Fuzzy deutzia is a deciduous shrub from central and southern Japan, named for leaves made rough by tiny star-shaped hairs. It bears small white, upward-facing flowers in late spring. It is not native to the US, and plants called Deutzia scabra there are often its close relative Deutzia crenata.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous shrub about 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) tall, with brownish bark that peels in strips.
- Leaves
- Oval to egg-shaped leaves, rounder than in most deutzias, with star-shaped hairs on both sides. Leaves on flowering shoots are smaller and often nearly stalkless. In fall they turn a bright orange to red.
- Flowers
- Pure white, about ½ in (1–1.3 cm) across, held upward in clusters at the tips of new shoots, with a conspicuous orange disk in the center.
- Fruit
- A tiny cup-shaped capsule about ⅛ in (3 mm) wide, covered in star-shaped hairs.
Look-alikes
Deutzia crenata
D. crenata has narrower leaves, drooping flower clusters, and short-stalked leaves with rounded bases just below the flower cluster. Fuzzy deutzia has rounder leaves, nearly stalkless leaves on flowering shoots, and flowers that face upward.
Why they get mixed upBoth are white-flowered Japanese shrubs, and nurseries have long mixed up the two names.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- sunny hillsides
- open fields
- Range
- Native to central and southern Japan (Honshu west of the Kanto region, Shikoku, and Kyushu). It is not native to the US.
- Preferred conditions
- In Japan it grows in sunny spots in low mountains and fields.
Growing it
- Care
- True Deutzia scabra appears to be absent from U.S. nurseries. Plants sold under this name, often Deutzia crenata, are listed for USDA zones 5a–8b. They bloom on old wood, so prune right after flowering.
Name and classification
- About the name
- When Thunberg named Deutzia scabra, he mixed two shrubs, so the name was disputed for a long time. Japanese botanists apply it to this round-leaved shrub (once called Deutzia sieboldiana) and call the taller, droopier one D. crenata, but older garden books often use "D. scabra" for the taller plant.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Status
- Plants labeled Deutzia scabra are on invasive plant lists from the National Park Service and the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council because they can self-seed into woodlands. A 2022 botanical study argues those escaped plants are Deutzia crenata, and a regional flora finds no evidence that true Deutzia scabra has naturalized in North America.
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