Garden Notes

Ligualaria in shady hosta garden

A few years ago I purchased my first Ligularia plant – Othello variety and put it into my hosta garden to give a bit of contrast to all the green. The location had dappled shade and the soil had a lot of compost. My plant loved it and thrived. It got huge and I particularly liked contrast between the dark purple leaves and the yellow/orange daisy-like flowers.

I liked that plant so much that I bought 2 more. One went into the hosta bed in another area and one went into the front garden, an area that got more sun. That front garden has a lot of tulips in spring and then my roses bloom in June & July. It does however have long stretches of time when nothing is blooming and I thought the ligularia would add some dependable color.

The new plants grew and looked good, but I noticed that the ligularia in the front garden was doing a weird thing. Whenever we had a hot sunny day, it would wilt down very dramatically like it was dying. At first I would rush out and water the plant again, thinking it must be dry, but eventually I realized that it was just being dramatic. Even when I did nothing, as the sun moved around the yard and shade returned, that ligularia would stand back up like nothing happened.

I decided that since I like how that ligularia looks in the sunny garden and since it adds a nice bit of color,  I am resigned to watering it more often to keep it properly hydrated. I am also hoping that since its roots are supposed to reach 4-8 feet long, it will eventually be able to withstand more sun and stop being such a drama queen!

Ligularia dramatically wilting on sunny day