18 Japanese Garden Plants You’ll Want To Grow Right Now

Japanese garden plants can add tranquility, structure, and peaceful energy to your outdoor space. From showy Japanese maples and stunning crimson cherry blossoms to delicate ground covers and elegant accent grasses, these plants will transform your yard into an oasis of calm and natural beauty.

So whether you’re designing an authentic Japanese garden or simply looking to incorporate some Eastern touches to your green oasis, these hardy yet delicate plants are sure to please and provide peaceful relaxation. Let’s begin your journey to a more peaceful outdoor refuge with our list of must-have Japanese plants!

Japanese Garden Plants That Will Transform Your Yard

1. Japanese Maple

The Japanese maple, also known as Acer palmatum, is a classic ornamental tree prized for its stunning red, orange, and yellow fall foliage and delicate branching structure covered in palmately compound leaves. The intricately lobed leaves and subtle coloring of the Japanese maple impart a sense of ritual and elegance to any garden. 

To thrive, a Japanese maple favors partial shade and acidic soil. Keep an eye out for common pests like spider mites and scale insects that can damage the leaves. With the proper care, a Japanese maple has the potential to bring forest-like beauty to your landscape for decades, its rippling leaves adding grace and serenity to the garden.

2. Weeping Cherry Tree

The weeping cherry tree, also known as cherry blossom, is valued for its stunning pendant branches heavily laden with clusters of delicate pink or white blooms in spring. The magnificent display of cherry blossoms has long been a treasured part of traditional Japanese gardens. Even when not in bloom, the tree still provides pleasing foliage and graceful, drooping branches. 

Plant your weeping cherry in a location where you can fully appreciate the spectacular floral show each spring. Prune after flowering each year to maintain an elegant form. Be on the lookout for pests such as Japanese beetles and aphids which can damage the leaves. With the proper care and placement, a weeping cherry can be a welcome addition to your Japanese garden plants for many years.

3. Japanese Boxwood

The Japanese boxwood or buxus microphylla var. japonica is a prized evergreen Japanese garden plant owing to its year-round dense, rounded shape and small, shiny leaves. The boxwood lends structure and permanence to the garden design. When sheared into forms, boxwood hedges and topiaries have long been signature elements of traditional Japanese gardens. 

The bright green foliage and compact habit make this an ideal accent or foundation plant. Provide partial shade and keep the soil consistently moist for optimal growth. Monitor for common pests such as spider mites and scale insects that cause leaf damage. With proper care, this boxwood can live for decades, imparting timeless elegance to the Japanese garden.

4. Japanese Cryptomeria

The Japanese cryptomeria or sugi is an ornamental evergreen conifer valued for its pyramidal form, fine-textured foliage, and beautiful cinnamon-colored bark. These durable Japanese garden plants provide year-round structure and definition to the landscape.

The scale-like leaves of cryptomeria offer a subtle texture that contrasts beautifully with the feathered foliage of Japanese maples. The pyramidal form of cryptomeria evokes simplicity and order in the garden design. 

Provide full sun and acidic soil for optimal growth. Keep an eye out for common pests like bark beetles and weevils that can damage the foliage or bark. With proper care, cryptomeria can develop into a small tree that will live for centuries, imparting timeless elegance to your Japanese garden through the seasons.

5. Japanese Aucuba

The Japanese aucuba or gold dust plant is a sturdy broadleaf evergreen shrub valued for its attractive foliage and adaptable nature. The oval, dark green leaves are speckled with golden spots that make this plant an excellent accent all year round. The aucuba’s dense form can serve as an eye-catching, low hedge that adds structure and texture to the Japanese garden plants. Provide partial shade and even moisture for the aucuba to thrive. 

Monitor for scale insects and spider mites that may damage the leaves. With proper care, this versatile shrub can live for decades, providing year-round greenery to the Japanese garden through its gold-dusted foliage and dense rounded shape that requires minimal pruning.

6. Japanese Quince

The Japanese quince or Chaenomeles speciosa is a spring-blooming deciduous shrub valued for its clusters of fragrant pink or red flowers and glossy foliage. The flowers arrive very early, providing welcome color before the leaves emerge. The quince’s bold blooms and dense branching structure offer vertical interest to the garden design. Provide full sun and consistent moisture so the quince flowers prolifically every year.

Keep an eye out for common pests like quince leaf scabs and scale insects that can damage the foliage. With proper care, quince can thrive for decades, reaching heights up to eight to ten feet tall and imparting seasonal charm to the Japanese garden through its showy flowers in early spring and glossy foliage the rest of the year.

7. Weeping Forsythia

The weeping forsythia is a distinctive deciduous shrub valued for its graceful weeping habit, bright yellow spring flowers, and attractive foliage. The arching branches can cascade to the ground, imparting a weeping form that stands out among traditional Japanese garden plants.

The vivid yellow blooms provide an explosion of cheerful color that signals the arrival of warmer weather. The weeping forsythia’s showy flowers and dramatic shape complement the restrained simplicity of the Japanese garden.

