Castor oil plant Fatsia japonica

There are several options open to you upon receipt of your Fatsia japonica:

• Stand the whole thing on a layer of potsherds, in a pretty planter with holes in the base, on top of a saucer. Don't allow the plant to stand in drainage water.
• Pot the plant up into a pretty planter with holes in the base. Layer the bottom with potsherds (or hydro-pellets) and plant the whole, upright in its new pot. Press firmly in until there is about 3 cm from the top of the soil to the rim of the pot (watering room). Stand on a saucer of sorts.
• Just place the plant in its nursery pot on a saucer, with or without a layer of hydro-pellets.

  The best spot for your fatsia japonica The best spot for your Fatsia japonica is:

• Somewhere out of full sun, although morning and evening sun will do no harm and will indeed be appreciated! Try 3-6 metres away from the window.
• Somewhere warm - 15-20°C. Underfloor heating is ideal - next to the radiator is not because of the warm air then circulating which dries your plant out faster than you realise, giving it brown leaf edges.

Fatsia japonica on the patio/decking
Your plant will thrive outdoors in the summer on the patio but do harden it off first. To this end, allow it to stay outdoors in a shady spot, then for one hour longer every day for 5 days, leave it in the sun. Do bring it indoors again as soon as the thermometer shows anything under 8°C.
Fatsia japonica in the garden
This lovely plant will also thrive when planted in the garden. Do acclimatise it as above first. It will need a sunny, light spot with lots of space around it. In southern climes, this plant can reach from 3-6 metres tall! Large plants are very hard to keep safe from frost but this particular one with also shoot up again in the spring even when damaged by the frost.

Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia) will thrive if you water it weekly, year round, and feed with fertiliser for leafy plants fortnightly in the spring and summer. If the weather is really warm, watering 2x a week will be appreciated but only do so if the potting compost feels dry.
This is a plant that really does appreciate that bit of extra attention and plant food! Fatsia japonica in the wild has a dormant period in November and December, so it's best to give it less water then, and certainly no plant food. You can start that up again in January. Potted Fatsia Japonica Potted Fatsia japonica is fine, but you must remember to protect it in the winter. A few degrees of frost will be tolerated but severe winters will cause problems so it would be best to bring it indoors, or at least to a sheltered area. A few days in a dark shed will be ok, as long as there is no frost there either. It's often just as easy to plant it out as this is a fairly large plant for shifting around!
 
Fatsia japonica in the garden
If planted in the garden in a sheltered spot with protection from cold winds, this plant will do pretty well! However, you really must protect it in severe winters. If the soil was to say dry, even -9°C wouldn't be a problem but our winters are always damp and it's the damp that needs avoiding. Do shake off any snow from the leaves. When very cold, the plant's leaves will hang, making it hard for snow to land, but a bit of help won't hurt. The leaves will lift again when snow is over!
This plant can flower in the winter with white balls full of little flowers.
This plant can grow to several metres high in the garden - there are (not so unusual) examples that have reached 4 and 6 metres tall (inner city) too!

The rather exotic looking Fatsia japonica originated in the Southern Islands of Japan. They've been utlised as houseplant in Europe for some time but nowadays we know them to make great shrubs in the garden too. Like ivy, Fatsia japonica is important for bringing nectar to insects in the winter!
 
Fatsia japonica is related to ivy and classified under Araliaceae.