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Products > Plants - Browse By Region > Cleyera japonica
 
Cleyera japonica - Sakaki

Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Cleyera japonica
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Shrub
Family: Theaceae (Teas)
Origin: Japan (Asia)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: White
Bloomtime: Summer
Fragrant Flowers: Yes
Height: 8-12 feet
Width: 8-12 feet
Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F
Cleyera japonica (Sakaki) - An upright billowing evergreen shrub from humid forests of Japan, Korea and mainland China, where it grows to be a small tree. Typically in cultivation it grows to 8-12 feet tall to 6-10 feet wide with rounded 3-4 inch long leaves that are dark green above and dull olive green below with reddish-bronze new growth. The small delightfully fragrant creamy-white flowers appear in mid summer and are often followed by small round black fruit. Plant in cool full sun to light shade with well-drained soil and give regular irrigation. Listed as hardy to at least USDA Zone 7 so this plant should be cold hardy to 5° F. In the Shinto religion this tree is particularly sacred and given the name sakaki. It is sometimes confused in the trade with the related but very different Ternstroemia gymnanthera. 

The information about Cleyera japonica that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.