Provide full sun and average soil conditions while pruning after flowering to shape the plant. Monitor for common pests like aphids and leaf miners that can damage the foliage. With proper care, weeping forsythia can live for decades, retaining its weeping form that brings seasonal delight to the Japanese garden.

8. Japanese Skimmia

The Japanese skimmia is an attractive broadleaf evergreen shrub valued for its fragrant white flowers, colorful red berries, and glossy foliage. The oval leaves emerge bronze in spring before turning dark green year-round. In fall and winter, clusters of bright red berries decorate the branches.

The skimmia’s plentiful flowers and berries coupled with its dense, bushy form make it stand out among traditional Japanese garden plants. Provide partial shade and acidic soil for optimal growth. Monitor for common pests like scale insects and spider mites that can damage the leaves.

With proper care, skimmia can thrive for decades, eventually maturing into a stately evergreen shrub reaching heights between 6 to 10 feet tall that brings seasonal delight to the Japanese garden through its ornamental flowers, foliage, and berries.

9. Osmanthus

Osmanthus or fragrant tea olive is an ornamental evergreen shrub valued for its leathery, dark green foliage and delicately fragrant white flowers. Clusters of small white flowers bloom in fall and winter, filling the air with their heavenly apricot-like aroma. The osmanthus’ fine texture, and year-round greenery coupled with its heady fragrance can imbue the Japanese garden plants with sensory delights.

Provide full sun and well-draining soil for this adaptable shrub to do its best. Monitor for scale insects and spider mites that may damage the leaves. 

With sufficient care, osmanthus can thrive for many years, eventually maturing into a stately evergreen shrub reaching heights between 10 to 20 feet tall and wide that enriches the Japanese garden through its bright evergreen foliage, subtle form, and heavenly fragrance, especially in colder months.

10. Dwarf Conifer

Dwarf conifers are ornamental evergreen shrubs or small trees valued for their compact size and year-round greenery. They include dwarf varieties of Japanese black pine, Japanese white pine, and Japanese cedar. These hardy, low-maintenance Japanese garden plants offer simplicity and grace that complement more ornate flowering shrubs. Dwarf conifers prefer full sun and acidic soil conditions for optimal health.

Prune after new growth appears in spring to shape. Monitor for pests like branch canker and bark beetles that can damage branches and needles. With regular pruning and proper care, dwarf conifers can thrive for decades, imparting timeless elegance to the Japanese garden through their fine-textured greenery, compact forms, and subtle variations in branch, cone, and needle shapes among the different dwarf conifer species.

11. Japanese Silver Grass

Japanese silver grass or Hakone grass is an ornamental grass valued for its slender, arching blades that gradually turn beautiful shades of pink, copper, and silver as they age. The fine texture of these Japanese garden plants makes them ideal for accenting flowering shrubs or mingling with low groundcovers.

The subtle hues and wispy movement of the grasses can impart a sense of serenity to the garden design. Provide full sun and well-drained soil conditions for the silver grass to thrive. 

Monitor for common pests like grasshoppers and aphids that can chew on the blades. With consistent trimming and proper care, the silver grass will spread to form a lush carpet, infusing the Japanese garden with grace and tranquility through its luminous hues and delicate dancing form that requires only the occasional shearing to maintain its shape.

12. Japanese White Pine

The Japanese white pine is a majestic evergreen conifer valued for its soaring height, soft blue-green needles, and deeply furrowed cinnamon bark. When fully matured, Japanese white pines can tower over 100 feet tall. Even younger specimens offer visual softness and grace to the Japanese garden plants. The gracefully arching branches spread downward, imparting a sense of serenity and refuge. 

Full sun and acidic soil conditions suit these pines best. Monitor for common insect pests like pine sawfly larvae and bark beetles that can damage new growth. With regular pruning and proper care, these long-lived pines can thrive for centuries, imparting timeless elegance to the Japanese garden through their airy forms, soft foliage, and ability to create a sense of spaciousness and refuge beneath their spreading branches.

13. Japanese Spirea

Japanese spirea is a deciduous spreading shrub valued for its clusters of small pink or white flowers, delicate foliage, and limited space requirements. The arching branches weep gracefully downward while roots sprout from lower nodes so the spirea will naturally spread to fill the available space.

The spirea’s airy, fountain-like habit coupled with clusters of delicate blossoms in spring bring a sense of whimsy and lightness to traditional Japanese garden plants. Provide full sun and keep the soil consistently moist, especially during blooming, for optimal health. 

Monitor for common pests like Japanese beetles and spider mites that can damage leaves. With regular pruning and proper care, spirea will thrive for decades, imparting seasonal beauty and charm to the Japanese garden through its graceful weeping form, which is a profusion of delicate flowers in spring followed by neatly rounded shape with colorful autumn foliage.

