Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia

Easy to grow, reliable shrubs are the backbone of every good garden, and if they have lovely blooms, so much the better. Deutzia is a group of Asian shrubs that have been grown in gardens for a long time, but it seems that today they are often overlooked. That’s a shame since they are not only attractive in bloom, they are tough and reliable too. A wonderful newer variety from the breeding program of Tom Ranney, at North Carolina State, really caught our eye when we first came across it. It is neat and compact, and unlike most others, which have white blooms, the flowers of the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia do indeed have the beautiful light-pink coloring of cherry blossoms, making it a bright and wonderful spring shrub that gives good ground-cover for the rest of the year, adding some burgundy tones to round our the colors of fall.

Growing the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia

Size and Appearance

The Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia is a low-growing deciduous shrub, reaching about 2 feet tall and wide within a couple of seasons. It typically is broader than tall, making it ideal for mass planting. It forms a spreading mound of small branches, clothed with pairs of lance-shaped leaves between 1 and 1½ inches long, with a pointed tip and faintly-serrated edges. These are dark green, with reddish-purple overtones, which become more pronounced into burgundy fall colors. In May it blooms abundantly, covered in 2½ inch long clusters of blooms, with 10 to 15 blooms in each one. The star-shaped blossoms have 5 petals, each with a broad dark-pink stripe down the back, so that the flowers are pink in bud, opening to reveal a paler-pink interior. The bloom season is long, with the flowers remaining attractive for a full month. After blooming this plant remains an attractive ground cover for the rest of the season.

Using the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia in Your Garden

With its low but broad form, this shrub is perfect for ground cover use, in the front of borders, as accents or edging, or for planting to cover slopes. It could also be used in planters and boxes. When used for mass planting, space plants 18 inches apart in each direction.

Hardiness

The Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia is hardy across most areas, from zone 5 all the way into zone 8, growing well in a wide range of climates.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun, or a little partial shade, is ideal for the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia. It grows easily and quickly in most soils, as long as they are well-drained. It has moderate drought resistance once established, and all-in-all this is a very reliable plant for almost any spot in any garden.

Maintenance and Pruning

Normally free of pests or diseases, and untouched by deer, the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia is very close to trouble free, except for some occasional watering during dry periods. It doesn’t need any detailed pruning, but you can trim it after the flowers finish, to keep it neat and encourage lots of new shoots. After 5 years plants can be cut down to a few inches after flowering, or in early spring, to renew them and replace old wood.

History and Origin of the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia

Deutzia is a shrub that has been grown outside its home in China for centuries, and by the later part of the 19th century it was popular, and attracted the attention of Victor Lemoine, the French nurseryman and breeder who is most famous for his lilacs. He made numerous hybrids, including a group developed by crossing Deutzia gracilis with Deutzia purpurascens. This created a group of plants called Deutzia x rosea. One of the best of the plants from this cross is a variety called ‘Carminea’, released in 1900, which has pink flowers, but grows to about 3 feet tall. Thomas Ranney is a horticulturist at North Carolina State University, who had worked for some time with Deutzia. He crossed together ‘Carminea’ with another plant, Deutzia gracilis ‘Nikko’, a popular low-growing shrub, with white flowers. It was brought back from Japan in 1976 by staff of the US National Arboretum. Among the seedlings of this cross, Tom Ranney found one that had the low habit of ‘Nikko’, but the pink flowers of ‘Carminea’ – a perfect combination for garden use. He named it ‘NCDX2’, and received a patent for it in 2017.

Buying the Yuki Cherry Blossom Deutzia at the Tree Center

We love this great new ground cover shrub – and you will too. Plant it anywhere and enjoy how lovely it looks. But order your plants right away, as it is in high demand, but our stock is limited.