With yellow sunburst blossoms strung along Kelly green cascading stems, Kerria japonica aka the Japanese yellow rose or Easter rose lights up the mid- spring garden. The shrub is a native of temperate Japan and China. Easter refers to its season of bloom in the south. One of the few shrubs preferring shade, kerria partners nicely with azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, and small trees such as dogwood and redbud. The egg- yolk yellow looks especially good with white flowers of daphnes, azaleas, snowdrops, and hellebores.

Plant names can be confusing. Kerria is in the rose family but it is not a rose. It stands alone in its genus. Kerria Pleniflora has a double- flower. Five- petaled singled flowered cultivars include Picta, Honshu, Golden Guinea, and Shannon.

The hardy deciduous shrub was named for William Kerr, British horticulturist from the 1800s, who also introduced the Lady Banks rose and nandina to our gardens.

Kerria matures to a height of three to five feet standing alone as a specimen or providing a wall of green if planted en masse. The mounding growth habit is attractive year round. Although April is its prime time for blossoming, it often displays blooms on and off during the summer. In summer the long double serrated foliage provides drifts of green as the backdrop for flower beds. From autumn to spring the bright green arching stems add interest in the outdoor landscape or indoors as linear elements in floral arrangements. Both the bare and flowered stems are popular in ikebana.

White azaleas blend nicely with kerria under a shady canopy. Kerria is a low maintenance shrub. Skimp on fertilization, or it becomes weedy. For a fuller shrub with more flowering, some gardeners prune stems to the ground every few years. The shrub is disease and pest free and has adapted well to drought conditions.

As an old- fashioned cottage garden plant, kerria was easily passed along to friends and neighbors by stem cuttings or by dividing the rootball. The plant can be propagated by simple layering too.

More recognition needs to be given to the dependable and easy to grow shady lady of the April garden.

Kerr ia Pleniflora provides sunbursts of bright color in pompom- like flowers. Mail- Order Sources www.WaysideGardens.com www.naturehills.com www.woodlanders.net www.nurcar.com www.toptropicals.com www.parkseed.com