Asarum
(Wild Gingers)
Asarums are attracting attention from shade gardeners because
of their beautiful often evergreen folage that offers a partial cure for
hosta fatigue. They are mostly not as care-free as hostas, but many amateur
gardeners are doing well with them. They can be very satisfying if their
basic needs are met. They absolutely require moist humusy or gravelly soil
with excellent drainage. They will not tolerate sum expect in early morning.
Other challenges include slugs, and diseases such as botrytis and rhizoctonia
crown rot. If you do well with a variety of shade -loving woodland plants
you can succeed with asarums. They don't need much fertilizer, but you may
fertilize lightly with a slow-release fertilizer. Evergreen species benefit
from a cover of evergreen branches in winter for at least the first year.
Asarums are shipped as bare-root divisions
wrapped in sphagnum moss. Divisions must be potted right away in a well
drained soil mix. One or two quart pots are best, depending on species.
Compost mixed with coarse sand, turface, or pumice is fine. Bark -based
mixes are better than peat-based mix.
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Evergreen
clump-forming Japanese species with gray-green leaves to 6" long,
with cloudy silver patterns, taking on a rosy blush in winter. Name
means "asarum resembling an asarum"; taxonomists are deranged. Large
tubby brown flowers in spring. Easy plant essential for the shade
garden, glorious when the hostas are frozen mush.
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Pure
white flower shading to jade green on the outside..
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Clump-forming evergreen species from
central Japan with leaves to 3" long, marked with a variety of beautiful
patterns. Curious "Dutchman's pipe" flowers in spring. Often seen
in Kyoto temple gardens. Good garden plant.
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As above, with pale green flowers.
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As above, with pale green flowers with
a reddish throat.
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It's not easy being deciduous, but this
charming Japanese woodlander belongs in every shade garden. Pairs
of dainty heart-shaped 2-to 3-inch long leaves, with deeply impressed
patterns of venation. Pretty nodding rose-pink flowers. Small enough
for a trough. Elegant groundcover for small bulbs such as trout lilies
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| Asarum dimidiatum |
Zones 4-8 |
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Rarely seen clumping deciduous Japanese
species with bright green leaves and dark purple, nearly black flowers.
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| Asarum hexalobum |
Zones 6-9 |
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Widespread Japanese evergreen clumping
species with leaves to 5" long. Gorgeous matte- surfaced leaves, either
unmarked or with a wide variety of silver and gray markings. "Dutchman's
pipe" flowers. Exceptional garden plant.
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| Asarum hirsutisepalum |
Zones 7-9 |
# |
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Robust Japanese species from Yakushima.
Evergreen clumper with 6" long, thick glossy dark green leaves with
a rubbery feel. Large yellowish flowers covered with purple plush
in spring.
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| Asarum kiushianum |
Zones 7-9 |
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Clumping evergreen species from Kyushu,
Japan. Leaves are about 3" long, usually patterned. Three-lobed flowers
are brownish-purple
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| Asarum kiushianum
var.tubulosum |
Zones 7-9 |
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Very rare variation of above. Clump-former
with narrow, evergreen, matte-finish, dark green or patterned leaves.
Startling cafe-au-lait to pure white flowers in spring.
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| Asarum kooyanum |
Zones 6-9 |
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Rarely-seen evergreen species from central
Honshu. Related to A. nipponicum. Clump-forming, with green or occasionally
patterned foliage. Good garden plant.
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| Asarum kumageanum |
Zones 6b-9 |
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Japanese species from Yokushima (island)
and nearby Tanegashima. Gorgeous glassy-shiny evergreen foliage, unmarked
or with various striking patterns. Forms big husky clumps. Excellent
garden plant.
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| Asarum maximum |
Zones 7b-9 |
# |
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Extraordinary Chinese species called
the "panda" asarum in Japan because of its 2" wide black flowers with
a contrasting pure white eye. Big, lush evergreen leaves to 7" long
form an imposing clump. Leaves are glossy and faintly patterned. Beautiful
show plant for the cold greenhouse. Fantastic garden plant for warm
temperate climates.
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| Asarum megacalyx |
Zones 5-8 |
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Northern Japanese species with wide-ranging
rhizomes and glossy 3" long evergreen leaves, dark green or patterned.
