Persicaria virginiana Lance Corporal - Virginia Knotweed

The Persicaria virginiana Lance Corporal is a variety of perennial Knotweed appreciated for its decorative foliage, composed of light and vibrant green leaves adorned with a well-contrasted reddish-brown V-shaped mark. This selection, with intensely colored leaves, is adorned with fine, bright red flower spikes in late summer, graceful and colorful. A very hardy, elegant, and bright perennial plant that doesn't go unnoticed, whether planted in mass, alone, or even in a pot.

The Persicaria virginiana var. filiformis Lance Corporal is a deciduous perennial plant from the family Polygonaceae. Its ancestor is native to Japan, the Himalayas, and the northeastern United States. In nature, it naturally grows in partial shade on riverbanks, forest edges, and even on cliffs and in damp rocks, naturally showing a great diversity in leaf appearance. This plant does not sucker. The cultivar 'Lance Corporal' is a particularly decorative selection of this sturdy species. It forms, starting from spring, a clump of 60 cm (24in) in height and 40 cm (16in) in width. It produces upright stems, tinged with brown, which bear large velvety leaves, 8 cm (3in) long, ovate and elongated, of a slightly acidic green. The center of each leaf is marked with a purple-brown V. Flowering occurs in late summer and autumn, in the form of spikes bearing tiny red flowers. It is followed by the formation of pods containing ripened seeds that 'jump' beyond the mother plant when disturbed.

In ornamental gardens, the Lance Corporal Knotweed can be used as a fairly tall ground cover, planted in groups, or in shaded borders. This plant, which prefers moist soil, pairs well with ferns and hostas, rodgersias, ligularias, heucheras. It can also be cultivated in pots to admire its unusual foliage up close.