Slender Deutzia

(Saxifragaceae - Saxifrage Family)

Form

• small ornamental shrub
• species form slowly matures at about 3' tall by 4' wide (or larger, but the primary cultivar is smaller)
• spreading oval growth habit (with the oval on its side)
• slow growth rate

Culture

• full sun to partial shade
• best performance occurs in full sun in moist, well-drained, average soils, but it is adaptable to relatively poor soils, variable soil pHs, and occasional drought
• propagated by seeds or rooted stem cuttings
• Saxifrage Family, with few diseases or pests of ornamental significance
• moderately available in container form
• immediately after flowering, keep it tidy by shearing off the upper one-third of the stems for invigoration and to remove the winter-killed upper portions of some stems; also consider pruning to the ground every third year after flowering, for total rejuvenation

Foliage

• medium green, opposite, lanceolate, short-petioled, slightly rough on the upper leaf surface, and with knobby serrations of lighter color on the leaf margin that are uniquely raised above the plane of the leaf
• fall color is chartreuse to faded orange-red, and ornamentally ineffective

Flowers

• white, in early May, composed of 3" long inflorescences of approximately five flowers each, effective for two weeks and the only attractive element of the species form of this low shrub

Fruits

• small green-brown capsules are ornamentally inconspicuous

Twigs

• tan to gray, exfoliating, very twiggy and thin, and prone to Winter dieback at the tips

Trunk

• not applicable

ID Summary

• leaves are opposite on the thin stems, with knobby serrations raised above the plane of the leaf blade
• showy inflorescences are pure white, occuring in early May, and adorn the low, spreading, fine-textured, twiggy shrub, which often has dead tips and/or dead sections of the shrub from Winter-kill

USAGE

Function

• shrub used in tucked-away borders and foundations, often found in group or mass plantings, or alternatively used as a facer shrub (to hide the bare portions of leggy shrubs of other species) if it is regulary sheared to keep it tidy and spreading

Texture

• fine texture in foliage and when bare
• average density in foliage but thick density when bare

Assets

• good Spring flowers are effective for up to two weeks
• often a low, spreading, relatively compact habit
• fine texture

Liabilities

• poor fall color
• often has terminal twig dieback in Winter, resulting in a ragged appearance in early Spring

Habitat

• zones 4 to 8
• native to Japan

SELECTIONS

Alternates

• compact shrubs with attractive flowers (Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird', Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet', Rhododendron [mostly Azaleas], Viburnum plicatum 'Nanum Newport', etc.)
• fine-textured small shrubs (Forsythia viridissima 'Bronxensis', Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', Picea abies 'Pumila', Spiraea x bumalda, etc.)
• facer shrubs (Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea 'Crimson Pygmy', Cotoneaster apiculatus, Philadelphus 'Miniature Snowflake', Picea abies 'Nidiformis', Viburnum opulus 'Nanum', etc.)

Variants

• Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko' - similar to the species form except for the critical aspects of a slightly more compact habit with attractive burgandy-purplish fall color, but slightly less cold hardy; still, the cultivar of choice

NOTES

Translation

• Deutzia is named after Johann van der Deutz, the 18th century patron of Carl Peter Thunberg, a botanist who collected many plants from Japan and introduced them to Western civilizations.
• gracilis translates as "graceful" or "slender", and refers to the thin stems.

Purpose

• Slender Deutzia is a Spring-flowering small shrub that is also noted for its fine texture and facer shrub potential.

Summary

• Deutzia gracilis is known as a compact shrub with showy white May inflorescences and fine texture.