Companion plant for Mayapple

I have a nice small colony of Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum -- but of course it is an ephemeral and will disappear soon. Would Canadian Wild Ginger be a good companion plant -- or will it smother the Mayapple? Any other suggestions for companion plants for Mayapple that have worked for you?

Happy - Mayapple is pretty tenacious, it routinely manages to shoulder it's way through thick layers of fallen leaves. Also, Asarum canadensis is still in the process of spring growth, while Mayapples are up and in bloom. We find Mayapple to be far more aggressive than Canadian WIld Ginger. Don't think the ginger would be a problem. I'll check around our yard and give some other suggestions later today.

Thanks, GT. Do you think the Mayapple would damage the Canadian Wild Ginger? I'm trying to find plants that will happily co-exist - but I love the MayApple and don't want it to disappear. I just acquired some Canadian Wild Ginger and don't want that to disappear either! I know it isn't native, but I'm also thinking about Sweet Woodruff. Or native Pachysandra.

How about this: have patches of various things, and monitor to see if one gets too big, encroaching on the other.
How big is your mayapple now? My woodruff is quite leafed out. I think bare ground under mayapple seems more appropriate.

The native Pachysandra, P. procumbens, is a really nice plant if you can find it. Plays well with others unlike it's Japanese cousin P. terminalis. Also, Leaf coloration varies through the seasons. Agree with Sally re Woodruff as mine is almost as high as the blooms on my Mayapples. If they were planted together I think it would diminish the delightful presentation of the Mayapples.

I agree with both of you, SallyG and Greenthumb99 -- I just acquired a nice big pot of the native pachysandra at a local club sale -- but it is fairly tall so I think it would diminish the wonderful appearance of the Mayapple. And I hear you about the Sweet Woodruff. I wish there was some way to draw a line in the dirt to remind myself where the mayapple lives. It takes up a few square yards. I'll just try to be disciplined. Too bad there isn't a plant that pops up in June and disappears in March....

It's funny -- I've never gotten P. terminalis to be aggressive, even though I want it to be aggressive in the spot where it resides.

Ok I'm going to grab a few remaining hours of daylight to go plant!

how about your Tinantia? Mine is just popping up lately, still low, and dark. It wold not detract from tha Mayapple I think, and then maybe fill out in a month or so?

My Tintania has been so late to start that I had thought it had died -- that's a great idea, if indeed mine lived. I found 4 leaves only, a few days ago.... I thought I had made a mistake and recycled the two pots it was in, but then those 4 leaves showed up in one of two empty pots sitting next to each other, so I figure those must have been the two pots. It was new to me last year, so I don't have any experience with it (I got it at a dig at the house of someone who was moving out). I don't know how much supplemental water it needs, and I'm trying to avoid water hoggers in that spot. (I put your bigroot geranium nearby, by the way, Sally, and it is happy.) But you are absolutely right, the timing of the Tinantia could be perfect as a Mayapple companion.

I had wanted this area to be mostly native, but I'm not purist and I don't think the Tinantia is invasive although I have read it can be a bit aggressive.... I think my conditions are so tough that it won't be any trouble....

And that makes me wonder what qualified as "native"? The Tintania is from Mexico -- but that is closer to me than California....

This message was edited May 5, 2013 12:14 PM

A vendor based in the west coast could honestly describe his plants as native- world wide web plant shopping may make it harder for us to distinguish the fine details.

Can always use USDA PLANTS to check

I'll let you know how my Tinantia does- I was happy to see it come up
; ^)

But does "native" mean from the states and not from Canada or Mexico? How is it defined? All very odd.

I think there's a big grey area in that term.. Not a legal definition, ya know! OSDA PLANTS will show a map all states, and in which it is found, native OR introduced.

Tinantia anomala is the only species they show, and native only in Texas.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TIAN&mapType=nativity&photoID=

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=TIAN
i know you're a busy gal....here ya go

Happy, the term "Native" is rather meaningless unless one uses the definition of it being a non-introduced plant indigenous to one's immediate area (like state). Every non-bred plant is "Native" somewhere, even kudzu and dandelion. Political boundaries are meaningless to plant populations.

