(ba- NAR-dee-a  juh-PON-ih-ka )

General Information:

Barnardia japonica is a lovely bulb that flowers in late summer, early fall, when most other rock garden plants are slowing down. The pink-mauve flower spikes are quite tall for such a small bulb, reaching about a foot. The flowers are very dainty, but are produced in numbers large enough to give a good display. As the flowers open, the flower scape elongates.

Barnardia japonica :photo by Robert Pavlis

Also known as the silly squill and the Japanese jacinth, this plant has had many botanical name changes over the years and is better known as Scilla scilloides.

Some sources say that the leaves start growing in spring and die down in summer, while others say they start in mid-summer just before flowering. Mine start in mid-summer and are present while flowering.

Barnardia japonica :photo by Robert Pavlis

These are easily grown from seed and take 2-3 years to flower. A white variety is also available.

Barnardia japonica :photo by Robert Pavlis

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 20cm (10in) in flower

Bloom Time: late summer – early fall

Natural Range: Japan, Korea and Taiwan

Habitat: forest margins, grassy hillsides, sea level to 2600 m

Synonyms:  Scilla japonica, Scilla scilloides, Scilla sinensis, Ornithogalum japonica

Cultivation:

Light: full sun to light shade

Soil: average

Water: average

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4- 9

Propagation: seed, division of clumps

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): common

 (a-stil-BOY-dees  tab-yoo-LAIR-iss)

General Information:

Do you want to grow gunnera but your climate is too cold? Then Astilboides tabularis is a good alternative. It has some of the largest leaves you can grow in colder climates and it makes a strong statement in any garden. Most people who visit my garden are unfamiliar with the plant and find it very exotic. Its leaves are an odd round shape that reminds one of an umbrella or table top.  They easily reach 60-90 cm (2-3 feet) in diameter.

Astilboides tabularis:photo by Robert Pavlis

Astilboides tabularis is also known as the shield-leaf Rogers plant, or shield-leaf Rodgersia, but most people just use the botanical name and call it astilboides. The genus name means astilbe-like in reference to its white flowers that are born on 120 cm (4 ft) stems.

It prefers shade to full shade and a wet location where it will stay green all summer long. It also grows well in a dryer location, but then the leaves usually get brown edges by late summer as the temperatures rise and water levels drop. It does not like to be submerged in water.

Astilboides tabularis:photo by Robert Pavlis

Wind can be a problem. The large leaves act like sails and easily capture wind which can damage the leaves. It is therefore best planted in a sheltered location.

The seeds are very small and hard to separate from the seed pod chaff. If you simple collect all of the material and spread it on soil, the seed will sprout.

Astilboides tabularis:photo by Robert Pavlis

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 90cm (2 ft)

Bloom Time: early summer

Natural Range: Northern China, Manchuria, North Korea

Habitat: moist woodlands, near lakes and streams

Synonyms:  Rodgersia tabularis

Cultivation:

Light: part shade to full shade

Soil: high organic matter

Water: average to moist

USDA Hardiness Zone: (3?) 4- 9

Propagation: seed, division

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): occasionally

 (ass-PLEE-nee-um try-KOH-man-ees)

General Information:

A perfect rock garden plant, and by rock garden I mean growing right on top of rocks. Asplenium trichomanesis a great little evergreen fern that likes some shade, and can grow with virtually no soil. It is quite happy growing in a small crack in a stone. They will also grow in the ground if given a very porous soil.

Several Asplenium trichomanes growing on a giant limestone bolder in Aspen Grove Gardens; photo by Robert Pavlis

Asplenium trichomanes, the maidenhair spleenwort, grows naturally all over the world and is quite common in Ontario. There are several subspecies, but taxonomists are still sorting some of them out. Three subspecies are commonly accepted. Ssp. trichomanes is a diploid and grows on acidic rocks such as sandstone and granite. Ssp. quadrivalens is tetraploid and grows on alkaline rocks like limestone and can grow in the mortar of walls. The difference in growing conditions between the diploid and tetraploid is quite unusual considering that each contains essentially the same DNA. There is also a hexaploid, ssp maderense, which is found only in Australia and New Zealand.  

Asplenium trichomanes; photo by Robert Pavlis

A. t. ssp. quadrivalens is stouter and has more pinnae which are squarer in shape than A. t. ssp. trichomanes. It’s fronds grow closer to the rock and old fronds that have lost their pinnae fall off. A. t. ssp. Trichomanes fronds grow more vertical, and persist after the pinnae fall off. Both species are found in Ontario.

Ferns do not flower in the traditional sense, so they never make seeds. They can however be propagated by growing the spores they make. These are found on the underneath side of the fronds in a special structure called a sori. More information for propagating ferns from spores can be found at http://www.hardyferns.org/fern-info-propagation.php

Asplenium trichomanes sori; photo source Wikipedia

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 15cm (6 inches)

Bloom Time: does not bloom

Natural Range: worldwide

Habitat: mossy rocks in part to full shade

Synonyms:  Asplenium melanocaulon, Chamaefilix trichomanes

Cultivation:

Light: part to full shade

Soil: very well drained

Water: drought tolerant

USDA Hardiness Zone: 2– 9

Propagation: spores, division

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): rarely