Friday, July 25, 2008

Ligularia: The Rocket

Here's a shot (taken on July 17, 2008) facing East into the Ligularia planting where they are surrounded by the hollies, ferns and other Woodland Garden denizens ....

I'm sure this plant is no stranger to those who have woodland gardens or garden extensively in shady areas. This is one of our very favorite shade plants, Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket,' which has been happily growing in this spot for about 6 or 7 years now. Of course, right in front of this specimen you can see our other favorite, Ligularia dentata, 'Desdemona,' whose blooms couldn't be more different from 'The Rocket.' Whereas 'The Rocket' sends up spikes of yellow flowers that bloom from the bottom and work their way up, 'Desdemona' adopts an entirely different tactic of clusters of intense yellow flowers, that when seen from a distance almost fool you into thinking it's some sort of bizarre Black Eyed Susan. We used to see these driving around, but never quite knew what they were when we only saw them from the street. So we did a little digging around on the net and found out that they were relatives of our other Ligularia, though oh, so different in aspect.

Though I suspect that most gardeners probably choose both Ligularias for their striking foliage, (which is indeed reward enough for growing them), but I think the flowers, however fleeting, are a really great bonus that help cheer up sultry summer days in July and August in our Woodland Garden. If you grow Ligularia, you already know how crucial a consistently moist area is to achieving success with them. But if you're not familiar with it and would like to give it a try, here are a few hints to get them to excell for you.

They will tolerate a fair amount of indirect sun (ours is planted on the north side of the house and gets early morning and late afternoon light, but is otherwise in shade most of the day), but they will not tolerate drying out, and that's the surest way to kill them. So if you plant it, and see the slightest sign of wilting, don't wait, run to the garden hose and give it a good drink. Yes, it does look a bit wilted in this shot (it was a hot day), but don't worry, we had some storms move in that night and they took care of the watering for us, but when we have extended dry spells, this whole area gets significant attention when we water, because so many of its neighbors also want the same conditions. Aside from those cautions about light and water, Ligularia is really a very easy plant to grow ... just take into account that it will increase in size over time, so give it a plenty of room to stretch out. It prefers a fairly ordinary loamy, well drained soil with a good degree of organic matter in it (which, if you have a woodland garden, you probably already have). We have never fussed over ours in any way, other than to make sure they get watered when we're not having regular rains.

This shot makes me chuckle a bit about how Fernymoss framed it ... Yes, that Holly is pretty big, but it's not as tree sized as this shot might suggest, but I love this perspective on this particular section of the Woodland Garden. If you look closely, you'll also see one of our Polygonatum sneaking into the frame....

Ligularia stenocephala really begs that the flowers be seen up close and personal ... just look at those stamens! They've really got a party going on all the way up the bloom stalk! I've always thought they look like those paper blowout noise makers of birthday parties of yore ... and this year it's really on track to outdo itself, with no fewer than 10 or 12 bloom stalks from this one plant. 'The Rocket' has never disappointed us in the time it's been in our garden, and I wish we had the room for even more ... maybe when we finally start that shade garden under the maple in the back, we can plant more, but that's still a pipe dream at this point. I'd go all salesman on Shady Gardener, if I didn't already know she has it in her shady garden, but if by chance, some of you other readers haven't had the pleasure to grow Ligularia, I extend my heartiest recommendation to find a nice spot for it in your garden.

Fun stuff: For Harry Shearer fans out there ... Harry was on Countdown With Keith Olbermann, on July 23 talking about politics and his new album, Songs of the Bushmen, which is now available. Harry, as always, was entertaining, and sent up some really great barbs about the past 8 years. He was kind enough to allow KO to post three of the songs here, so if you'd like to see what he's been up to, check them out. (I particularly loved 935 Lies.)

59 comments:

Larry Kollar said...

Isn't "rocket" another name for arugula too?

Constantly moist… that would be where we pipe the kitchen/laundry drains into the back yard. ;-) I expected much better performance from the blackberry vines back there than what I got this year. The ones that grew wild with no (or minimal) help did the best.

Mother Nature said...

I saw the Ligularia in your Flickr Photos the other day and have been anticipating a post about them. I first saw the Leopard Plant as it is sometimes called in the Atlanta Botanical Garden and it was a variety with yellow spots distributed over the leaves. I have Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' and now know from your post to water it more frequently. I love the fimbriated foliage on the taller one and also the vertical inflorescences.

Roses and Lilacs said...

The rocket, what a striking plant. I would be tempted if it didn't require so much watering. Nice foliage too.
Marnie

boran2 said...