Forms a beautiful groundcover in loose, humusy soil. Large, bell-
shaped nearly black flowers in fall. Excellent garden plant.
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| Asarum minamitanianum |
Zones 7-9 |
# |
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Clump-forming Japanese species from a
few sites on Kyushu Island, now nearly extinct in the wild (no, I
had nothing to do with it). Usually patterned semi-glossy evergreen
leaves, to 4" long. Amazing flowers have extended tails on each lobe
to 3" long, often with interesting color patterns. Good garden plant,
or essential cool greenhouse plant for those who enjoy horticultural
one-upspersonship.
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| Asarum monodoraeflorum |
Zones 8-9 |
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Extremely rare species from the Japanese
island lriomote in the Ryukyu chain. Evergreen clump- former with
oval leaves that seem to have been cut from velvet, dark green or
patterned. Guaranteed to annoy your overly-competitive gardening friends.
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| Asarum nipponicum |
Zones 5b-9 |
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Central Japanese evergreen species once
common but now rare in the wild. Clumper with leathery oval leaves,
green or gray-green, usually patterned, to 4" long. Small brown flowers
in winter. Excellent garden plant that should be in every shade garden.
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| Asarum 'Setsu
Getsu Ka' |
Zones 5b-9 |
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Medium green leaves mottled with dark
green and silver; pale green flowers. Name means "snow moon flower."
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| Asarum
sakawanum |
Zones 7-9 |
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Japanese clumping species from Shikoku
Island. Glossy evergreen leaves to 5" long, green or more often gray-green,
almost always beautifully patterned in endless variety. "Dutchman's
pipe"-shaped flowers in spring. Strong grower.
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| Asarum
sakawanum album |
Zones 7-9 |
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As above, but the petioles and flowers
of this form are a cool, translucent pale green, like carved jade..
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| Asarum
satsumense |
Zones 6b-9 |
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This is the southern Japanese relative
of A. asaroides, differing in minor floral characteristics. Flowers
are boldly ruffled and tuberculated. Clumping species with large,
usually gray-green patterned leaves. Well-adapted to southern climates;
good garden plant.
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| Asarum
sieboldii |
Zones 3-7 |
# |
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Deciduous clumping species from northeastern
Asia with thin green leaves and purple flowers. Will lose its foliage
in summer in hot-summer climates.
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| Asarum
splendens |
Zones 6b-9 |
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Vigorous running Chinese species originally
introduced by the Arnold Arboretum as A. magnificum. Large leaves
boldly splashed silver. Forms large ground-cover patches in loose
humusy soil.
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| Asarum
stellatum |
Zones 7-9 |
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Rare evergreen Japanese species from
a cluster of small islands near Shikoku Island, closely related to
A. sakawanum. Glossy leaves are usually peppered with white spots,
thus the name. 'Dutchman's pipe" flowers are strikingly bi-colored.
Good garden plant for the Southeast.
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| Asarum
subglobosum |
Zones 7-9 |
# |
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Rare southern Japanese clumping species
with gray-green evergreen patterned leaves to 5" long. Beige nearly
spherical flowers. Strong garden plant for the Southeast.
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| Asarum
takaoi |
Zones 5-9 |
# |
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Widespread, extremely variable Japanese
species, semi-running, with oval glossy leaves to 2" long, green or
patterned. Excellent small-scale groundcover for other woodland plants
and small bulbs. Easy and vigorous. One of the very best species for
general garden use.
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Variant with leaves completely covered
with a silver wash..
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| Asarum
tamaense |
Zones 5-9 |
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One of the best hardy species for garden
use, once fairly common but now very rare and seldom offered for sale.
Evergreen clumper with leathery, nearly glossy leaves with deeply
impressed veins, mostly patterned.
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Very rare evergreen clumping species
from northern Kyushu's volcanic mountains, with patterned evergreen
leaves and flowers like a smaller version of A. asaroides. Variable
and always beautiful.
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| Asarum
viridiflorum |
Zones 6-9 |
# |
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Cute evergreen clumper from Japan, with
small heart-shaped leaves and green flowers. Similar to A. takaoi
in general appearance. Leaves are nicely patterned. Now known only
in cultivation.
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Northern Japanese relative of A. takaoi,
with slightly larger leaves. Elegant cool green flower with a white
center; extremely rare.
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