Ligularia wilsoniana - Leopard Plant

The Ligularia wilsoniana is an impressive and majestic ornamental plant, with a giant-like appearance. Its spectacular medium green decorative foliage is dominated, from summer to autumn, by long stems of bright yellow flowers, grouped in pyramidal clusters. A robust perennial plant with a large development, loving coolness, shade and humidity, this Ligularia is a structuring and luxuriant plant, of the most beautiful effect in the shaded and humid areas of the garden!

This Ligularia is an Asteraceae native to central China. This variety is a vigorous herbaceous perennial plant forming a massive tuft, with broad basal leaves, from 60 to 80 cm (24 to 32in), more or less heart-shaped, and strongly toothed. Its deciduous medium green foliage, tough, textured and luxuriant, has very high decorative qualities. It measures up to 2 meters (7 feet) in height with a spread of about one meter. From July to September, tall slender stems rise above the foliage, carrying pyramidal clusters of bright yellow flowers, with a very wide corolla diameter of 7 to 8 cm (3in). The flowering of this Ligularia attracts many pollinating insects.

The etymology of the word Ligularia comes from the Latin ligula, meaning strap, alluding to the ligules or corollas composing the flowers.

Wilsoniana was attributed to it in honor of Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930), a famous English botanist who discovered many species of Asian origin during his numerous travels in Asia.

With great longevity, vigor and high cold resistance, this Ligularia The Rocket appreciates moist soils, even clayey ones, and partial shade, or even complete shade. Forming an imposing, dense and compact mass, measuring 80 cm (32in) to 1 m (3ft) in all directions, excluding flowering, its magnificent foliage will create a sensation in the garden, in shaded and humid areas. This magnificent ornamental plant will be particularly suitable for pond borders (pond, ditch, basin, stream). It can be planted as a solitary plant or in groups of 3 to 5 specimens, combining different varieties of Ligularia. It will also be ideally placed in flower beds or mixed borders, tolerating even a semi-sunny to sunny position, as long as the soil remains moist and fresh, a necessary condition for the development of its generous foliage. Slowly establishing itself, it takes two to three years for this Ligularia to reach its adult size. It will be the perfect companion for many shade and bank perennial plants such as the Campanula lactiflora, Hosta, Rodgersia, Kirengeshoma, Astilbe, Pigamon, Le Soleil Vivace, Siberian Veronica, Marsh Spurge, or Iris chrysographes. It will also work wonders when planted in a large container, while remaining very vigilant about the constant moisture of its substrate.