General Culture:
Best grown in humusy, organically rich, medium to wet soils in part shade to full shade. Must have moist soils that never dry out. Benefits from a regular, deep watering in hot summers. Foliage will wilt in too much sun. Needs a shaded location in the St. Louis area. Site plants in areas protected from strong winds.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Native to China and Japan, leopard plant is an imposing, clump-forming perennial that is grown in gardens as much for its foliage as for its flowers. Its best ornamental feature may be the foliage which consists of huge, long-stalked, leathery, rounded, cordate-based, dark green leaves (12” or more long) that form a basal clump to 3-4’ tall. Daisy-like, orange-yellow flowers (2-3” across) with brownish-yellow centers bloom in loose corymbs atop thick, mostly leafless stalks that rise above the foliage in early summer. Several excellent cultivars with purple stems and purple lower leaf surfaces (‘Desdemona’ and ‘Othello’) are commonly sold. Sometimes commonly called big leaf ligularia. Synonymous with and formerly known as Senecio clivorum.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems. Slugs and snails can significantly damage the foliage. Even with adequate moisture, leaf wilting usually occurs in hot summer climates, particularly when the plant is exposed to too much sun.
Uses:
Group or mass in moist or wet areas of shade or woodland gardens, borders, or along streams, ponds, pools or bog gardens. This is a good plant for a shady area on the north side of a house. Grow with interrupted fern (Osmunda claytonia - see T210) or Japanese sedge (Carex morrowii - see S120 or S130) which share the same general cultural requirements. Allan Armitage maintains that the flowers of this plant detract from the foliage effect, and suggests that gardeners have the option of removing flower stalks as they form before bloom.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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