Deutzia gracilis
Overview
Uses: Mixed borders, foundation plantings, low hedges, and mass plantings.
Benefits: A graceful, mounded shrub with slender stems that fill with clusters of pure white flowers in spring. Easy to grow in sun or part shade and rarely troubled by deer. A good, low-maintenance filler for borders and foundations.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5–8
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Deciduous Shrub
Growth Habit: Mounding, Rounded — graceful, with slender arching stems.
Bloom Color: White
Foliage Color: Green
Mature Height: 2–4 feet
Mature Width: 2–4 feet
Bloom Season: Spring
Growth Rate: Moderate
Summary
A spring cloud of pure white flowers on a compact shrub that fits almost anywhere.
Slender deutzia is a long-time garden shrub from Japan, grown for one generous burst of bloom. In mid to late spring, upright clusters of small white flowers open along every arching stem, and for two to three weeks the plant is covered from top to bottom.
The rest of the season it is a quiet, fine-textured mound two to four feet tall and wide. That size and soft form make it an easy filler between evergreens in a foundation planting, a low informal hedge along a walk, or a mass planting on a bank.
It grows in sun or partial shade, accepts most well-drained soils, and is rarely bothered by deer.
Care
Slender Deutzia Care
Plant in full sun to partial shade. More sun means more flowers; a few hours of afternoon shade is welcome in hotter summers.
Slender deutzia grows in most garden soils, from loam to clay, provided water does not stand around the roots. Work some compost into very sandy or very heavy ground at planting time.
Water deeply once or twice a week through the first growing season while roots establish. After that, water during extended dry spells. Mulch two to three inches deep to keep the root zone cool and evenly moist.
Feeding needs are light. One application of a slow release fertilizer in early spring is plenty, and plants in decent soil often need none.
Deutzia blooms on the previous year's growth, so prune right after the flowers fade. Each year or two, cut a few of the oldest, thickest stems to the ground. New stems replace them, which keeps the shrub dense and flowering well. Trim out any tips damaged over winter in spring.
Size
What Size is the Slender Deutzia for Sale Online?
Our Slender Deutzia ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. Plants ship dormant or near dormant in the off-season, so they may arrive with few or no leaves. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Slender Deutzia Grow?
Expect about 2 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide at maturity, in a rounded mound of arching stems. Space plants about 3 feet apart for a low hedge or mass planting.
Additional Information
Where does slender deutzia come from?
It is native to Japan and has been grown in North American gardens for many years as a dependable spring-flowering shrub. It is not a North American native.
Will it bloom in shade?
It flowers best in full sun to light shade. With four to six hours of sun, or bright shade for part of the day, it still blooms well. In deep shade it grows more open and sets noticeably fewer flowers.
Do deer eat slender deutzia?
Deer seldom browse it, so it holds up in unfenced foundation beds and along woodland edges. For more choices, see our Deer-Resistant Shrubs and Evergreens, or browse all Shrubs & Bushes.
