Greg...YES! it is thunbergii...don't know about the urashima part. thanks. I saw pictures of it "in the wild" in Japan growing in a group (gorgeous)...I doubt mine will ever do that.
Japanese and Chinese Plants for the Shade
this is my Japanese Peony late March
If you collect temperate Asian plants, you have to have some toadies... this was Tricyrtis macrantha ssp. macranthopsis blooming last fall; it has a bright yellow flower with red spots, and very shiny, waxy leaves.
Don
Don, Thanks for bringing up the toadlilies. I think some of the people on this thread will appreciate this thread from last fall. There are some great pictures in there.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/546041/
-Greg
Greg,
Thank you for the link. The hardiness reports in the PlantFiles are encouraging too.
I have planted T. miyazaki last fall to see if I can grow toadlillies in my rather dense shade. It did not bloom much last fall, but I have twice as big of a plant this spring. I'll be waiting for blooms.
I if it grows at this rate I may want to divide it next year, but I am not sure when. Since the plant blooms in the fall, would spring be the time to divide?
Enya, Yes, it is best to divide them early in the spring. They seem to respond without missing a beat. I did a quick Google search also, and I found a short thread on Garden Web about dividing toad lilies, and one of their members said she has had success dividing them at any time during the growing season, but it didn't say how it affected the subsequent bloom.
I grow two of my cultivars in deep shade, and I also have a slightly reduced bloom set from them, however their foliage looks quite a bit better than the ones that I let have more sun. My toad lilies seem to be very sensitive to the high heat and humidity of New England summers, and the leaves will often brown up and the plants' foliage looks quite awful. But the blooms are spectacular once it cools off in the autumn.
Nancy, I have 3 synelesis in Bel Air and they're doing fine. I have them in dry shade. In fact, I bought them specifically because they were listed for dry shade. Maybe yours were getting too much water? I totally neglect these and they've survived 3 years now.
Some great plants here especially the arisaemas - I must try one! I also agree about kirengeshoma - a fantastic plant. I need more shade!
Here is a Chinese woodland plant that I bought last summer as Smilicina oleracea. There is some controversy (at least in taxonomic circles) about the name of this plant, and it is currently considered Maianthemum oleraceum. Regardless of its name, this is a beautiful False Solomon's Seal, and one of my favorite plants. It
I thought I had lost the plant during the winter since it didn't emerge until early this month, and it was unhappy as it established itself last season, but it has emerged this year with six stalks where it only had two last year. As you will see from the picture, it does have problems with white fly attacks, but I plan to fend them off more aggressively this year.
Also, here's a link to a mature plant: http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/2005/06/maianthemum_ole.php
-Greg
Greg,
Lovely plant.
Greg, what a lovely plant! Looks like one I'll be adding to my wish list :)
Found a few photos to post - first, Tree Peony
Syneilesis aconitifolia, unfortunately the trees around this plant have grown so much in the past two years that it will have to be moved soon.
Two of my favorite plants, first Disporopsis perneyi, an evergreen Solomon's Seal that's a terrific groundcover. The deep green foliage has a nice sheen to it and is even glossier in the fall. We had people touring our gardens last weekend and of all the plants in the garden, this is one that received alot of attention.
A second favorite, Thalictrum kiusianum. Another groundcover candidate with dainty flowers and foliage that captures the morning dew in its foliage. Gardeners always refer to the "diamonds" on the leaves of Lady's Mantle - I like to think of the dew on this foliage as rhinestones :)
We had high hopes for this unique little plant - planted last year but unfortunately didn't make it through the winter - Chinese Bluebells, Mertensia pterocarpa var. yezoensis.
Hard to see the height of this one, Dancing Crane Cobra Lily - Arisaema heterophyllum, but it's at least 3' tall in the garden.
A little better perspective of its height in the garden, just before the flower emerged.
rcn...what fabulous pictures. Your garden really is something. I am assuming if YOU can have that Syneilesis then so can I. I had tried before and it melted away (and so did the thalictrum kiusiana)..I thought because of Baltimore humidity...what conditions do you have it/them planted in?
rcn,
Very lovely pics,,,,Love that Dancing Crane Cobra Lily. Very Cool
The Chinese Bluebell is fascinating... I've never seen it before; sorry it didn't make it. Asian hepaticas would be a whole 'nother category... like Hepatica asiatica japonica:
levilyla, thank you, unfortunately the weeds are "really something" right now also! You shouldn't have a problem with the Syneilesis if you find the right spot for it. Ours is growing in a half day of sun with its feet in the shade. It is gorgeous in the spring, although it doesn't have much to offer in the gardens once the heat and humidity sets in. Thalictrum kiusianum, same thing - just find the coolest spot in the gardens you have and although a shade plant, it will tolerate morning sun. We have similar humidity problems here to what you experience in Baltimore but from what I've seen of your gardens, you should be able to find a spot where either of these plants would thrive for you.
zonedenial, that's a beautiful Hepatica!
