Aucuba japonica Crotonifolia- Spotted Laurel

The Aucuba japonica 'Crotonifolia' is a variety of Japanese laurel with variegated foliage, often planted in gardens. Easy to grow in any good garden soil, it displays glossy and bright foliage, dark green speckled with yellow or cream-white, evergreen throughout the year. Small red berries appear in winter on female plants. This beautiful bush with a rounded habit is perfect for bringing colour and light to shaded areas of the garden or north/northeast-facing facades, and will be a focal point on a shaded terrace, planted in a large container.

Originally from the Far East, Japan, Taiwan, and eastern China, the Japanese Aucuba is a true shade and cool climate plant, belonging to the cornaceae family. However, this cousin of dogwoods in its variegated forms prefers filtered sunlight, which enhances the beauty of its foliage. A dense bush with a rounded habit, 'Crotonifolia' variety grows slowly, forming a tall and wide bush ranging from 1.m (3.3ft) to 2m (6.6ft), with superb evergreen foliage, dark green splashed with vivid cream-yellow. The oval and elongated leaves measure 10 to 15cm (5.9in) in length and 5 to 7cm (2.8in) in width. They are thick, leathery, and glossy, with a dentate margin towards the end. In late spring, the Aucuba produces beautiful clusters of purple flowers, hidden among the foliage. Like Holly, Aucuba is dioecious, it will either be male or female, and a female plant will produce small shiny orange-red fruits only in the presence of nearby male plants. These ovoid fruits, 2cm (0.8in) long, turn black in winter, and are not edible for humans but are a treat for some birds in the winter season.

A shade and semi-shade shrub, perfectly hardy, the Japanese Laurel 'Crotonifolia' appreciates fertile, slightly chalky, and moist soil, but can tolerate much less favourable growing conditions, including dry soil, which allows for its planting in almost any garden. Easy to grow, it does not require any training pruning. Use it as a specimen, a hedge, in the back of shaded flower beds, or near an east or northeast-facing entrance, next to a hydrangea, Mexican orange blossom, or Nandina. If your terrace or balcony has a slightly shaded area, it can accommodate this beautiful aucuba, providing a permanent decoration even in winter under a grey and low sky.