These rockets are nice but probably to expansive for our garden. That closeup is epecially nice.

Shady Gardener said...

IVG, Thanks for the recognition/link! :-) I was so excited to see your post on Ligularia... and now I know how wonderful it will be looking before long (well, at least in 2 or 3 years!) ;-) I continue to inspect my plant (now that it's nearly one full year old) for buds... but none so far. I prefer The Rocket flowers, but I really do like Desmadona's foliage.

How are you? Have you had some busy days? I certainly have, but things all have a way of working out for the best. And soon I'll have to be adding my posting labels again! ;-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey FAR,
Not that I knew, but there are lots of 'rocket' names for plants so there may be a variety called that. I haven't grown Arugula in a long time, and it, like lettuce, tends to bolt too fast to really use it.

If you try it, keep it out of hot direct sun, or you'll have one crispy plant on your hands!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey there MN,
Glad you were interested in this post! Funny, but I've never heard it called Leopard plant here, but have seen it referred to that way in resources. Isn't dentata a cool plant? We love having both because they are such distinctly different species, but that bronzy red foliage is hard to beat, even if it didn't have pretty blooms!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
The watering isn't excessive unless you have really dry soil as a rule or you're not getting regular rains. It's worth the effort!

Speaking of having to water a lot, I popped by quickly at your place today and saw you have heliotrope ... we have never had any luck with that because we can't seem to keep it watered enough and it always goes crispy on us. Wish we could get it to grow for us!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey B2,
One of these days you'll have to take some pics of your space, so I can get an idea of how much you're working with (or not). They do spread over time, but not outrageously.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey Shady,
I'd say that if your plant has a bit of size on it, you should at least get a few bloom stalks this year. They tend to increase every year, and this year is I think the most it's had so far (but it's at least 6 yrs old).

Did you just put 'Desdemona' in this year, seems to me you said you had just gotten one ... you're gonna love it.

We went by the house tonight where we first saw it years ago, and they have it planted alternately with those huge 'lily pad' Hostas (the kind I almost like, hehe) at the base of a hedge. They look really nice like that. The new one we planted this year bloomed prematurely (it was a pretty big plant we got at Hy Vee), so it's done now, but the original one has yet to bloom. You'll see it again when it does ... :-)

Gail said...

ivg,

I wrote a huge response to your comment and realized I was ranting! It was deleted and replaced with a nice sweet one! My rant was not about you but about global warming/developers/conservation/ you name it. So I said, go over and hang out with IVG...he's got a good head on his shoulder and he cares.

Are you feeling hopeful about the election? I do believe Obama as president could send a remarkable message to the rest of the world!

BTW, this beautiful plant hates my garden..too dry! he wilts an hour after watering! Goodness, he is lovely in your garden.

Gail

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Gail,
Sorry your climate is too unforgiving for The Rocket, and though that's disappointing for you, I do like to hear from people what does/doesn't work in their areas. I guess it must be just too hot/dry for him down your way.

No need to worry about ranting on occasion, lol... If you look back in my archives, I have a few pretty vociferous ones tucked away there, as long term readers well know. :-)

Climate Change is a big concern for us as well, and should be for everyone, gardener or not! Just in the time we've lived here (nearly 10 yrs now) we have detected significant changes in our winters/summers and how they have affected the plants and wildlife around us. And the evidence is quite plain everywhere around the world, as I'm sure you know! You may have seen this at TED, but if not, Al Gore gave a very good speech to TED (sort of an online speakers' forum on a variety of topics) in March, 2008 that you should see. The title is How Dare We Be Optimistic? and it's well worth the time to watch it. I wrote a post about it in the following link back in April. (link to video there)

http://urban-oasis.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-dare-we-be-optimistic.html

I'm trying to be optimistic about this election, but after the last 8 yrs of stolen elections and fear mongering, I am afraid many people will again let their lizard brains determine their votes (or Diebold rigs the game again), and it not go well. Depends what day you ask me, but the choice this time is so stark, that I hope people will finally wake up. I'm pretty optimistic Obama will carry Iowa, because he's got a huge supporter base here and it seems that lots of people really do like him and are in his corner. Time will tell, of course.

I think Obama made a great stride in his international message last week, but of course he's already getting slimed for being a messenger of hope and change. I just hope it doesn't stick. How would you characterize the political climate down your way? Hopeful? Hopeless? Unknown?

BTW, if you ever need to rant and don't want to put it in the comments, feel free to email me (addy is in the profile). I was going to get a few more things planted today, but it's beastly hot and humid and now T-storms are moving in. Guess I'll have to clean the bathroom instead, yuck. LOL

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