Tetrapanax Species, Rice Paper Plant, Rice-Paper Tree

I can understand why this plant could be more of a burden than pleasure. Our area recieves an average of 150+" of snow, and winters are l...Read Moreong and cold; but the Tetrapanax comes back with gusto every year for the past 8 years. If it is that aggresive in zone 4-5, it must be overwhelming in warmer climates. It's a fun plant to grow and watch it slowly spread every year- but for those in warmer climates...yikes! I have learned not to cut it back/clean it up until spring, due to the noxious 'dust' it generates from the foliage and stems.

Soon after I planted this plant in 2013, I went to a house on the bay that was part of a secret gardens tour. The backyard hill that slop...Read Moreed down to the water was covered in a jungle consisting of this plant. It was extremely beautiful. They had a platform that you could walk out onto and get on a swing and swing out over the rice-paper forest. It was beautiful, but I felt uneasy seeing how the plant really can take over and hearing about how the owners have cut all of them only to have them quickly re-appear.

Yesterday I was pulling up babies from this plant. I was looking for a plant that would fill in and spread, and I guess I got what I was wanting. I am just worried about the nature of how it spreads. New plants will pop up very far from the original plant. It is easy to pull up the new plants, especially if you catch them when they are small but I am sure there will be more where that came from. I haven't had any issues with irritation from the fibers on this plant. It grows back very quickly after the winter. I like it, but it isn't a top favorite and I worry that it might be a bit of a handful. I will see how it does this summer.

*****I recommend growing fatsia japonica instead*******
Fatsia japonica is very beautiful with a very similar leaf structure, it should not cause any irritation, here (zone 8/9) it does not die to the ground in the winter like the tetrapanax papyrifer did, and it certainly does not spread like crazy.
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2020 UPDATE:
I realize I wrote this in 2015 so I would like to give an update on how this plant has performed for me considering I was a bit worried about the spreading habit. I think I will leave my rating at neutral, especially because I still think people should approach growing this plant with caution. However, I quite like the unpredictable spreading habit of this plant. It usually pops up in areas where I actually find it to be aesthetically pleasing so I leave it alone except for some that I decide should be pulled. The older stalks start taking on a palm tree like form with all of the leaves at the top and a long trunk. There is a mini forest of this plant in my peacock aviary, and the birds like to hide in it sometimes so it is one of the few plants that isn't destroyed in an aviary setting. I have also found a creative use for the large leaves. For Christmas, I cut several leaves off and glue them around a cardboard box to form a natural wrapping paper for a gift. I'm terrible at wrapping so this way creates something beautiful and unique without me angrily wasting wrapping paper.

My final thoughts are, I do love this plant, however my main complaint these days is that, at the time of obtaining this plant, I had no idea that there is a larger form known as 'Steroidal Giant' which I would have much rather grown after seeing examples of it growing in to quite the exotic looking tree. I cannot justify getting the giant form now that my garden has far too many of the regular size variety. I only want one type and not two taking over the garden if that makes any sense!

Just bought one of these cool plants! Excited to see what it does. You can get these in 1gal size from Jungle Fever Exotics in Tacoma WA. $22.00.

This plant is very attractive, but there are drawbacks, as folks have said. At my old house (raised on piers), it traveled all the way un...Read Moreder the house and popped up on the other side! So it definitely will spread & you will need to keep it in check. The other thing is the light brown 'fluff' that covers the plant, especially the flower stalk. Even getting anywhere near that stuff always sent me into a protracted coughing fit.

I bought one of these from Plant Delights Nursery last spring and I was a little disappointed with how it did - never got taller than 12"...Read More. Maybe I didn't treat it right, I thought. After our freezes this year, the thing looked like it died. Dead, done. So I bought another one from PDN this year. After all, maybe it was my fault.

I received my new plant on 4/6. As you might expect, I noticed a new plant sprouting near the old dead stalk that same day. I finally got the new plant in the ground yesterday. And, as you might expect, today I noticed a volunteer coming up 3 feet away from the original. Now I have three!

So, at the very least, this plant is tenacious. I'll leave my rating as 'neutral' until I see if this thing can thrive here and put on some height.

Unfortunately, the only source for this plant I can find online is Plant Delights in SC. The plant itself is $20 in a 3.5" pot. Even sc...Read Morearier is shipping across the country is prohibitive no matter what you buy.

Also purchased the "Steroidal Giant" cultivar from Plant Delights. Is perfectly hardy here as a perennial. This species is highly invasiv...Read Moree, and needs to be kept in check (as if it were a running bamboo !!!). My suggestion is to either grow it as a container plant, or cut out the bottom of a large bucket to contain it in the garden.

That being said, it gives a great tropical look to a temperate landscape. It could (and should) take the place of the highly toxic Ricinus. The plants are very similar in appearance.

I will be attempting to graft this plant onto a hardier rootstock, in order to maintain the stem (which turns to a dried stalk up here). Hopefully, it will also make the plant less invasive.

Highly invasive exotic plant. My folks have this in their yard & it pushes up suckers through pavement & dislodges brick paving. Has sp...Read Moreread from back yard all through the front & side yards & into adjoining neighbors' yards.

Recently noticed that one of our neighbors have planted this & already it is spreading in his yard.

Also highly allergenic- not many things bother me, but this plant's pollen really does make me feel ill. Supposedly attractive to bees, but the plants I've seen attract flies.

