Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Herbaceous Perennial

Disporum viridescens

Asian fairy bells

A clump-forming, rhizomatous perennial to around 70cm high, with upright stems bearing lance-shaped, slightly glossy green leaves with impressed veins. Pendent, star-shaped pale greenish-white flowers are borne in pairs or small clusters in late spring and early summer, followed by black berries in autumn

Save to My plants

Buy this plant

Plant nurseries
8 suppliers

Ultimate height

0.5–1 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Partial shade

Aspect

East–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Colchicaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Clump forming
Genus: Disporum are rhizomatous perennials with alternate leaves on sparsely branched stems, and solitary or clustered, nodding bell-shaped flowers in the leaf axils, followed by berries
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Russian Far East, Korea, Japan

How to grow

Cultivation

Grows best in a cool, partially shaded position in a humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil

Propagation

Propagate by seed or by division

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Patio and container plants
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

Remove old stems before new growth emerges in spring

Pests

May be susceptible to vine weevil, and to slugs and snails on young growth

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.