My Current Favourite Plant

Posted on 19 Aug, 2009 10 comments

At different times of the year my favourite plants in the garden change. At the moment the twining Codonopsis are in flower. There are two forms of this plant from the Himalayas, one is shrubby growing to one or two feet tall whilst the other climbs through shrubs and grows to a height of about 5 or 6 feet. Both forms are fully herbaceous.

Codonopsis clematidea

Codonopsis clematidea

Codonopsis ovata

Codonopsis ovata

The shrubby forms flower in July for me and I grow them in semi-shade but where they have other plants to help support their slender stalks. These have fleshy roots and need planting out carefully.

Codonopsis grey-wilsonii

Codonopsis grey-wilsonii

Codonopsis grey-wilsonii

In August the twiners come into their own. These are bulbous plants and I treat them slightly differently.

Codonopsis stems

The stem of the twinning Codonopsis is no thicker than a piece of fuse wire. As the stems need a shrub to climb through the stem can be difficult to see at ground level and is very liable to be broken by whilst weeding out other stuff! I now grow these twinners in tall pots. I keep the pots in the greenhouse in winter (purely for general protection – they are frost hardy) and then move the pots outdoors in early spring. When the shoots begin to emerge I place the pots beneath suitable shrubs and guide the shoots up into them. All they require then is watering.

There is nothing difficult about growing Codonopsis although they do seem to prefer a moist atmosphere such as we have in Scotland. I am currently cultivating several more species from seed.

Before I wrote this blog I had concerns that they might be difficult to buy. Certainly the general garden centre is unlikely to have heard of them But as I look in my copy of ‘Plant Finder’ I am pleased to see that there are a goodly number of nurseries listed that will send them by mail order. Why don’t you try this charming genus of plant.

Comments

Amblealice

I grew "clematidia" from seed I got from the Northern Horticultural Society (Now RHS Harlow Carr) when I was a member.....Very easy to grow,, and a beauty....

19 Aug, 2009