Kerria japonica
Common name: 
Japanese Kerria
Japanese Rose
Pronunciation: 
KER-e-a ja-PON-i-ka
Family: 
Rosaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous shrub, 4-8 ft (1.2-2.5 m), arching, lanky, suckers; stems slender and green, even in winter.  Leaves alternate, simple, 2.5-10 cm long, width about half that, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, double serrate, bright green.  Flowers bright yellow, about 3 cm wide, 5-petaled.  Fruit a single seeded, fleshy but eventually dry (drupe).
  • Sun, part shade, adaptable to most soils.  Useful in naturalizing.  A good, long lasting, cut flower if cut early in spring.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native to central and western China, several cultivars available, including:
    • 'Albiflora'  - single whilte flowers
    • 'Golden Guinea'  -  flowers single, golden yellow, large, to 5 cm wide
    • 'Kin Kan'  -  single yellow flowers, stems in winter are yellow with a thin green stripes
    • 'Picta'  -  single yellow flowers, leaves variegated white on the extreme outer margins
    • 'Pleniflora'  -  flowers double, almost golden yellow, nearly spherical, pop-pom-like
  • japonica: of Japan.
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  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flowers and leaves

    flowers and leaves