Ligularia 'THE ROCKET'

Ligularia is probably too beautiful to worry about its common name. There are so many of them such as leopard plant, golden groundsel, rayflower, even tractor seat, and still mostly everybody call it ligularia. There are about 150 species in the genus which mostly come from Central and East Asia. They are valued for large leaves and attractive yellow, golden, or orange flowers. Since they are water-loving plants they thrive in a bog garden or near streams and ponds where the ground never dries out.

The Rocket is a showcase among leopard plants. It is a hybrid of l. stenocephala and l. przewalski producing glowing yellow flowers on tall stems and attractive leaves. Before the flowers appear the foliage will undoubtfully catch your eyes. The leaves are up to 25 cm across, kidney-shaped, medium green and glossy, conspicuously serrated at margins. They unfold atop about 30 cm tall, deep maroon or almost black stalks, creating clever parasols that completely shade the ground beneath: the plant loves moist sites and parasols prevent the ground from thirsty sunrays, how crafty, eh?

In July rise very tall, also deep maroon-black stems topped with long, spike-formed inflorescences composed of golden yellow, 3-petalled flowers. They open continuously bottom to top for almost two months like a glowing torch reaching almost 175 cm. The Rocket will look best in mass plantings where you will fully enjoy the beauty of its leaves and prolonged flowering period.

Ligularia loves constantly moist to wet sites where it thrives even in full sun. In a border which might occasionally dry out it needs some protection during the hottest hours of the day otherwise it may wilt easily. It likes deep, medium fertile soil of any pH. For shorter species provide some protection from slugs and snails which love its newly emerging leaves. Fully hardy to about -40 °C (USDA zone 3).

Last update 23-10-2022