Illustration
Japanese Cleyera
Ternstroemia gymnanthera
Also called japanese ternstroemia and false japanese cleyera
Japanese Cleyera blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Japanese Cleyera
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–9. Expect it to reach about 10 ft tall and 7 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (a house reading).
No toxicity note is on file for Japanese Cleyera. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Japanese Cleyera
Plant Japanese Cleyera in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 9, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Japanese Cleyera get?
10 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult7 ftwideSee Japanese Cleyera in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Japanese Cleyera
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Japanese Cleyera about 7 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Japanese Cleyera to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Japanese Cleyera's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 7 published sources on September 23, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- University of Arkansas ExtensionPlant Database, Landscape Shrubsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- University of Florida IFASEDIS FP575, Gilman, Klein and Hansenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Missouri Botanical Gardenthe 'Carolina Sunset' entryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and diseases
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and soil
- Plant AddictsCleyera Shrubs category pagespread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil and pests
- Plant Addictstrait tags, pests and toxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.