Fatsia Japanese Aralia

Beautiful, fanned leaves in lush, deep green shades. It is lovely and upright with good branching and a dense covering of foliage. The leaves grow up to 45cm, increasing with age and their texture is totally gorgeous.

It isn’t hard to care for and is so lush, you will want another!

This larger pot size will create instant impact.

If you treat it with respect you might even get a nice showing of autumn flowers that mature to black ornamental fruits (inedible). You can leave them to show or remove them depending on your tastes, it is mainly grown for foliage.

Now a Fatsia, it was previously known as Aralia japonica. Common names in clued Japanese Fatsia, Paper Plant, Japanese Aralia, Spider’s Web and False Castor Oil Plant.

SIZE (HxW): 60-180cm x 50-100cm. They will be contained by the size of the pot. You can grow it outdoors in warm climates and it will grow much larger.

Water Needs: Water regularly in spring/summer and less in winter. They don’t want to completely dry out, so test the top few centimetres and once it is dry, give the pot a good soak. You might want to water overhead, in the shower or outside with the hose to give the leaves a bit of a clean at the same time. They will forgive you if you miss a watering or two, but will resent you if you leave them to sit in a puddle.

As a tropical they appreciate some humidity – especially in homes with ducted heating/air conditioning. It isn’t as vital as for many house plants, so you might get away without it. But, you can provide some humidity for your beloved plant, by placing them over a dish with rocks and water, this will naturally fancy and grow a few of these tropical treats, purchasing a humidifier is a good investment – they are also good for you. Or you could grow it in a bathroom which naturally gets a good dose of steam. Or grow with other plants where the humidity will naturally form around the plants.

I will Survive: Bright, indirect light is ideal. You should be able to read during the day in their position in the room without turning on a light. They can grow in artificial light and will need 8-10 hours of this a day – good news for the office.

A diluted liquid fertiliser in spring/summer will keep them happy and healthy. Oh and don’t forget to rotate the pot – ideally do this when you water as it is easier to remember. Prune as required in spring – don’t be afraid.

Leafdrop occurs when your plant is unhappy, possible reasons for this is you’ve moved it to a new spot and it isn’t happy, there is a draught, too much or too little water or not enough humidity. It should be fairly easy to work out the reason and remedy it. The sap could irritate sensitive skin.