Description
(syn. japonica asiatica)
This is the lovely Asian species (some say subspecies, some say variety) from which so many of the gorgeous Japanese cultivars have been bred. In fact it spreads from Japan across Manchuria, Russia and Korea and is correspondingly variable in both leaf pattern and flower colour. The latter varies from the usual blue, though pink and pastel blue shades to near white and white, sometimes with differently coloured anthers or bicoloured flowers. It is said to be mostly white in eastern China, which I cannot confirm (or refute). It is also said to be totally deciduous losing its leaves totally in winter, which in cultivation is certainly not always the case, in fact it is quite uncommon.
The straight blue flowers are good, the variants are sometimes exceptional and this makes a cheerful display in early spring.
In the wild this is a native of mountain woods, and any habitat or compost which mimics the conditions of a woodland floor will be good; moisture retentive, humus-rich soil with good drainage in half or dappled shade. Lime soils are neither essential nor to be avoided.
Horticultural stocks traceable to Chinese mainland origins rather than Japan. The stock contains many white forms as well as some blue.
