Taro yama

Character & interest

‘Taro yama’ is above all a structural cultivar: tight branching, short internodes, compact foliage. The leaves often show a slight twist or relief that enhances the texture. It easily creates a “sculpted shrub” look, highly decorative all season, then spectacular in autumn.

Colours

• Spring : variable tones depending on training and climate, often yellow-orange with pink/red margins, or green with a brick-red edge (the cultivar can express several looks).

• Summer : green to dark green (sometimes described as blue-green), with an overall calmer colouring.

• Autumn : scarlet red / vivid raspberry red.

Habit & vigour

Dense, compact habit, rather rounded and often wider than tall with age. Slow to moderate growth, but capable of growing well when young if conditions are favourable (cool soil, good light).

Indicative size

Observed orders of magnitude depending on sources and training:

• often classed as “dwarf / compact”, around 1 to 1.5 m tall in many gardens,

• some sources give ~1–2 m tall, with a spread that can reach 2–3 m,

• other catalogues indicate rather 2–3 m (or more in the very long term) depending on age and training.

• in large containers, some growing feedback suggests it can stay very low (around 60–80 cm) if kept in a pot for a long time.

Exposure

Gentle sun / bright partial shade. A sheltered position (dry winds, scorching sun) helps keep clean foliage and good consistency.