doss,
Rohdea is very popular and quite common plant in Japan. You can find it every door because it is widely believed that auspicious plants. I have two pots. Beautiful variegated Rohdeas are very expensive. They are about $30~$40. But normal green leafed one is cheap.
http://www.omoto.net/han_simako.html
Japanese and Chinese Plants for the Shade
enya,
Only a few hours away from each other and they are hardy in your zone and not mine ;o{{{{
MAJOR Zone Envy going on Now,,,,lol
Thanks Goldenfish, The variegated ones are expensive and hard to find here.
Here's an interesting article about the rhodea and zone tolerance.
http://www.munchkinnursery.com/newsletter/rohdea-japonica/
Apparently they are so tough that they can grow under the toxic Black Walnut tree. Auspicious indeed! Talk about survival - and it stays evergreen all the way down to zone 5 according to the article.
GardenGeek,
It was a shock for me when I came to WI from NJ 5 years ago. Summers are as hot, yet winters are too cold and too long here. I am sure that Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphylum) will do just fine where you are.
From what I read about zonedenial's garden, a lot more is possible than one would think. And there's always that micro-climate effect. Take my house, wind is not an issue, as the house is on a hill side of a ravine, which is 10-15 feet deep and it's filled with large oaks and rather dense under forest of honesuckle and pagoda dogwood. So my gardening choices are half-shade to deep shade with quite a bit of dry deep shade. So I started looking at hostas, ferns and epimediums - all yet babies. This year we had a really long slow wet spring and Jacks just went crazy in my yard. And I fell in love with this peculiar family.
I also have fallen in love with them. I did get one this year at a nursery locally. I'll see how that one does and maybe try some more. The only problem with the microclimates is mine are in sun,,,,,lol I will definitely try one for zone 5 and see how that one does.
I think you'll see that a lot of the zone information on many of these plants is based only on limited samples in N. America and estimates derived from the climates' of the plants' native countries. One example that pops out in my mind is Hakonechloa, the Hakone grasses. I see a lot of them marked as hardy to Zone 6 or Zone 7, but I know there is a DGer from Ontario that has had a lot of success in Zone 4 with these plants. And I keep seeing positive reports from people who are growing Tricyrtis species marked as zone 6 or 7 in colder climates. The article by Gene Bush from Munchkin that doss posted is a perfect example of how zone information, even disregarding microclimates, isn't always set in stone. A lot of these plants are new to the trade in this part of the world and there's still a lot to find out.
A good resource for those that would like to try some of the Arisaema and other Aroid varieties in colder parts of the country is the Aroid Society's webpage: http://www.aroid.org/horticulture/hardy.html
These are just individual reports, but I think they'll make those of you in the colder climates a little more confident about giving some of these Arisaemas a shot.
The zone hardiness of the plants you find posted is mostly on the conservative side. Some plants are expensive and a gamble could be costly in both money and time. That's why I do like to look at Dave's Plant File where people report success for the zone.
Thank you for the link to the Aroid Society.
This message was edited May 28, 2006 12:54 AM
greg,
Thanks for the info and the link. I will certainly be checking that out and scouring it for more info. Already bookmarked it.
enya,
I'll be starting with the less expensive ones,,,don't want to be planting $100.00 bill's and not have them spread or show themselves again,,,lol
I'll be watching zone reports in Plant Files as well.
Thanks,
Kelly
GardenGeek_WI,
My fear is the same - not to push zones too hard and not see the expensive buys disappear. I have lot's of Jacks and not that much space. So if you ever need one, let me know. Of cause I am hoping that Green Dragons will be as happy and numerous in a couple of years :)
I really liked the Pinellia cordata that Goldenfish posted a while back. I happened to have ordered one a couple of days before the post and it came the other day. Here is mine, the 'Yamazaki' cultivar of the same plant. I have mine in a pot, but it is supposedly hardy up to Zone 4. It's an entertaining little fellow to look at and photograph.
-Greg
This message was edited May 30, 2006 6:52 PM
And a shot from above the curled inflorescence.
enya,
Thanks, I'm going to try this one and see how it goes. If it comes back, I just may take you up on your offer.
greg,
Where did you get that gorgeous plant,,,sure is a beauty.
Kelly
Kelly, This one came from Lazy S in VA. http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perennials/P-Q_files/P%20Images/pinellia_cordata_yamazaki.htm They always send me beautiful plants.
They also sell them here at Seneca Hill Nursery in NY: http://www.senecahill.com/pages/PPlant.html I haven't done business with them, but they are highly rated on the Watchdog.
Also, the flower has a fairly strong scent. I would describe the smell as a "weedy bubblegum scent" if that means anything to you.
