It’s a secret that just Perennial Plant Association members know! The 2020 Perennial Plant of the Year® is Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’. It had been nominated again and again over the past years and finally came out on top – persistence pays off!
BEHOLD, THE SUN KING!
No, not Louis XIV of France, rather, a fabulous high-impact perennial. Aralia ‘Sun King’ brings a bold pop of glowing color and texture – the perfect anchor for the shade to shade-to-part-shade border. “Discovered” by plantsman Barry Yinger in a Japanese garden center (atop a department store), this perennial has become a beloved shade garden staple across the country. Bright yellow shoots emerge in spring, then grow up, up, up…can reach 6′ tall and nearly as wide. The small, cream-colored umbels of flowers are attractive to bees and are followed by tiny dark (inedible) drupes. Despite the Sun King’s stature, it’s very well behaved – little to no reseeding or suckering.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Perennial Plant Association
