Japanese Kerria

Japanese Kerria

Kerria japonica

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

▲ ▼ mature plants

▲ ▼ flowers

▲ foliage and bright green zig-zag twigs

Location near campus: along west side of Xeriscape Garden; Xeriscape Garden is at northwest corner of National and Linwood, about 3/4 mile south of campus on National Avenue.

Kerria japonica: Japanese Kerria, Japanese Rose

• leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, ovate-lanceolate with doubly-serrate margins and pointed tip; bright to light green in color and paler beneath with some pubescence; 1/5-4" long and 1/3-1/2 as wide; often turns bright yellow in fall
• stems slender, green, often zig-zag in appearance, glabrous and glossy
• flowers showy, rose-like, bright yellow, sometimes double-flowered, at tips of branches in late spring and often re-flowering sporadically through summer; fruit is an achene--not showy
• grows 3-6' tall and 6-9' wide with arching upright stems to form a broad, rounded plant
• prefers part shade, but can tolerate full-sun to full-shade; best flowering in part shade; needs well-drained soil with moderate fertility-- too much water & nutrients creates a more gangly plant
• medium to fast growth rate