Mutant Toads

As I was out surveying the yard and I ran into this Toad.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnranimals/sets/1042526/

The pot is marked Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' and all the stems are.
I've checked it six ways to Sunday.
One stem though has either mutated or is a hybrid seed from last year.
Possibly 'Raspberry Mousse' and 'Miyazaki'?
Though the 'Mousse' didn't bloom last season that I know of.
So.........I'm thinking I have a Sport here.

Ric

Whoops here's the Toad.

At first I thought Raspberry Mouse, too, but the color looks a tad too deep (or is that the photo?). It's sure not 'Miyazaki', they are much lighter. Whatever it it, keep it. Gorgeous color!

I just can't remember seeing a hirta type with solid dark red flowers - or even any toad. So I lean towards a sport as well. Is it possible that your pot of Miyazaki is actually a pot of Miyazaki hybrids? I bought 1 or 2 pots that were labeled that way.

All the stems appear to be 'Miya' except one.
I'll double check the roots to see if there are two plants in the pot.
I've tagged the flowers and stem in case it seeds.
I may also try some cuttings.
Ric

Ric, you've got yourself a real beauty there. Congrats!

Brenda

Hello! I was looking for more info on Toad Lilies and ran across this thread. I'm thinking of getting some and can't find how big the flowers are. All the pictures are misleading. They look huge! Can you tell me how big the flowers are? Thank you!

The flowers are about 1 inch across.
The plants range in size from 18" to about 30".
They take little or no sun depending on your area.
Zone 4..... a freeze may get them before the flowers open. They are late Fall bloomers.
Mid to late September usually.

Ric

Not all Toad Lilies are hardy in zone 4 so keep an eye out for that. Last year my toads froze before all of the flowers opened.....and it broke my heart. The previous year they did great and I even harvested a huge amount of seeds which I winter sowed. I only saved the largest 120 plants! I was giving them away to eveyone that I knew all summer. If had known that you were interested I could have given you some.

BUt don't let them talk you out of trying toad lilies - they are beautiful and well worth it. There are varieties like Miyazaki and Tojen that bloom at the end of their stems, and then there is Shirohotogisu and Hatatogisu that bloom all along the arching stems. I'm sure they are different species but would have to go look them up. For a shade garden there is nothing else really that gives you the same look at the end of the season. I put them next to Aconitums and Chelone and they are spectacular - in my humble opinion. Plant the Tricyrtis next to your walkway so you can really see then when they bloom. The foliage is very pretty so are are nice during the summer also. I have a big patch of Tojen that grew up behind big hostas and when its time for them to bloom, I clip away enough hosta foliage from the back for the Tojen to arc over top. You don't notice the Tojen till it blooms.

Oh for sure plant away!
For your climate I'd use containers.
I've grounded and potted them for 5 years now. They like both methods.
That way you can move them to shelter if the weather goes South (or North actually! LOL)

Ric

Oohh - container toads - that is actually a pretty good idea. How would you winter that over? Well except I grow dahlias in containers and they last till past frost so that's a very different look altogether. I wonder if I have space to do some anyway.

Because they are such hardy perennials I just leave the pots where they grew.
I have 15 or so pots of them. Just a few in the ground.
In fact the 'Miyazaki' sport up top is a container plant.
Because they get more heat in Spring they come up faster and flower sooner.
You do though have to pay close attention to the watering.
I put saucers under mine when it's in the drier times in the Summer.
It's really more like raised bed gardening.

Here's 5 pots in September

Henry10 that is a great idea. I could hold big pots of Tricyrtis out at the edges of the garden till fall and then bring them up close where they could be seen. Which varieties do you have?

I've got
T. hirta
Myazaki
Tojen - prettier in real life than the pictures - solid amethyst lavender/blue
Shirohotogisu - runaway favorite
Hatatogisu - still hoping this one makes it - had some troubles - has the biggest flowers of all

It works out really well that my 'perfect' Toad spot is also that wall.

Currently (besides the volunteers) I have
Tricrytis formosana stolonifera, 'Lightning Strike', 'Taipei Silk', 'Raspberry Mousse', 'Gilt Edge', 'Samurai', T. hirta, 'Miyazaki', 'Miyazaki Sport', 'Shirohotogisu', 'Tojen', 'Variegata', Tricyrtis oshumiensis x 'Moonlight Treasure', Tricyrtis perfoliata and Tricyrtis stolonifera.

I've been growing them since most of the data on them was in Japanese.
Luckily I have a freind that could translate... lol

BTW I do my Asiatic Lily and Aquatic Iris in the manner you're talking about.
The pots stay front and center during the blooming period but go in the background the rest of the time.
Ric

Which variegated Tricyrtis do you like the best and how much light does it get? I have a friend who has a gorgeous variegated one - I'll have to refresh my memory on the name - that she grows in high canopy woods. The pictures don't look as good as hers in real life.

For flowers I'd say Tricyrtis formosana 'Gilt Edge'.
For foliage and vigor Tricyrtis 'Lightning Strike'
Though it's flowers are pretty great too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnranimals/261865150/

Ric

I'll ask my friend which one she has. Thanks!

I looked at your photos - do you think the variegation washes or greens out in greater light? The flowers are beautiful. Purple giraffes - LOL

The Gilt Edge and Variagata both green up a bit.
Lightning Strike is perfect. It doesn't loose much to the greening later in the season.

Ric

I forgot to watch the thread. Figured I'd better check it.

Ric thanks for the info. MY spot is little or no sun. Here are 2 different views of the area. It's on the east side of a building and under cedar trees. The view of the raised bed is from the south but since it is under the cedar trees it only gets some sun at noon and maybe in the morning.

The idea for containers is good. I do a lot of container gardening. The ones I was looking at were zone 5. So I need to do some more research. Anything that keeps me looking in the catalogs this time of year is good.

Marie I wasn't looking at them last summer. I've had a hard time getting much growing in that area except for a few plants. Ran across them this year and gave them a harder look.

I've been doing them in Containers for years as I said.
The hardest thing w/ them is finding the perfect spot.
The first two years I grew them they didn't do well.
They were getting early morning Sun and a bit of dappled around noon.
I moved them to their current spot and they are thriving.
They get about an hour of Sun in the mid morning and an hour in late afternoon/early evening 5:30 or so depending on the time of year.
In the Spring I don't put saucers under the pots.
In the mid/late Summer as the rains die down and the temps ramp up, I find saucers give them that little extra water they need.

If you pot them you will be able to see if you do have enough Sun for them Ves.
If not move them around a bit.
Ric

ves522...my toads probably do not get any sun, except perhaps very early morning. They are on a terraced bank that faces a lake, but under a high canopy of oak and ash trees. They may benefit from some reflected light off the lake. In our zone, I would be concerned about leaving them in pots, unless you could move them into an attached, unheated garage. I have a Gilt Edge that I just discovered a couple of months ago was actually a zone 5 plant. That explains why it is doing so poorly. The last few winters since I've had it have been mild, so I don't know if I'll see it or not in the Spring. The area is heavily mulched, but who knows.

I've attached a pic of the blossoms. The foliage on this one is 'scrawnier' than on the Miyazaki that I have. I'll try to find a pic of that one from two years ago.....since last year they froze so soon.

Marie those are pretty. I was looking in a catalog this morning and found some for zone 4. I have to get ready for work. Will have time tomorrow to give you more info on what I found.
Vicki