Good news! We had some pots of plants that we had set out under some pine trees last summer for planting out in the garden but they ended up sitting there all winter. After posting the picture of the Mertensia yesterday, I realized there were a few pots of these and waded through the weeds to find 3 pots alive! Now I have to find 3 different spots to test them in the garden again. Thinking the area where we had the original plant was too moist and they need a better drained soil.
I went outside last night to take photos of Kirengshoma palmata and K. koreana planted together. Unfortunately we have discovered a disgusting infestation of wooly aphid in the large River Birch which towers overhead and there is sooty mold on everything :( So pictures will have to wait until we solve the problem.
I just got this and had never seen one before (I am sure you all have however!) H. foetidus var.
Very Nice. I won't even ask if it's hardy in my zone,,,the answer is usually no,,,lol
You probably can't grow H. foetidus and its cultivars, but there might be some hardier ones. There are lots of hybrid hellebores that are hardy in Zone 4, though. I know that the fellow who runs Munchkin, Gene Bush, has some beautiful ones.
-Greg
Greg,
I am trying yet Another Helleborus. They all seem to hate me,,,lol can't keep any of them alive,,,,one of thse times though. This time I bought a bigger plant, so, we'll see.
Does this Munchkin have a web site?
I earlier in this thread extolled Arisaema fargesii, for its large, tropical foliage... today I happened to take a picture showing just how big the leaves are (it's an immature plant, and I have pretty big hands).
don
It does, and it's a great website: http://www.munchkinnursery.com/
You'll see that it's half a nursery website, and half a website about shade gardening in general, with lots of well-written articles about woodland shade plants and their cultivation. I don't want to shill for the nursery here on the board, but I did all my autumn planting with dormant plants from this nursery last year, and the plants that came up (about 90% success rate; I'm sold on fall planting) were huge and beautiful this spring. It's funny, but the only two plants I lost were hellebores, go figure. I think it was because I have very acid soil, and when I limed the survivors this spring, after a week, they looked much better. Also, he's very, very good about answering his e-mail and giving detailed answers.
-Greg
Greg,
Thanks,,,I think,,,LOL
Danger, Danger, Danger. This is not gonna be a good site for my finances. I only peeked and I can already tell. I shoulda never asked,,,LOL
Oh no, I only sent you there for the informative articles that Gene writes. Haha. Have fun!
Enabler,,,,Enabler among us,,,Oh, the articles,,,um, yes, that's what I meant,,,rofl
levilya, nice Hellebore! For some reason, Hellebores don't do that well for us - although the area we have them in has very poor soil and is never watered other than what Mother Nature provides, which isn't much this year - we're 6" below the average rainfall and have alot of catching up to do.
don, what a healthy A. fargesii! We used to have this one, but I can't remember, does it flower under the leaf or above it?
levilyla,
I see nice mondo grass in the picture. I had a dozen or so planted and only half left after the past winter. Out of zone for sure and I did not mulch. I wonder if good mulching would save the rest or I should just offer the plants for a safer home?
I sometimes lose some here with a really cold winter so I know you will. I do love it though...it always looks good and stays very short.
fargesii flowers on a short stem under the leaves.
Don
This is Amsonia elliptica, a Chinese member of the genus. It's a little difficult to photograph in the shade, but I gave it a shot. I like Amsonia's quite a bit, so I couldn't resist the chance to add this plant to my small collection. Though the colors are washed a bit in this photo, the flowers are a slightly richer shade of blue than the other species I grow.
-Greg
Edited to add that this isn't a shade plant per se, but like A. tabernaemontana, will take quite a bit of shade and still flower quite nicely. The plant I posted gets about four hours of sun.
This message was edited Jun 14, 2006 11:21 PM
Greg,
There's no entry in the Plant Files for Amsonia elliptica and no picture.
The PF is here, and was already in the database when I added the plant to my garden journal last month. Maybe the search feature was acting up yesterday.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/104602/index.html
I added the picture in the thread to it yesterday.
-Greg
My candidissimum bloomed last week for the first time. Kind of a haunting, hazy pink and a nice scent. I'm so glad to finally have this beauty in my garden.
greg,
Another beauty.