How to Grow Japanese Aucuba

Overview

Young Japanese aucuba plant in a pot Shovel Hand shovel Cottonseed meal Mulch Dried leaves or straw Bushel basket or other basket

Step 1

Remove the your Japanese aucuba from its pot. If the pot sticks a bit, use a hand shovel to dislodge the rootball. Plant your young Japanese aucuba in the spring after the risk of frost has passed.

Step 2

Dig a hole with a shovel the depth of the root ball and between 20 and 30 percent wider than the root ball. The additional space will allow you to move the bush for best visual placement in your garden.

Step 3

Place the young shrub in the hole and sprinkle a couple handfuls of cottonseed meal in the hole as a fertilizer. Cottonseed meal will help promote growth and berry production. After the first year, feed the Japanese aucuba with a couple handfuls of cottonseed meal every spring.

Step 4

Cover the root ball by filling the hole. Add mulch around the base of the bush to help keep weeds down.

Step 5

Protect the bush the first winter by covering it with straw or dry leaves and covering those leaves with a bushel basket or other basket. After the first season, Japanese aucuba should be able to "winter over" in zones 6 or above.