Plant of the Week: Dwarf Nikko deutzia, dwarf deutzia

Light: Full sun to partial shade

Height: 1 to 2 feet

Spread: 2 to 5 feet

USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8

Origin: Japan

The Nikko dwarf deutzia (Deutzia gracilis ‘Nikko’) is a woody shrub that has a mounding ground-cover growth habit, with branches tumbling across the ground. Nikko dwarf deutzia has small, linear leaves of a nice blue-green color, with a finely serrated edge. These leaves turn a warm shade of burgundy in the fall.

In late spring, this shrub is immersed in small, fluffy, white trumpet-shaped flowers. The flowers have a light, pleasant fragrance.

The Nikko deutzia is an excellent plant choice for a sunny garden border where its flowers can be enjoyed in the spring, or along a stone wall where the branches can spill over and soften the stone edge. It can also be pruned into a low-growing hedge.

See a Nikko dwarf deutzia growing as a ground-cover shrub near the American Electric Power Education Pavilion on the Scotts Miracle-Gro Community Garden Campus at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

— Barbara Arnold

Franklin Park Conservatory