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.