Pachysandra

Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis)

Japanese Spurge

Full shade to part shade, moderately moist to well-drained; tolerates clay if not waterlogged; pH 5.0–6.0; strongly acid-preferring and declines in alkaline soils; does not tolerate full sun or dry exposure.

20–25 cm tall; spreads by rhizomes to form dense weed-suppressing mats; blooms April–May with small white flowers; evergreen.

Division of rooted rhizomes in spring; stem cuttings in summer root under mist.

Native region: Not native to Tennessee; ornamental introduction from Japan; widely planted in Zone 5–8 shade gardens.

The standard shade groundcover for deep, dry shade under maples and other surface-rooting trees in Middle Tennessee, though performance is conditional on soil acidity — soils with pH above 6.5 cause chlorotic, yellow foliage that never corrects without sulfur amendment. Test soil before planting in areas of Middle Tennessee with limestone-derived soils, which commonly run pH 6.8–7.2. Volutella blight (Volutella pachysandricola) causes stem and leaf dieback in dense, poorly ventilated plantings; thin crowded areas and remove infected stems before the fungus spreads. The cultivar 'Green Sheen' with more lustrous foliage is slightly more vigorous and disease-resistant than straight species in Zone 6b conditions.