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Araliaceae FAMILY

Aralia schmidtii

Aralia schmidtii

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the temperate zone, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[1]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[PFAF]. Prefers a deep moderately fertile moisture-retentive well-drained loam and a semi-shady position[2, 3, 1]. Requires a sheltered position[1]. Plants are hardier when grown in poorer soils[1]. This species is closely related to A. Racemosa[1]. The rootstock is similar to Aralia cordata[1]. It is considered to be no more than a subspecies of Aralia cordata by some botanists[4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 4 months at 20°c[5]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this. Root cuttings 8cm long, early winter in a cold frame[3, 6]. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in early to mid spring. High percentage[6]. Division of suckers in late winter[3]. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aralia+schmidtii>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]Flora of Japan — http://www.foj.info ↩︎An on-line version of the flora - an excellent resource.
  5. [5]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  8. [8]Systematics and Biogeography of Aralia L. (Araliaceae): Revision of Aralia Sects. Aralia, Humiles, Nanae, and Sciado — Jun Wen · Smithsonian Institute; Washington · 2011 · http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/pubs/CUSNH/ · ISBN 0097-1618 ↩︎A detailed revision of four sections of the genus Aralia.
  9. [9]Flora of Japan. (English translation) — Ohwi. G. · Smithsonian Institution · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  15. [15]Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. — Brooklyn Botanic Garden · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎A small booklet packed with information.
  16. [16]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  17. [17]Oriental Vegetables — Larkcom J. · John Murray · 1991 · ISBN 0-7195-4781-4 ↩︎Well written and very informative.
  18. [18]Famine Foods listed in the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. — Reid. B. E. · Southern Materials Centre; Taipei · 1977 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
  19. [19]Alternative Foods. — Sholto-Douglas. J. ↩︎Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.
  20. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