Gold Dust Tree

Gold Dust Tree (Aucuba japonica 'Variegata') is the answer to the darkest corner of the garden, where nothing has ever looked right. It is a rounded evergreen shrub to about 2m tall and 1.5m wide, with large glossy leaves speckled in bright gold. In deep shade that gold reads as light, which is why the plant has been used against shaded walls and under dense trees for over a century.

Why you'll love it

• It genuinely performs in deep shade. Full shade under a canopy or on the south side of a building suits it, where most variegated shrubs turn plain green.
• Gold speckled foliage all year. The variegation carries the display, so there is no flowering season to wait for or miss.
• Undemanding about soil. Poor ground, root competition and dry shade are handled better here than by most shrubs.
• Frost hardy and coastal tough. It handles cold southern winters and salt wind, and copes with subtropical humidity.

Where it works best

Low shade hedging. Plant 80cm apart in a single row for a low hedge that holds at 1.5m with one trim a year. Very few plants make a real hedge in shade.

Pots and courtyards. A 400mm pot suits one plant, and a shaded courtyard or covered entry is the position it wants. The gold lifts a dark paved space.

Borders and feature planting. Along a shaded path it makes a bright, solid edge, and one plant works as a feature against a dark fence or a rendered wall.

Growing Gold Dust Tree in Australia

Position and climate. Shade to part shade. Direct sun, particularly hot afternoon sun, scorches the leaves and washes out the gold, so this is not a plant for an open sunny bed. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy. Avoid the wet tropics and dry inland gardens.

Soil. Free draining, with compost worked through at planting. It tolerates poor soil well but not ground that stays wet, and 50mm of mulch helps it hold moisture under a hungry canopy.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then weekly in dry weather. It is not fully drought tolerant, and dry shade under a large tree needs extra water. A slow release fertiliser in early spring is enough.

Pruning. Trim in early spring before the new growth. It reshoots from old wood, so a leggy plant can be cut back hard and will refurnish. Remove all green shoots at the base as they appear, or they outgrow the variegated growth.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes: 140mm pots in packs of ten, and 200mm pots in packs of six. The 140mm plants are young and are the value choice for a hedge run or a long shaded border. The 200mm plants suit a pot or a single feature, since they already carry a rounded shape.

Aucuba travels well because the leaves are thick and leathery. Growth is slow and steady, so allow three to four years for a hedge to close at 80cm spacing. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse plants for full shade.
• Compare the variegated plant range.
• How variegated foliage works, and why it reverts.
• Plants that cope with poor soil.

Common questions

Are the berries poisonous?

The berries are toxic if eaten, so keep that in mind around small children and pets that chew. They only appear on female plants with a male nearby, so many garden specimens never carry any.

How far apart for a hedge?

Eighty centimetres apart in a single row. Growth is slow, so allow three to four years for the plants to knit together into a solid low hedge at that spacing.

Why has my plant lost its gold speckling?

Usually too much direct sun, which bleaches and scorches the leaves. Plain green shoots appearing from the base are reversion, and should be cut out at their point of origin.