Slender Deutsia

Deutzia gracilis

Siebold & Zucc. Species

Deutzia gracilis
如此甚好 via iNaturalist — CC BY 4.0
Deutzia gracilis photograph 1 Deutzia gracilis photograph 2 Deutzia gracilis photograph 3 Deutzia gracilis photograph 4 Deutzia gracilis photograph 5 Deutzia gracilis photograph 6
Botanical name
Deutzia gracilis
Also known as
Slender Deutsia, Slender Pride of Rochester
Family
Hydrangeaceae
Genus
Deutzia
Flowering period
May to June
Height
80–120 cm
Spread
80–120 cm
Hardiness
Fully hardy (RHS H6)
Reference
World Flora Online

How to grow Slender Deutsia

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight
Full sun to partial shade
Watering
Moderate; water in dry spells
Soil
Fertile, well-drained but moisture-retentive
Soil pH
Acid to alkaline

Planting

Plant in autumn or spring. It is small enough for a mixed border front or a large container, and flowers well in light shade. Shelter from late frosts, which can catch the flower buds in an exposed spot.

Pruning

Prune straight after flowering. Take out about a fifth to a quarter of the oldest stems at the base each year and shorten flowered shoots to strong new growth low down. It flowers on the previous season's wood, so pruning in winter removes the flowers.

Propagation

Softwood cuttings in early summer, or hardwood cuttings in autumn.

Pests and diseases

Generally trouble-free.

Value to wildlife

The clusters of small white flowers are visited by bees and hoverflies.

Notes

It has a short flowering season and little else to offer for the rest of the year, so it works better mixed into a border than as a specimen. Old neglected plants respond well to renovation - cut a third of the stems to the base each year for three years.

Some structured details on this page (such as tolerances, pH and hardiness) come from USDA PLANTS Database (public domain). The written guidance is GardenDecoded's own, researched as described in our editorial policy.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Deutzia gracilis but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Deutzia gracilis f. albomarmorata Deutzia gracilis f. aurea Deutzia gracilis f. aureomarginata Deutzia gracilis f. pilifera Deutzia gracilis subsp. gracilis Deutzia gracilis unranked albomarmorata Deutzia gracilis unranked aureomarginata Deutzia gracilis unranked variegata Deutzia gracilis var. latifolia Deutzia gracilis var. macrantha Deutzia gracilis var. nagurae Deutzia gracilis var. nagurai Deutzia nagurai

Others in Deutzia

Deutzia aspera
Deutzia corymbosa var. corymbosa
Deutzia faberi
Deutzia glabrata var. glabrata
Deutzia naseana var. amanoi
Deutzia × wilsonii
Deutzia cinerascens
Deutzia compacta

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.