Looking for something different for shade?   Try Aralia Sun-King.

We have five of these plants in two different beds on the edge of the woods.  In the spring – the bright golden color brightens up the woods like a beacon.

An excellent complement to hostas and woodland perennials, ‘Sun King’ emerges in the spring with bright gold leaves held on reddish brown stems. With a few hours of sun a day, the foliage will remain yellow all summer.  With more shade, the foliage ranges from chartreuse to lime green.

The mature size is 3′ x 3′ – however ours have grown a little larger than this.  I just simply prune out a little bit of foliage if they over step their bounds!  We have them planted among boulders and hosta.  

By mid to late summer, interesting clumps  of tiny white flowers are produced followed by deep purplish black, inedible berries.