TOAD LILLIES

Tue Feb 27 09:45:34 CST 1996

                                                                           T
OAD LILLIES     =20
Barry Glick

Ask a group of gardeners why plants in the genus Tricyrtis are called "Toad
Lilies" and you're bound to get a different answer from each of them. But
one thing they will unanamousley agree on is the fact that these little
Asian gems are rapidly gaining a foothold in todays modern gardens.

A quick glance at their attributes and its no stretch of the imagination to
understand why. Besides being extremely hardy, Tricyrtis is a fall blooming
perennial that send up its mysterious, orchid like blooms very late in the
season when there really isn't much else happening to capture your attention
in the garden. I'd definitely put it in the low maintenence catagory, but
that doesn't mean that it wont respond quite favorabley to a little kindness
and attention. One thing for sure, they require shade, deep shade if you are
very South of the Mason Dixon line,  and.....moisture. They love a good
moist soil , rich in organic matter. If they don't get their required
amount of  shade and moisture, you will surely see their unhappiness in the
guise of some ratty looking, browning foliage.

As far as placement in the garden goes,  they are wonderful companions to
Hostas, Hellebores, Erythroniums and
woodland Lillies. Their cultural requirements are also similar.

Depending on which taxonomist you talk to, there are about 20 species in the
Genus Tricyrtis which makes its home in  Liliaceae or the Lily family. They
are mostly Asian natives ranging from Nepal eastwards through China to
Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Phillipine Islands. The greatest number and
diversity is in Japan. The Japanese name for Tricyrtis is Hototogisu, which
I am told, translates to "cuckoo", probably in reference to the spotting on
the leaves of several species.

Tricyrtis species are all herbaceous plants arising from a rhizomatous
rootsock with fibrous roots. They're all very easy to grow from seeds. I sow
my seeds in 4" pots with a layer of medium grit on the tops of the pots to
discourage lichens and mosses from growing. I put the pots outside in the
woods and let Mother Nature do her thing. The seeds germinate mid Spring and
usually flower the first year. Tricyrtis is also easy to propagate clonally
by cuttings. They are nodal rooters, so be sure that you have at least one
node in your cuttings.

The most commonly available Tricyrtis in the US is T. hirta. Its a highly
variable plant with hairy stems that can reach a height of 12"-24". The
flowers are usually spotted in different shades of purple. Two other species
usually available from specialist nurseries are T. bakerii and T. flava.=20

Don Jacobs of Eco Gardens in Decatur Georgia has successfully crossed these
two species and has named his cross Tricytis 'Eco Yellow Spangles'. It
flowers very late in the Autumn and has glossy green foliage with red
spotting and  large yellow flowers spotted with red dots reminiscent of the
markings found on the petals of Oriental Lily hybrids.

Other species avialable from time to time are T. macropoda, T. affinis,
T.latifolia and T. macranthopsis.

There have been several other named cultivars come on the market in the last
few years. One of the most attractive is 'Tojen'. I brought a plant back
from the RHS Garden at Wisley in the UK in 1993.  It has performed well in
the garden. Its probably an interspecific cross between T. hirta, the mosty
common of all the species and T. formosana or as it is sometimes known, T.
stolonifera. It has a lovely pastel tone to its flowers of pinkish blue.

The Plantfinder lists over 30 species and cultivars as being available in
the UK. I notice that several of them have=20
already made their way into a few American nursery catalogs.

Mike Bridges of Southern Perennials, holder of the NAPPC collection of
Tricyrtis, list several species and cultivars in his on-line catalog.

In the Wayside Gardens catalog, you can find the cultivars 'Miyazaki' a
gracefully arching T. hirta selection and  T.=20
'Amethsytina'  a T. stolonifera selection.

Another Tricyrtis hirta cultivar that it easy to find is T. hirta variegata.
Although not as boldly variegated as variegatedcultivars of other plants, it
is still a worthwhile addition to the garden and tends to brighten things up
a bit with its creamy edges.

Several years ago Nagao Matsubayashi, a friend of mine in Atsumi Japan, sent
me some very special Tricyrtis seeds. He said that they were from a strain
that was developed by his mentor, Dr. Hirao. Dr. Hirao was a well known
plant breeder in Japan in the 40's, 50s, and 60's  and is probably most
responsible for making the Japanese Iris the popular plant that it is today.
Very few people know of his work with Tricyrtis. I have been working with
Tricyrtis 'Dr. Hiraos Strain', crosssing , selecting and backcrossing for
several years now and this Spring,  I'm introducing several new cultivars
through Sunshine Farm & Gardens as a result.

T. 'Angels Halo' has an icy white flower with a golden throat that is
surrounded by a deep purple halo. It has very short internodes with a good
quantity of flowers top to bottom. It flowers for a very long period.

T. 'Snow Fountain' is a pure white flower. What's unusual about this plant
is the abundance of flowers it produces. Most T. hirta plants produce
flowers on the top third of the plant with a lot of bare stem showing. 'Snow
Fountain' produces 3-5 flower buds per leaf axil from the ground up with
8-10 flowers at the terminal and no bare stem showing. The top of each stem
is so floriferous, that it almost resembles a multipetaled hybrid tea rose.

T.'Sharkskin' is my selection of T. stolinifera. It is even more irridescent
than the cultivar 'Amethystina' and a very
vigorous grower. The coloration and sheen reminded me of those ridiculous
sharkskin suits that we wore in the 60's hence the name.

I have also produced a totally black flower, but I'm not to crazy about the
shape of the petals. I hope to improve this
quality over the next couple of generations.

All things said and done, I think that everyone should find a place in their
shade bed or border for these charming, useful plants.

Barry Glick grows and sells over 10,000 different hardy plants at his 60
acre mountaintop nursery in Renick WV. He welcomes visitors with advance
notice. Barry can be reached  by phone at 304-497-3163, FAX-497-2698 or
Email, barryg at slip.net

=20

Happy Gardening,
Barry Glick aka Glicksterus maximus aka The Cyber-Plantsman
Sunshine Farm & Gardens
Renick WV 24966 USA
304-497-3163
FAX-497-2698
EMAIL  barryg at slip.net
Latitude 38.04N *** Longitude 80.26W
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