How do you recognise Slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis)?

Leaf

Slender Deutzia, Wikimedia · Domaine public

Slender deutzia

Deutzia gracilis Siebold & Zucc.

Also known as: Japanese snowflower

Family: Hydrangeaceae

60 cm to 1 m tall

Planted in a border or as a specimen, ordinary well-drained soils

Flowering: May – June

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy, to about -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Slender deutzia is one of the smallest cultivated deutzias, generally not exceeding one metre in height — a compact size that makes it a spring-flowering shrub suited to small gardens and borders. Slender deutzia is a smaller, more compact version of the classic deutzia, also with white bell-shaped flowers, but a lower, spreading habit.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, ovate, finely toothed

🌸 Flowers

White, star-shaped, grouped in dense upright racemes

🍎 Fruits

Small dry capsule

🪵 Bark

Greyish-brown, peeling in strips with age

🗺️ Distribution

Native to Japan; widely planted in France as a small ornamental shrub

🐝 Value for pollinators

Spring flowering rich in nectar, visited by bees

✂️ Horticultural uses

Small, compact ornamental shrub, planted for its abundant white spring flowering, suited to small gardens

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No notable toxicity known

🌱 Known cultivars

Nikko

Very compact dwarf cultivar (40-60 cm) with a spreading habit, with arching shoots covered in small pure white flowers in spring; the fine green foliage turns burgundy in autumn.