-Greg
Since this thread still is ticking along, here's a couple more; this is Pinellia tripartita "Dragon Tails", with a very long, erect spadix.
This is Arisaema costatum; it's hard to show in a picture, but the tip of the spathe is thread-like, as is the spadix, and the latter is a foot long, reaching all the way to the ground... a beetle highway.
Pinellia tripartita "Golden Dragon" has foliage that is bright yellow when it first unfolds; by the time the flower appears, the foliage fades to light green.
This is Arisaema fargesii, one of the most spectacular jacks for foliage; this in an immature plant, but already has huge, tropical-like leaves... when mature it can be spectacular... very bright green, shiny foliage.
and, Arisaema candidissimum, with its lovely white flowers, which have a dark jack (spadix).
Don, Your collection of aroids is spectacular. Thanks for sharing so much in this thread with us. Now I'll probably have to get an extra job (two extra jobs if I want to order from Asiatica) bagging groceries to buy the plants that I'm salivating over, but a little extra work never hurt anyone. Seriously, though, your plants are really something else.
-Greg
This is an easy to grow Asian bugbane, Actaea japonica aka Cimicifuga japonica. This plant spends most of the day in full shade and is growing in relatively poor soil, but it performs wonderfully and its flowers (I think I deleted the photographs from last year so I can't show them unfortunately) are quite a bit different than those on North American bugbanes. It makes a really nice foliage plant when it's not in bloom.
This one will be familiar to a lot of gardeners as it has become quite popular. For those who aren't familiar with it, Kirengeshoma palmata is worth looking into. It is very easy to grow, and thrives in the darker areas of the garden. I grow it primarily for its elegant foliage, but the pale yellow flowers are subtly beautiful in the fall. It will also get quite large if it's happy. Mine is in its third year and is bigger than it appears in this picture. The only problem I have with it is that slugs enjoy dining on it, hence the diatomaceous earth at the base of the plant in this picture. There is another species in the genus called Kirengeshoma koreana which is less common, but I am on the hunt for it for fall planting this year.
Here is a link to a K. palmata in bloom: http://aoki2.si.gunma-u.ac.jp/BotanicalGarden/HTMLs/ki-renge-shouma.html
This message was edited May 30, 2006 11:35 PM
Don,
Those Really are some beauties. I'm salivating all over my keyboard,,,lol
Greg,
Also some lovely foliage. Makes it great to garden in the shade when there are so many beautiful plants that like shade.
Thanks both for sharing your pics and knowledge.
Kelly
Don,
I love Arisaema candidissimum! My wish list is growing fast :) Patience, patience, patience... But I am so excited about the options.
Greg,
Thanks for the link to Lazyssfarm. I know where my money go next year. For the rest of this year it's soil amending and terrace creation for me. And a fun of planning, choozing, matching plants.
Now I am eyeing with great interest the ravine on the north side of the house where one cannot get too easily - no steps, but that's 50 of our lot which is covered with a carpet of ostrich, interrupted ferns and occasional Jacks. I had no idea what to do with it.
This is a great thread....just found it. I have tried Synelesis and Glaucidium and they both withered away. I am assuming it was becasue of our humid summers. Right? that Pinellia (I have never seen before) is great. And Greg that Chinese Hydrangea is wonderful...what a gorgeous bloom. where did you get it? I am posting a picture of an Arisaema I got from Asiatica and have lost the tag. Hoping one of you all will be able to identify it. TIA Nancy
Nancy, The hydrangea comes from...... Asiatica. But they also sell it at Lazy S.
I have my Synelesis in deep, cool shade where it is growing very nicely, so maybe it is heat and humidity that does them in.
The Arisaema looks like a thunbergii, or a thunbergii var. urashima-so.
-Greg
Nancy,
Gorgeous,,,,still having a major bout of zone envy here,,,LOL
Kelly, Since the Arisaemas grow from corms, they're really easy to dig up in the fall when they're dormant, put into a Ziploc bag with a little damp (but not too damp) peatmoss, and then toss in the back of the fridge for the winter. They don't mind a bit :)
-Greg
Greg,
Now, let me get this straight. Are you telling me that I can grow those lovely non 4a hardy Jacks here in zone 4a?
Yes, I am! In fact, Arisaemas are some of the easier plants to overwinter. Whenever I buy them in the offseason, the nurseries send the corms in a baggy with peat, and I just put them away in the fridge until spring. I can't remember the last time I had problems with one coming up. You just have to be sure that you don't get a hard frost after growth has started to show. And I plan to dig the corms of my A. ringens and a few of my Green Dragons this fall so I can reposition them for next spring. The corms usually look something like this (these are big ones): http://asiaticanursery.com/images/Arisaema-ringens-corms.jpg
Here are some small Green Dragon corms that I dug up and moved last fall: http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/89631/
Zone envy can be conquered pretty easily with these fellows, and I'm cheering for you!
