of foliage colours. Its leaves are formed of large, beautifully cut leaves variegated in green and silvery white. At the end of August, it produces large, airy cream-coloured umbels that are pleasantly fragrant. It imposes its elegance alongside a Red Maple Acer rubrum ‘Armstrong’ with a columnar habit, whose glossy green foliage turns orange-red in autumn. This medium-sized maple (approximately 12 m tall with a spread of 4 m) also thrives in partial shade in rich, fresh soil.
Plant alongside these large bushy subjects a beautiful Skimmia japonica ‘Fragrant Cloud’, Japanese Skimmia with delightfully fragrant spring flowering and a lovely compact habit. Evergreen, it will add structure to the display. Its spring flowering takes the form of greenish-white panicles. At the base, add the Japanese Dogwood Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’, an interesting variety for its scarlet red foliage in autumn and especially its magnificent pink flowering in June, followed by decorative red berries. Finally, the Black Elder Sambucus nigra ‘Thundercloud’ will add depth with its finely cut dark purple foliage.
Aralia elata ‘Variegata’, Sambucus nigra ‘Thundercloud’, Acer rubrum ‘Armstrong’, Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’ and Skimmia japonica ‘Fragrant Cloud’
In a Japanese garden
Incontournable dans un jardin d’inspiration nippone : l‘Aralia elata ou Angélique japonaise vous plongera immédiatement dans l’ambiance de l’Empire du Soleil levant par sa frondaison en parasol délicat porté par plusieurs troncs et son feuillage découpé prenant l’automne venu de somptueuses teintes jaunes et rouges. L’Érable du Japon Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Garnet’, somptueux petit arbre de 3m de haut au feuillage rouge foncé finement découpé, sera mis en valeur par le Bambou nain Pleioblastus pygmaeus ‘Distichus’, bambou très compact de 60cm de haut permettant de tracer de petites bordures ou à utiliser en touffe. Attention à son caractère traçant qui devra être maîtrisé par une barrière anti-racines. Enfin, si vous vous sentez l’âme artiste, vous pourrez planter un Pin sylvestre ou Pinus sylvestris ou un Pin blanc du Japon Pinus parviflora à tailler en nuage, dans le style niwaki.
Ambiance de jardin japonais, Aralia elata, Pleioblastus pygmaeus ‘Distichus’, pin taillé en nuages et Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Garnet’
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In a naturalistic border
Naturalistic borders have a natural and wild appearance, combining single perennial plants and bushes without ostentation, linked by tufts of light grasses. One could imagine a path leading between large Aralia elata surrounded by masses of colourful perennial plants. This tree angelica bears a lovely flowering in large white bouquets that begins in summer and lasts until autumn. It can be paired with Eupatorium Eupatorium cannabinum ‘Plenum’ with their double flowers in corymbs of old rose, with Japanese knotweeds Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Fat Domino’ and their carmine spikes, and with Rudbeckia Echinacea ‘Red Knee High’ and their lovely bright pink daisies.
To bring structure and brightness, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Cabaret’ is an excellent choice of grass, tall and graceful. Finally, the Rose ‘Iceberg’ – a classic and a safe bet – will add a touch of pure white, welcome to temper the colours of the perennials.
Aralia elata, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Cabaret’, Rosa ‘Iceberg’, Eupatorium cannabinum ‘Plenum’, Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Fat Domino’ and Echinacea ‘Red Knee High’
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