Ligularia

Ligularia: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Broad clump of leaves about 1 m wide, with upright flower stems up to 1.8 m tall.

Leaves

Large, rounded to heart-shaped and deeply cut into pointed, toothed lobes; green.

Flower

Slender spikes with many small yellow flower heads, July–August; they open from the bottom up.

Stems

Sturdy and dark purple to almost black.

Roots

A dense clump with fleshy roots; it spreads slowly.

Flowering: July–August · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: September and November

Why grow it?

• Striking, ramrod-straight yellow spikes in July–August, up to 1.8 m tall.
• Handsome, deeply cut leaves that stay attractive all summer.
• One of the few large flowering plants for moist partial shade and pond edges.
• The flowers are busy with bees and bumblebees.
• The dark stems contrast beautifully with the yellow flowers.

Ligularia: where does it grow best?

• Partial shade or light shade; in full sun the leaves droop on warm days.
• Humus-rich loam, clay or peaty soil, acid to neutral.
• Moist to wet: the soil must never dry out. Ideal by a pond, along a stream or in a damp border.
• Sheltered from strong winds, which can snap the tall spikes.
• Allow 80–100 cm between plants.

Light

Partial shade and shade

Soil type

Loam, clay or peat

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Wet

Size

1.8 m tall, 1 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Rodgersia: Large, lobed leaves for the same moist partial shade.
• Royal fern: A large fern that loves wet soil.
• Siberian iris: Narrow, upright leaves and blue flowers in June.
• Astilbe: Pink or red plumes beside the yellow spikes.
• Hosta: Large leaves at its feet, in the same moist shade.

Ligularia: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or September–October, when the soil is not frozen.
2. Dig a generous hole and mix in plenty of compost or well-rotted manure so the soil holds moisture.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in its pot and firm the soil well.
4. Keep 80–100 cm between it and other plants.
5. Water thoroughly straight away and keep the soil moist for the first few months.
6. Mulch with leaf mould to keep the soil cool and moist.

Care

Watering

Water generously in dry summers: the leaves wilt quickly in drought.

Feeding

Compost or well-rotted manure in spring.

Slugs

Protect the young shoots in April–May: pick slugs off in the evening, use coarse grit or a beer trap.

Spent spikes

Cut them off in September, or leave them if you like the fluffy seed heads.

Support

Rarely needed; in a windy spot you can stake the spikes.

Tip: Plant it where it gets afternoon shade: even in wet soil the large leaves droop in strong midday sun.

Ligularia: when to prune it?

Pruning months: September and November.

When: It needs hardly any pruning. In September cut off the spent spikes, in November the dead leaves.

How:

• Cut the spent spikes off just above the leaves.
• If you leave them, it sometimes self-seeds.
• In November, once frost has killed the leaves, cut them off just above the ground.
• Remove damaged leaves as you go, wearing gloves.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April, as the new shoots appear: cut the clump into pieces with roots and buds using a sharp spade, and replant them straight away.

Seed

Sow fresh seed in pots in autumn or spring; seedlings flower after a couple of years.

Ligularia: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Very hardy, to about −30 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• The leaves die back in autumn; the plant overwinters underground and shoots again in April.
• Clear away the old leaves so slugs have fewer places to hide.

Diseases and pests

• Slugs: Holes in the young leaves. Pick them off in the evening, spread coarse grit around the plant or use a beer trap.
• Drooping leaves: On warm afternoons the leaves droop, even in moist soil. Choose a spot with afternoon shade; by evening they usually recover.
• Drought: Brown, dried-out leaf edges. Water generously and mulch the soil.
• Falling spikes: In a windy spot the spikes can snap. Plant in shelter or stake the spikes.

Through the year

• March: Plant or divide. Add compost.
• April: Plant. Keep slugs away from the young shoots.
• May: Mulch. Keep slugs away.
• June: Water in dry spells.
• July: Flowering begins. Water generously in dry spells.
• August: In flower. Water in dry spells.
• September: Cut off spent spikes. Plant.
• October: Plant.
• November: Cut off the dead leaves.

Edible and useful

Not edible. These plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, like the common ragwort along the roadsides: they damage the liver, even in small amounts taken in over a long time, and the damage is permanent. Horses and cattle are the most sensitive, also to dried plants in hay or silage, because they can no longer taste them: do not plant them in or beside a field, never throw mowings or trimmings near the feed, and do not cut them with grass for hay. Never make teas or herbal remedies from them, not even from hemp agrimony, which was once a medicinal herb. Keep children, dogs and cats away from the plant and wear gloves when cutting back. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The species name honours the Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky, after whom Przewalski’s horse is also named.
• The genus name comes from the Latin ligula, little tongue, after the narrow ray florets of the flower heads.
• On a hot day the large leaf loses more water than the roots can supply; that is why it droops, and in the evening it perks up again.