Pachysandra Terminalis Japanese Spurge

Pachysandra Terminalis is the RHS AGM winning Japanese Spurge, a dwarf evergreen ground-covering shrub that’s virtually maintenance-free with spikes of white-green flowers in spring. It’s an excellent choice for shady, wildlife-friendly gardens and beneath trees where grass won’t grow.

Japanese Spurge is native to damp woodlands in China and Japan which gives a good indication of its growing preferences. This is a shrub that doesn’t like full sun and needs a north or east-facing shady spot to thrive.
It’s a useful perennial that’s often recommended by garden designers to fill a tricky shaded area. It has glossy green 10 cm long diamond-shaped leaves with stubby small white flowers in late spring to early summer. Because it spreads easily, Japanese Spurge creates a mat-forming carpet of glossy leaves that preserves soil and provides microhabitats for wildlife.

It’s an excellent choice for moist soil in all types of garden design, but especially wildlife-friendly low-maintenance spaces and bare shady spots.

Height And Spread of Pachysandra Terminalis
Japanese Spurge is low-growing and only reaches 10 to 50 cms, but it spreads over 1.5 metres within 5-10 years.

How Hardy Is Pachysandra Terminalis
Japanese Spurge is hardy enough to cope with below zero winters in the UK but it does not like full sun or drought.

How To Use Pachysandra Terminalis
Its best left to run freely in a low-maintenance garden where it can cover soil and produce plenty of flowers for pollinators. If you have a tricky spot where few plants grow because there’s little sun there, Japanese Spurge will thrive.
Its native damp woodland means Japanese Surge is a good choice below trees or on slopes unless the soil is particularly dry there. It also suits shady pond edges, beneath hedgerows, and alongside shady garden pathways.

How To Care for Pachysandra Terminalis
Japanese Spurge needs little to no maintenance if it’s grown in a suitable shady to partially shady spot away from direct sunlight.
Once established, it will grow and happily spread with no intervention. Pruning is not required, but you can trim back any established leggy plants in spring.