14. Dwarf Hinoki Cypress

Dwarf Hinoki cypress is a slow-growing ornamental conifer valued for its short, twisted shape, scaly gray-green foliage, and delicate branching structure. Even mature specimens typically remain compact, reaching heights between 8 to 10 feet tall.

The intricate form and fine texture of the dwarf hinoki cypress coupled with the rich, warm fragrance of its needles lend a refined elegance to traditional Japanese garden plants. This adaptable cypress prefers full sun and acidic soil conditions. 

Monitor for common pests like bagworms and cypress tip moths that target new growth. With proper pruning and care, dwarf hinoki cypress can live for several centuries, barely changing in size and imparting timeless elegance to the Japanese garden through its intricate shrunken form, warm fragrance, and ability to evoke a sense of serene ritual within compact confines.

15. Japanese Painted Fern

Japanese painted fern or ‘atio’ fern is an evergreen ornamental plant valued for its divided fronds that emerge glowing coppery-red before darkening to forest green. The vivid colors provide year-round contrast and texture to shaded areas of the Japanese garden. The sinuous fronds and fine details of the fern coupled with its unpredictably vibrant foliage impart a sense of the untamed within the refined aesthetic of the Japanese garden plants.

Provide Japanese-painted fern with partial shade and consistently moist soil for optimal health. Monitor for common pests like Japanese beetles and aphids that can damage foliage. Snip off browned or spent fronds periodically to maintain a fresh look.

With proper care, the Japanese painted fern or ‘atio’ fern will thrive indefinitely, adding seasonal highlights and textural contrast to the shaded Japanese garden through its branching red-tinted fronds that gradually transform to deep forest-green.

16. Japanese Holly

Japanese holly or ilex crenata is a slow-growing evergreen shrub valued for its dense form, rigid spiky leaves, and year-round greenery. The small, dark green leaves emerge tinted bronzy-red in spring. The holly’s prickly texture coupled with its compact, self-contained shape lends formality and structure to traditional Japanese garden plants. Japanese holly favors partial shade and acidic soil conditions. 

Prune after new growth appears in spring to shape. Monitor for common pests like spider mites and scale insects that can damage leaves. With regular pruning and proper care, Japanese holly can live for centuries, gradually maturing into a small tree that imparts timeless elegance to the Japanese garden.

Through its densely packed evergreen form, bronzed spring foliage, and ability to evoke a sense of ritual containment within its compact yet spiny frame throughout the seasons, this plant is surely a must-have.

17. Japanese Wisteria

Japanese wisteria is a deciduous woody vine valued for its sweetly fragrant lilac-blue flowers, vivid green spring foliage, and gracefully climbing habit. The pendulous clusters of drooping blooms open before the leaves emerge in spring, filling the air with their heady scent. The wisteria’s bounty of beautiful flowers coupled with its delicately arching tendrils can transform an unsightly structure into a fragrant bower of beauty within the Japanese garden.

Provide Japanese wisteria with full sun and consistent moisture for optimal flowering every spring. Monitor for insect pests like Japanese beetles and aphids that feed on leaves. Prune after flowering to shape.

With proper training and care, Japanese wisteria can grow over 100 feet long and thrive for over 100 years, its profusion of fragrant flowers and delicately arching form enriching the Japanese garden through season after season of sublime spring blooms.

18. Japanese Aralia

The Japanese aralia or fatsia japonica is an attractive broadleaf evergreen shrub valued for its bold palmate foliage and adaptability. Large dark green leaves, up to two feet wide, emerge from stout stems, giving this shrub a robust tropical appearance.

The large glossy leaves punctuated by prominent veins coupled with their dense and sturdy habit lend a sense of vitality and structure to traditional Japanese garden plants. Provide partial shade and consistently moist, well-drained soil for optimal growth.

Monitor for pests like Japanese beetles and spider mites that can damage foliage. With proper care Japanese aralia can reach heights between 8 to 10 feet tall and thrive for decades, lending seasonal interest to the Japanese garden through its bold evergreen foliage year round. Regular pruning can be used to maintain an attractive, compact shape.

Conclusion

There are many beautiful and useful Japanese garden plants to choose from for your garden design.

• Japanese wisteria is a deciduous woody vine valued for its sweetly fragrant lilac-blue flowers, vivid green spring foliage, and gracefully climbing habit.

• Dwarf hinoki cypress is a slow-growing ornamental conifer valued for its short, twisted shape, scaly gray-green foliage, and delicate branching structure.

• Dwarf conifers are ornamental evergreen shrubs or small trees valued for their compact size and year-round greenery.

• The Japanese cryptomeria or sugi is an ornamental evergreen conifer valued for its pyramidal form, fine-textured foliage, and beautiful cinnamon-colored bark.

Whether you’re looking to create an authentic Japanese garden or simply incorporate some Eastern touches, we hope this article has inspired you to experiment with these timeless plants. Begin your journey into the therapeutic and restorative realm of Japanese garden design today, one plant at a time!