One of my ligularias is blooming nicely. I think it's Ligularia japonica, but not really sure.
Anyway I always enjoy finding something peculiar in the details.
So it was amusing to find these cute little curly-Q's on closer inspection of the blooms.
I don't know if this is a typical feature or if I maybe got the 'Shirley Temple' cultivar by mistake?
LOL! (Hmmm, how old does one have to be to know who Shirley Temple was? ;-) )
Wonderful detail! The curly-Q's are the pistils of the disc flowers, while the "petals" are the sterile ray flowers - a feature of the family Asteraceae.
Some more examples:
Zinnia:
http://www.theblogfarm.com/fun-flower-facts-zinnia/
Dahlia:
http://www.reynsphoto.com/detail/476-Artistic;Aster-Family;Asteraceae;Belgium;Beveren-Waas;Color;Compositae;Dahlia;Flowers;Lijn;Lijnen;Lines;Macro;Nature;Oost_Vlaanderen;Parts;Plantae;Planten;Plants;Red;Species;Stamen;Travel;Yellow;aster;aster-familie;daisy.html
Bidens:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteraceae#/media/File:Bidens_flwr.jpg
Lovely plant!
How pretty! Do you have another kind of ligularia beside the one that's blooming?
The plant to the left is Ligularia dentata Othello. It blooms later.
I've got a bunch of other ones scattered around the yard.
I think the one posted above blooms the earliest for me.
Those blooms are gorgeous, Wee, and the blooms are SO unique/pretty!
Ligularia is on my list :)
the plants look great, and I like the contrast of the two types of leaves. And no deer damage?
A very handsome specimen Wee, great photos too.
Ahem Alta, I remember Shirley. In fact there is a Shirley Temple reincarnate that just performed on America's Got Talent, her name is Heavenly and she's 5 years old (she knows who Shirley Temple is). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKyzkPGTTBE
Ah well, a resurgence in popularity! Who knew?
Amazingly enough, the deer leave my ligularias alone. And I certainly have an enormous deer population! There used to be a luscious border of Sum & Substance hostas in the same bed - long gone now. I'm sure this picture will be painfully familiar to many who share their gardens with our deer friends...
I love hostas but it is one of the things I will not put in my garden for that very reason. I have 5 hostas - behind a fence with dogs. Here is my very favorite - 'June'. I was determined to have this one.
Alta, just ignore my facetious attempt at what was supposed to be humor; of just pretending to be sensitive about age. I just watched the adorable Heavenly before reading this thread and wanted to share the performance.
For the record, you are very highly regarded by me and your information is always very valuable and valued. Case in point..this thread and every other thread you have graced.
Thanks for the great info!
Wee and others, I apologize for disrupting the flow of the thread. I'm going to the garden to eat worms now.
Hey, no need to seem apologetic to me! :-) I'm sure I seem very stiff and formal (and, yes, a know-it-all to boot, which I should control better) but I'm not always quite so bad as all that. ;-)
Back to the subject... Here's a very cool, early-blooming one, with very different leaves - Ligularia macrophylla. This photo is from last year, although it has just started to bloom here, a couple of weeks early in this warm but dry spring.
Oh that's a nice one too. I never tried any Ligularia as they seem all to desire moist conditions. I looked up L. macrophylla in PlantFiles, there is almost no info there. How long does it bloom? Does it need the dreaded "consistently moist" conditions too? Alta also maybe you could add this photo to PlantFiles.
Alta, don't change a thing! Lol 'seem apologetic', that wasn't a 'sorry, but', that was 'guilty' with an explanation. I've got to learn to emote better with words; )
Pistil, that's why I stayed clear of Ligularia...consistently moist. Calgary Alberta is a semi-arid climate, I lived there for eight years and consistently anything it is not.
See Alta, if not for you...we would be in the dark!
Love the tropical vibe and the extremely varied foliage.
'robin, I am so glad you started this thread as I really like "ligs". I have several including "Rocket" and Bottle Rocket" which are reliable bloomers for me. (They will flower in a couple of weeks I think). Last season I planted "Japonica" and "Dragon's Breath".
(I also have had "Osiris Cafe Noir" for a few years but I have never had it give even one bloom!)
Both of those ligularias are great specimens! I would love to try either one but I grow rocket and it never gets lush. It dies back early every year. L dentata seems to tolerate some drought though. At least as good as a mophead hydrangea and better than an astilbe so I do grow that. How wet are your soils.
Rouge21, your collection sounds beautiful too.
All Ligularia species that I've experienced would love to have constantly moist soil, but they make do with much less. They do best in shade here, in our dry climate (which doesn't get terribly hot), though will soldier on in sun too, often wilting in the sunniest part of the day, and then perking up again as the sun goes around.
That is a great specimen 'alta'...great picture...very unusual.
My ligularias in more sun (such as those pictured at start of thread) definitely wilt in afternoon during summer heat. But we've had a wet mild spring/early summer, so they're looking pretty robust this year. My Rocket is never very spectacular - I think it's in too much shade. But I've got another japonica, a dentata Desdemona and the one whose thick roundish leaves have shiny purplish colored backs (might be Britt Marie Crawford, but the fronts of my plants leaves are completely green) - anyway all three of these bloom nicely in deep shade. They are all sited in very moist soil. The two pictured above are in more open exposure but still part shade in normal (not moist, not dry) soil.
