Round Mountain Dusted Coralberry. This unique new cultivar is truly "ghostly" in appearance when the new growth first flushes in the spring. I found it in a small specialty nursery high up in the mountains of the Gifu Prefecture near Mizunami City. The cultivar name means "Round Mountain Dusted." The new leaves are almost devoid of chlorophyll and truly make a dramatic statement in the shade garden with their early growth. As the leaves harden off, they slowly turn green, but never the dark green of the species, and each succeeding flush bears this same characteristic. It has the same soft pink flowers and red berries as its cousins, spreading similarly to Pachysandra with its underground rhizomes. If one gardens too far north to grow this species outside, it makes for a great indoor pot plant, especially with its red berries at Christmas. The first two photos are taken in early April to show the light colored leaves. The last two photos were taken in mid May to show the leaves as they begin to harden off and slowly green up.
Zones 7b-10
