Prefers a good deep loam and a semi-shady position. Requires a sheltered position. Plants are hardier when grown in poorer soils. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.0 to 7.4. Dormant plants are hardy to about -25°c. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun. This is a commonly cultivated food crop in Japan, where it is grown for its edible shoots. There are several named varieties.

Young branched shoots - cooked or raw. They can be up to 1.5 metres long and have a mild and agreeable flavor. They are usually blanched and are crisp and tender with a unique lemon-like flavor. They can be sliced and added to salads, soups etc. The shoots contain about 1.1% protein, 0.42% fat, 0.8% soluble carbohydrate, 0.55% ash. Root - cooked. Used like scorzonera.

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 4 months at 20°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this. Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage. Division of suckers in late winter. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.

Thickets and thin woods, esp. by streams and ravines, all over Japan.