There must be some good alternatives- maybe giant cane bamboo, which is a native plant in the SE US- it's also tropical-looking, likes damp areas & will spread in some environments- good to prevent soil erosion... Or maybe Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark)? Or Liatris spicata (blazing star)? Or cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)? Or some kind of palm?

Great tree and very interesting to look at the growth. Spreads and makes new plants in disturbed soil via seed where I am. It can be a l...Read Moreittle bit itchy like fig tree leaves but not as bad. So, not great to handle much. I had one about 20ft tall, with a trunk of at least 9" until the wind blew it down one day. If you cut off the top of the main stem, several new shoots will appear to have more of a bushy look.

I perchesed this plant from hamton court garden show last year and since then the pant had experienced heavy snow and frost, I think it w...Read Moreas about -18oC and buried under two feet of snow, the plant is still growing well!

We grew two plants one summer, and they grew very well - got about five feet tall. Then found out that it can be invasive. We dug them ...Read Moreup and put one in a pot, where it seems to be doing alright. Even without the original plants in place, we've pulled up at least a dozen suckers. It went under a fence to my neighbor's yard, so I warned her about it.
It's pretty, but be careful with it.

I received the "Steroid Giant" version of this plant from Plants Delight last spring. It got about three foot tall and wide with large be...Read Moreautiful tropical-looking leaves. I mulched it heavily and Put a cushion of leaves around the trunk and it has now started getting leaves up the entire trunk beginning early April
Update 4/30/2010
I found a pup of the steroid giant coming up about 3 feet from last years trunk and just outside of the mulch-protected perimeter from last winter. That means that the pup/roots took -4 F without protection. I uprooted it and moved it to try it in a stightly shadier section of the garden.

I love it,when i moved here they were mowed and i would see them popping up arround the house.so i decided to lettem grow and loved them ...Read Morenot knowing what they were at the time.they got so big and multiplied(spred) every where,i will dig up and replant them in different spots sometimes,or give some away.i have one by my front porch about 8/9 feet tall thats flowering and i was wondering if they have seeds.would someone tell me if they seed or just suck evrywhere?thanks Kl...oh yea i didnt see southwest(almost central)Georgia on the list.

I bought one in spring 08 from PDN. It is in it's second year about 2-3 ft tall now. Sucked this spring so I moved some babies to other s...Read Morepots in the yard. Nice plant. Under drifting shade of oaks. Likes water.

From Botanica Encyclopedia:
This genus consists of one species, an evergreen, suckering shrub or small tree native to Taiwan and p...Read Moreossibly another in Japan's Ryukyu Islands. A type of fine 'rice paper' is made from the white pith of the stems of this plant, hence both the common and species names. It is grown in temperate gardens for its very large, fan-like leaves; it works well where an exotic, tropical effect is required and space is available for its often rampant growth.
Cultivation:
Plants do best in mild climates, in sheltered, preferably lightly shaded spots and well-drained soil. Tolerant of salt winds and sandy soil, they adapt well to seaside conditions. Water container plants freely during warmer months. Prune to remove damaged foliage and spent flowerheads, and in winter remove canes at ground level to control the size of the plants. propagate from seed or cuttings in early spring.
Tetrapanax papyrifer
syns Aralia papyrifera, Fatsia papyrifera
This freely suckering shrub grows vigorously to 20' tall and has a similar spread. The huge, umbrella-like, many lobed leaves are a shiny mid-green above, felty underneath. New growth has a distinctive pale brownish bloom. The flowerheads are creamy white, fluffy balls held in large, loose panicles; they appear during fall and are followed by black berries. 'Variegata' has cream to white leaves tinged with bright to dark green.
Zones: 8-11

I have been growing this plant for 3 or 4 years and I love it! Each year it gets taller. Last year it was about 4 ft tall and 5 ft wide...Read More. We have heavy clay soil, and it is growing in complete shade. I have not seen any flowers on this plant; it may be because I have not fertilized it. Each year it spreads and about 5 - 10 new plants come up from each plant the last year. I have been digging up the new plants and giving them to friends because it does so well in our area. This is one of my favorite plants because of its hardiness and self-sufficiency. It has spread to areas which get no additional watering other than mother nature.

I first saw this plant in Garden Design magazine last year. They were talking about a variety called, "Steroidal Giant". I am a HUGE fa...Read Moren of large leaved plants so I ordered one from Plant Delights Nursery. It arrived in record time and has already put out 3 new leaves. I am hoping it will get as large as some of the photos I have seen. There is a particularly amazing one on the Little and Lewis website. I think in our far southern climate it would benefit from afternoon shade. I know most large leaved plants have a hard time keeping up with the heat here in Galveston. Wish me luck! **update**
Well, it is safe to say that this plant is not salt tolerant. It was really doing well and then it was inundated in 7 feet of salt water during Hurricane Ike. It is dead. Dead. Dead. Gotta get me a new one now!

Grows in Mobile, AL.
Not much experience. Had them for a few years. Transplants easily ("harvested" mine from the side of the road...Read More). Spreads underground in some places AGRESSIVELY and can be a nuisance. Just pinch them off as they come up and pull out the root as much as possible. I have seen it spread 10-15 ft under pavers and rocks. I have not tried it in a planter or big pot. My nick name for these are "tropical weeds."

A very attractive plant. I have sandy soil, to which I add slow release fertilizer once or twice a year. The Fatsia seems to have no ob...Read Morejections and grows enthusiatically. It will even tolerate the once or twice we have short freezes.