This past week the mystery plants were from our Canada garden tour in the fall of 2019.
We had a great time exploring Montreal and Quebec.
Calendula officinalis or Pot Marigold is a short season, cool season annual that is not related to the true marigold- Tagetes sp. The flowers are similar in color and shape. I call Calendula a shoulder plant, because they can give you a boost of color between winter and summer in the spring, and summer and winter in the fall. They don’t tolerate hot weather well at all.
They come in shades of orange and yellow. They are also an edible flower, with a tangy, peppery flavor and are used as a dye plant.
Ligularia dentata – Big leaf ligularia or Leopard plant,
is a perennial shade plant native to China and Japan. This clump-forming plant with rounded leaves produces clusters of yellow daisy-like flowers in mid to late summer in Arkansas (in the fall in Canada).
It does not tolerate dry weather well, and can wilt excessively in the summer if it gets too dry.
Yellow Waxbells – Kirengenshoma palmata
– is a large clump-forming, shade perennial in the hydrangea family. Native to Japan and Korea, it can grow up to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Yellow, waxy, bell-shaped flowers appear in mid to late summer.
Like other hydrangea family members, it likes moist soil, but well drained soil. It is hardy from zones 4-8.
Spindle tree – Euonymus europaeus
is a large bush or small tree native to Europe.
It has smaller fruits than our Wahoo bush, but still showy in the fall. It is hardy from zones 4-7, but the heat of our summers may take its toll. Where it grows well, birds can scatter the seeds and it is borderline invasive.