Aucubas, also known as spotted Japanese laurels are ideal for moist and shady locations throughout the garden. These colourful broadleaf evergreen plants are not grown for their flowers, but for their large bright green leaves that are splotched or streaked with yellow. They are bold shrubs with many stems and large glossy leaves with a round canopy. These versatile plants are suitable for many uses throughout the garden, as well as inside the home as a houseplant. Now that’s versatility!
 
Use spotted laurel along house foundations, in shrub borders, as informal hedges and as an accent to draw attention to an area or as a lone specimen. These versatile evergreen shrubs do well when grown in containers and can be brought inside during the winter in climates where they aren’t hardy. They are also suitable to keep them inside all year long as they make reliable and colourful houseplants. Just don’t let them dry out too much as they are prone to spider mites. The same thing goes for outdoor container grown specimens.
 
Issues with spotted laurels occur when they receive too much sun, where the soil is too arid or too wet. This doesn’t mean they are fussy, in fact they are very easy to grow and are difficult to kill, even if you cut them way back. However, they are shade loving plants that like moist soil and if conditions are extreme, they are not going to like it. Foliage wilts and turns brown to black when there’s too much sun. When it’s too dry, growth is stunted and shrivels. Saturated soil results in withering, droopy leaves and a quick death.