Not much :-) Some early day sun will bring out the best coloring but too much sun will scorch it. Dappled or partial shade is ideal.

btw, this plant is a fully herbaceous perennial in that it dies back to the ground in winter. No persistent wood stems to make it shrubby.

I don't know about Sun King but native aralias grow in full sun to partial shade in Georgia. Not sure how this got into the Hosta forum - do you grow Hostas with Aralia?

Here is one of mine, maybe 20, 25 feet tall in full bloom. It has some thorns and will set thousands of berries. It is a great pollinator plant though. I keep a few on the property as a conversation piece - crazy, right?

You will be spraying or chopping down lots of young aralias later on.

here it says it's a great companion plant for hostas :)

but mostly shade and a few hours of sun only. I saw one in Longwood Gardens mostly dappled shade under tall trees. It's a gorgeous plant!

Very different from any native aralias. First, it is fully herbaceous. And it flowers quite late in the season so berries may or may not have time to ripen. Deadheading would eliminate any concern of self seeding or spreading by birds. It does grow to a significant proportion (6'x6', possibly more) and can produce some rhizomatous sprouting. And it has bright yellow foliage, so not at all a plant for full sun! And because it prefers at the very least partial shade, it does make a great companion planting for hostas.

I have a bunch of Sun Kings, and the ones that grow best get bright shade all day, with a little late day sun. Soil moisture is needed or they wither in the hot days of summer.

I planted it last year (a tiny plant from Bluestone Perennials) and it seemed to thrive--put on several inches over the season. As of today, I see no sign of it. I'm feeling hopeful, though, that someone here said, "It dies back to the ground in the winter." I hope it is just a late emerger...

violetsnapdragon, my Sun King is emerges later than many other perennials. Don't give up hope!

I guess this is the year it leaped. Wish it was a bit taller, but you can't have everything. And I have heard that the color is dependent on how much sun it gets--greener vs more chartreuse. All I can say is that mine gets sun until around noon.