Sally: Had I but world enough and time....

Greenthumb: Exactly -- you hit the nail on the head! But to garden, you want to bring in plants other that what is "native" to your own back yard. So it seems to be a delicate balancing act. I think often people mean "found on this continent" when they refer to a plant as native....

Happy - We have mayapples co-existing with Vinca minor and Lily-of-the-valley, both of which provide coverage through the summer and fall. I do think that Asarum canadensis is the best suggestion so far, covers the ground nicely once it fully leafs out.

Ok, I'll put the asarum there. I don't want to introduce vinca minor to this spot, though I do love it, because we have a lot of wintersweet (I don't think that is what it is called -- I'm blanking on the name -- it looks like vinca minor and is quite invasive) and I often find it hard to tell lthem apart. And I don't have any extra lily of the valley -- I tend to kill it off (even though it is invasive) because our soil is hard and dry....

wintercreeper euonymus maybe...

the ginger sounds good esp if thats what david thinks.

Wintercreeper -- that's the word that was eluding me -- thanks, Sally.

been there grew that !
: ^D

I have Vinca minor and some Trilliums beneath the Mayapples here. Unfortunately, the Trilliums disappear as soon as the Mayapples soar, so I keep meaning to move those. I've been thinking of trying some Surprise Lilies, Italian Arum, or Tricyrtis under the Mayapples.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1759/
The Arum can be invasive in warmer climates, so I'm first going to try it in a contained bed.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/517/
Surprise lilies look like they need more sun, but one patch of my Mayapples gets a good hit in the summer.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/77606/
Tricyrtis are popping up now, but they grow much more slowly than the Mayapples and bloom late in the fall.

Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore the Native intent. Just got carried away with the issue and posted the options I am considering. I will also follow whatever you try and see how it works =) I do have a patch of Asarum canadense that I could move here.

Eleven: I'm not Hell-bent on natives -- it just would please me if that's how it worked out. Plus this is the native plant forum...!

I think I get too much shade for the resurrection lilies. I have a row of them out front, and I do love them. But their foliage is quite strong and fairly tall, and it is up right now, so I think it would detract from the may apples even if I had better conditions for it near the may applies.

I have a few patches of the arum and I know it can be invasive, so I'm going to hold back on spreading it around.

They Tricyrtis might work though, and I have some in pots that I could try there. Maybe I'll plant it next to the mayapples and see what happens.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Happy - the invasive issue aside, in our local climate the Arum tends to decline during the summer, producing a void for several months, hardly an outstanding attribute for a seasonal fill-in for Mayapples. Some Tricyrtis can develop a thick cover if happy and might crowd out your Mayapples. Good plan to do a controled planting.

happy, i have Asarum canadense; it is spreading nicely but laying pretty low right now so I think/ agree it would be a nice carpet under the mayapple eventually. A darker duller leaf than the Mayapple. This site has a good picture of a carpet of it
http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perennials/A_files/As-Au%20Images/asarum_canadense.htm

Greenthumb -- I didn't know that about the trycyrtis -- thanks for the caution - mine has never thrived.

Sally: I just acquired a lot of as asarum canadense at a local club sale, and I'm going to try planting it there.

I just noticed this morning than my back-yard-neighbors have a patch of mayapple that is not especially attractive because it is quite crowded. Is that how it gets over time? Mine are quite separate, which I like.

Mayapples usually fill in and look a bit crowded, that's their natural growth habit. Left to their own devices, expect your patch to touch leaves between plants.
They can remain a bit spread out if the shade is patchy (obviously they don't like a lot of sun) but patches with too much sun tend to burn and look unattractive.

My conditions aren't great -- a bit too dry, a bit too shady -- and they've been ok in this spot forever, so I'm probably ok. But until now I've ignored them; now I'm treating them with kindness, so things may change....

tRILLIUM, sWEET WOODRUFF , solomons swea, fallse solomnseL , bleeding heard, trout lily

Thanks, BirdieBlue!

Don't think you'll see me around after the 7th. Just too flat broke. I'll miss ya.