Features
Characteristics
Plant Needs
About Creekside Champions™
Each Creekside Champion plant is hand-selected for its exceptional beauty, resilience, and proven garden performance. Grown with care by our family and backed by generations of expertise, these plants embody trust, quality, and the joy of cultivating something truly special. Confident, dependable, and naturally stunning — Creekside Champions™ are made to thrive. Family Grown. Proven Performance.
Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ (Golden Japanese Spikenard)
Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ brings a bold, tropical flair to shaded gardens with its large, compound golden leaves that can reach up to 3 feet long. Emerging in mid-spring on contrasting reddish-brown stems, the bright golden foliage glows in part sun and shifts to soft chartreuse or lime green in deeper shade. This fast-growing perennial forms an impressive clump that makes a striking focal point among hostas, ferns, and other woodland companions — and it’s delightfully resistant to deer browsing.
In mid to late summer, clusters of tiny white flowers appear, followed by deep purplish-black berries (not edible). The blooms attract pollinators, especially honeybees, adding movement and life to shaded beds.
Why It’s a Creekside Champion™:
We love ‘Sun King’ for its dramatic color, bold texture, and reliable performance in shade. It’s a standout accent plant that brightens low-light areas and pairs beautifully with other shade-loving perennials.
Characteristics
Plant Needs
About Creekside Champions™
Each Creekside Champion plant is hand-selected for its exceptional beauty, resilience, and proven garden performance. Grown with care by our family and backed by generations of expertise, these plants embody trust, quality, and the joy of cultivating something truly special. Confident, dependable, and naturally stunning — Creekside Champions™ are made to thrive. Family Grown. Proven Performance.
Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ (Golden Japanese Spikenard)
Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ brings a bold, tropical flair to shaded gardens with its large, compound golden leaves that can reach up to 3 feet long. Emerging in mid-spring on contrasting reddish-brown stems, the bright golden foliage glows in part sun and shifts to soft chartreuse or lime green in deeper shade. This fast-growing perennial forms an impressive clump that makes a striking focal point among hostas, ferns, and other woodland companions — and it’s delightfully resistant to deer browsing.
In mid to late summer, clusters of tiny white flowers appear, followed by deep purplish-black berries (not edible). The blooms attract pollinators, especially honeybees, adding movement and life to shaded beds.
Why It’s a Creekside Champion™:
We love ‘Sun King’ for its dramatic color, bold texture, and reliable performance in shade. It’s a standout accent plant that brightens low-light areas and pairs beautifully with other shade-loving perennials.