Planting for Moist Shade - Part 3
Last week, I told you about some of the plants in the central bed of my Circle Garden; until a few weeks ago, the only spot in my USDA zone 7 garden that could be kept really moist. I stopped about half way around this small bed; let's continue on.
Ligularia
Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'
Until a few weeks ago, 'Desdemona' lived next to the Rodgersia. As the Rodgersia expanded, she receded, so I have moved her to my new damp bed, where she seems to be recovering nicely. When happy, her huge, leathery leaves are incredible in spring. The undersides, like the stems are a glossy maroon. I do have to warn you, slugs think she is candy, as they do the rest of this handsome genera.
Oddly enough (at least to me, because of the leaves) Ligularia belongs to the family Asteraceae. While the leaves are not typical of plants like asters, the flowers are. 'Desdemona' has bright, dark orange-gold daisy-like flowers, that I'm not particularly fond of in the basically pastel scheme of this garden, but, that would go quite well in a scheme with other yellows, deep tones or hot colors. To me, the flowers are incongruous with the leaves, but considering that I grow her primarily for her foliage, I either avert my eyes when she blooms or cut them off.
'Desdemona' is more compact than the species, and very similar to 'Othello', who is more compact than she and blooms a bit earlier. I doubt Shakespeare would agree with this naming; should be the reverse, don't you think?
Ligularia are all quite similar in foliage habit, forming large, domed masses of leathery leaves, although 'The Rocket's' are of thinner texture than the rest. Flower stems rise well above the foliage, some, like L. pzrewalskii (Shavalski's Ligularia) reaching up to six feet (1 m).
In another part of my garden (soon to join 'Desdemona' in the new damp garden), I have L. stenocephala 'The Rocket'<, a cultivar developed by Alan Bloom of Bressingham Gardens, UK. 'The Rocket' is quite similar to l. pzrewalskii and is sometimes listed under L. pzrewalskii, although close examination of these two photos shows that 'The Rocket's' leaves are not quite as sharply jagged and the flower spikes are more slender. While all Ligularia species can be grown from seed, I have read that 'The Rocket' may be a hybrid and should be propagated only by division. Both L. dentata and L. stenocephala (Narrow Spiked Ligularia) are native to northern China and Japan.
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