-Greg
OMG,,,,You're not toying with me now are you,,,cause I'm about to get REALLY excited here.
Holy Hannah,,,,I'm gonna be shopping now. Can't believe I can overwinter Jacks here,,,oh happy day,,,,doin' the happy dance wooohooooo.
Dienanthe caerulea that you showed, is a neat little plant, with a fairly large flower that is most interesting; it kind of reminds me of a great big hepatica...
Nah, no toying. When it comes to plants, I try not to be as cruel as I usually am. :) I'll see if I can find some good material on the web that has more specific instructions for overwintering. I know it exists because I've read it, but there's so much new information on Arisaemas on the web since I last searched for overwintering info, it's gotten lost in the Google haystack.
You do have to watch the moisture level for the corm in storage so it doesn't rot, but it really is pretty easy to overwinter them. And I don't have to tell you this, but of course I wouldn't order a $100 Arisaema expensivissimus and practice on that. A good nursery will also be able to give you their techniques for overwintering the corms, so you'll have that information too if you decide to overwinter them. I would go for it though because these plants are worth it.
That is beautiful. My Deinanthe is budding up right now. Can't wait to see that with my own two eyes.
Greg... I should have mentioned that the pic of Dienanthe was from early last July. Got another one for you: A. tashiroi, which is about 3 foot tall.
Don
Actually, this last arisaema might be maximowiczii too... it was sent to me as cashiri, whatever that is... I figured it was a mangling of tashiroi, but who knows... neat, anyway.
Finally have a chance to catch up here at DG and really enjoy this thread - some great pics and great plants! Have been too busy to get into the gardens to take pictures, let alone weed! But I'm anxious to find some plants that I can add to this thread soon.
Kelly, there are some of the Arisaemas that you should be able to grow successfully and leave in the ground. I can personally vouch for A. sikokianum because my first one was purchased and grown for 4 years in a very cold Zone 4a in Maine before it made the move with me to Virginia. Their worst enemy is cold and wet conditions over the winter, the corms will rot. But with the snow cover you must get, they'd have a nice little blanket for the winter :) Alot of people think they have to treat them like the native Jack, A. triphyllum, which can grow huge in really damp, moist conditions, but the Asian species need a drier shade spot to keep them from rotting over the winter. Greg is leading you in the right direction if you're not willing to leave them in the ground. Just make sure they're dry when you overwinter them in the fridge, pack them in a zip loc with a little peat moss or saw dust, leave the top of the bag open just a little for ventilation and keep an eye on them. Every once in a while you might have to spritz them with a little water to make sure they don't dry out too much. I usually check them every couple of weeks. Although I haven't had 100% success with this method, the losses are usually from my own neglect or from a fridge that goes on the fritz. One year we had ordered some from Asiatica in January, stored them in the fridge, monitored them for the next couple of months, got busy and forgot to check on them. When I finally did, found out that fridge had konked out and most of the corms had mold forming on them :( Planted some of them anyway after wiping the mold off with paper towels and actually had a few that made it! They might be a little more work with the attention you need to give them, but well worth the effort.
Good luck! Debbie
Salvia nipponica Fuji Snow grows in shade and has yellow flowers in late summer...like Koyame flowers only that salvia is a thug I think.
And now for the odd: Paris polyphylla, a cousin to trilliums.
Nancy, That's a really nice salvia. I'd love to see it when it blooms. I agree about the Koyame. I don't have it but I saw it in a friend's garden who had gotten it from Heronswood or Plants Delight, I forget which one, and it was too leafy and really just underwhelming. The Fuji Snow is really nice, though. BTW, was your Arisaema one of the ones I listed? It's a nice looking plant you have. I'm hoping my baby urashima turns into something like it in a few years.
Don, I like your oddball plants very much. I rather liked the Podophyllums that you posted earlier, even the one that might give some people the heaves. The Paris reminds me of a Medeola, a North American oddball that I grow and which makes a surprisingly nice garden plant.
-Greg
greg,
ooooo, got one today at a nursery around here. I'm not sure which one. I have to look at the tag. It might just be the ones we have around here that are hardy for our zone. I'm definitely going to be looking for some more. Thanks so much for the info,,,,and for not toying with me,,,,I'll have to find a nice, pretty Arisaema inexpesvissimus,,,lol
Debbie,
I'm usually not one to baby plants. Plunk it in and if it grows, great, if not, I may move it to a different spot,,,if it doesn't like it there, it's history. But, with these I'd be much more willing to try over wintering them. I don't do Canna's, Calla Lily's or Dahlia's just for that reason. Thanks for the info. I really am looking forward to trying some.