Type

Tree · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Foliage color

Green

Flower color

White

Sunlight

At its best in deep shade and against north-facing walls.

Watering

Water it in; after that it puts up with dry shade.

Feeding

A balanced feed in spring with a compost mulch.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Pruning

Take out damaged stems; it will take a hard cut without complaint.

Overwintering

Shelter it from cold winds, and cover young plants with frost cloth.

• Mar–Sep Spring Growth
• Sep–Dec Growing
• Jan–Mar Growing

Plant spacing

8 ft 2 in

In-row spacing

8 ft 2 in

Between rows

10 ft 3 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Root system

Woody and fibrous

Working depth

12–24 in

Can reach

3 ft down where the soil allows

Spread

12–16 ft across, about 1.5–2× the width of the plant

Shallowest pot

20 in of soil

A shallow woody framework with the fine feeding roots in the leaf litter above it. Those feeders are mostly under the outer half of the canopy rather than against the stem, which is where water and feed should go.

The habit is Fatsia japonica’s own; the figures are what that habit usually comes to at this size, not a measurement of this species. Roots follow the soil either way: a compacted pan, a high water table or heavy clay stops them well short of any of it, and deep open ground lets them go further.

We say a plant is safe only where a named poison-control reference names that exact species and records it as non-toxic to both cats and dogs. Most plants are on nobody’s list, and their absence here is not a judgement about them. This is a record of what those references say, not veterinary advice, and it cannot account for your own animal, the quantity eaten, or a plant treated with anything.

More about plants and pets

• Generally trouble-free No notable pest or disease problems when grown in the right conditions — one of the easy ones.

Ferns, Hostas, Hydrangea

Green-leaved trees with white flowers, like this one.

• Curry Leaf