Kerria Japonica Golden Guinea Japanese Rose

Kerria japonica Golden Guinea (Kerria Golden Guinea)
Common Name: Japanese rose Golden Guinea
RHS Award of Garden Merit

Kerria japonica Golden Guinea is a charming and reliable deciduous shrub prized for its vivid spring colour and graceful habit. Commonly known as Japanese Rose Golden Guinea, this elegant ornamental shrub is a favourite for cottage-style and naturalistic gardens. Its large, single, golden-yellow blooms appear in profusion along gently arching green stems, adding a splash of sunshine to the early season landscape. A recipient of the RHS Award of Garden Merit, Kerria Golden Guinea is appreciated for its dependable performance, long flowering period, and minimal maintenance needs.

Kerria japonica Golden Guinea forms a medium-sized, upright yet loosely spreading shrub with a suckering habit. Its bright green stems remain attractive all year-round and provide welcome winter interest. The finely veined, lanceolate leaves emerge in spring and remain fresh and vibrant throughout the growing season, turning pale yellow before leaf fall in autumn.

The most striking feature of the Japanese Rose Golden Guinea is its floral display. In contrast to the more commonly seen double-flowered variety ‘Pleniflora’, Golden Guinea bears large, single, buttercup-like blooms measuring up to 5cm across. These cheerful yellow flowers appear from April to May and often produce a lighter second flush in late summer. Their simplicity and scale make them particularly striking against the shrub’s clean green foliage.

Height and Width of Kerria Golden Guinea:
This shrub has an eventual height & spread of 1.5 to 2 metres. This makes Japanese Rose Golden Guinea an easy-to-accommodate choice for gardens of all sizes. Its arching habit makes it ideal for softening borders or filling awkward spaces with informal beauty.

How Hardy is Kerria Golden Guinea?
Fully hardy throughout the UK and Ireland, Japanese Rose Golden Guinea thrives in a wide range of conditions and will withstand temperatures down to -20°C (H6 on the RHS scale).

Uses of Kerria Golden Guinea in Garden and Landscape
This versatile shrub is ideal for informal hedging, mixed borders, woodland gardens, or as a stand-alone feature. Its vibrant early blooms offer seasonal interest before many other plants have emerged. Kerria Golden Guinea also provides excellent value as a pollinator-friendly plant, attracting bees and other beneficial insects.

Care Tips
Japanese Rose Golden Guinea prefers a position in full sun to partial shade and will grow in most well-drained soils. It performs best when sheltered from strong winds and is tolerant of urban pollution. Prune immediately after flowering by cutting back up to one-third of the oldest stems to ground level, encouraging fresh growth and a better display the following year. Avoid pruning in autumn or winter, as this removes next year’s flower buds.

Unlike some more vigorous varieties, Golden Guinea is relatively restrained, making it easier to manage in smaller spaces. Kerria japonica Golden Guinea is low-maintenance yet high-impact, ideal for gardeners of all experience levels.