The tags and/or Plantfiles has each of these as "tropical or tender perennials" so I hope it's ok to post it here. I bought several plants for the perimeter of my newly restored pond (100% shade under a southern magnolia) and I don't know for sure how to deal with 3 of them.
First, I got a Persian Shield. From what I can gather, I should treat it like coleus. For me that means rooting cuttings in the fall and transplanting them back into the ground in the spring. I guess I'm just not really clear on if this plant does or does not come back from the roots in my zone 8 climate. I did read that the entire plant can be kept in a container and kept inside as a houseplant during the winter but I don't have that kind of room! My sweet potato vine and caladiums have all come back for me this summer and I didn't do anything special. But I don't COUNT ON them being hardy. Is it the same deal with Persian Shield?
The next one is Kaempferia Pulchra "Silver Spot." From what I can gather, these can be treated like hostas. They go totally dormant but will come back in the spring/summer after it warms up. Is that correct or should I put it in a container and plan on overwintering it somewhere- house, garage, something?
Last is Caricature Plant (Graptophullum pictum). Again, I see in Plantfiles you can root cuttings pretty easily. So do I just do that, again, like with my coleus (or even brugmansia) and not count on it coming back from roots? Is this another one you can treat as a houseplant in the winter?
If you have any feedback on ANY of these I'd appreciate it!
Thanks,
Jamie
How do I treat these?!
Persian Shield, treat like a coleus. I don't think it is hardy there, the snow at Christmas killed mine and it was only 26 for a few hours. Some of my coleus survived under mulch, but not the Persian Shield. If you let your plant flower and take cuttings of the stems that are flowering they never do right, so take cuttings from stems that are not flowering.
Kaempferia are easy to overwinter. They like to be bone dry after going dormant. It should be hardy for you but be sure the place it's in doesn't stay soggy in winter or the tuber/rhisome thingie will rot.
Your caricature plant will not be hardy, it's like the Persian shield and dies if it gets chilled. Take cuttings.
Thank you so much Calalily! That's kind of what I thought. I think I will go outside now and plant my Kaempferia in the ground by the pond. I know you said it likes it dry, but my pond is concrete and has big decorative rocks around the edges. Plus, the plant shelf is just barely covered with water so it's not like the plants around the edge of the pond (in the ground) stay wet.
I had some water plants in a big container that I have now moved into my pond. I think I will put my Persian Shield and caricature plant in that with some coleus and the new guinea impatien I bought. Then take cuttings in the fall.
Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for the tip on the P_S and after flowering cuttings.
That explains why I've been having problems w/ this plant.
Ric
Jamie, I am in zone 8 and lost my Persian Shields 2 winters in a row. Everyone said they would come back from the roots but they didn't.
I also am glad to get the tip about cuttings from parts that haven't flowered. Jenny
Jamie,
I have Persian shield for two years. It never died back here in Houston for me. I did cover it once with a old bed sheet. I am surprised it didn't die back either. Matter of fact, it bloomed for me this year. I have never rooted any yet. It is one of my very favorite plants. Here is the blooms.
Patti
This message was edited Jul 12, 2005 7:04 PM
Thanks for the info! Patti- that's really pretty! Lucky you! :)