Marginals: Aspidistra elatior
Pronunciation for this entry provided by Christina Salwitz of Personal Garden Coach. Christina and I are pals on Twitter, and wouldn’t you know our first conversation there was about this plant.
Pronunciation // Cast iron plant, as Aspidistra elatior is commonly known, was EVERYWHERE when I was growing up in the South. My mother and grandmother both grew multiple mass plantings, as do many, but I rarely see these portrayed in photos. Did it never catch on elsewhere? Who can know? Because let me tell you, Aspidistra makes one cool groundcover in the driest of dry shade. Ideally it gets to be evergreen, but it can do a neat and lesser known trick: it can die back and return from the root.
With that in mind, in 2008, I returned from my parents’ in Zone 8A/trending 8B, with a handful, and set about choosing a spot to experiment here in Zone 6A/trending 5B. (Snicker. Eyeroll.)
I picked the sheltered southeastern wall of our kitchen and planted my babies right up against the cinder block foundation, reasoning the radiant warmth of the block would do them well. I, um… Didn’t water them… Much? If at all. I may have forgotten them. (You may note this as a trend the longer you read this blog. I hate watering.)
Winter came, I piled up fall leaf litter on top of the Aspidistra and abandoned them to marauding rodents. Their evergreen leaves poked up through the snow, and when spring came and I cleared the mulch away. No rodent damage, but boy, they looked worse for wear. I deadleafed but was careful to save what had any speck of green, reasoning the plants could nourish themselves with any spot with which they could photosynthesize. They were unsightly but out of the way, so meh. When ALL the previous year’s leaves finally turned brown and crispy, I cut them off and called time of death. That was probably June.
In July, wonder of wonders, I noticed brand new leaves. From every plant. The photo above is where we were September ’09. Here are a couple more lame photos (my photo-documenting had fallen off at this point in the season):
What lies ahead for my Aspidistra? Who can know? I’ve always said Aspidistra, like diamonds, are forever. We’ll see. We’ve had temps in the singles without insulating snow cover this winter, so I’m concerned for all my marginals. If they do make it, I’m going to prune back some of those partially green leaves in the coming spring to see if it forces new growth more quickly. Stay tuned.
Aspidistra are members the the family Ruscaceae, whose diversity amazed me when I discovered it. We’re talking evergreen shrubs like Ruscus and Danae; common houseplants like Dracaena and Beaucarnea; succulents as varied as Dasylirion and Sanseveria; and other more humble groundcovers lilyturf (Liriope), mondograss (Ophiopogon) and lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria). WOW!
- Posted by AK on 2010 Jan 13 at 1515
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Hello,
I enjoyed reading your post about the Cast Iron plant. You have a great writing style and I found myself smiling…a lot ;-)
I garden in Arizona where you will find Dasylirion in the landscape - one of my favorite succulents by the way…
I found your blog on Blotanical and would like to “Welcome” you. I look forward to reading more of your blog.
Thanks so much, Noelle, that’s so nice of you to say! It’s funny you mention Dasylirion, I’m thinking of doing a Marginals post post on it too. Always read it was one of the “hardy” succulents — meaning it survives extreme cold if kept dry — and I’ve been anxious to try it myself. I was shocked to find it was so closely related to Aspidistra.
I’ve been surprised, too, at the number of folks that have come to me in a relatively short period of time through Blotanical! I’m still figuring it out, but the potential seems fantastic. I’ll look for you there.
There’s a good reason they are called cast iron plant! Thanks for reminding me about these oldie but goodies. This may be a great plant for my woodland garden! By the way, welcome to blotanical! This is an amazing group of gardeners who have been a great source of support and inspiration to me. I look forward to getting to know you and your garden better.
Thanks so much, Deb! I was just saying to another commenter that I’m still learning the ropes on Blotanical, but it seems like a terrific resource. Likewise, and I’ll keep an eye out for you there.
Hello! I’ve admired the Cast Iron plant for years and finally located one to purchase last summer. It’s just survived a brutal (by our Portland, OR, standards….a week below freezing and 3 nights at 13 degrees) December and still looks great. I love it! I also have a few Dasylirion, I am sure I can’t keep them as dry as they would like but they are still powering through and look just fine. Tough plants. I never knew they were related! I look forward to reading more of your blog!
Thanks so much, Loree! I’m sure Aspidistra will do outstandingly in Portland, and that’s really good to know about Dasylirion — this may be misguided, but I think of the Pacific Northwest’s climate as milder but wetter than ours in the Northeast, and my sense is Dasylirion is more bothered by wet feet than freezing temps. That leads me to believe that if you could grow it, I should totally give it a shot!
Intrigued by the name of your blog too and will definitely check it out.
I’ve been wondering about planting aspidistra outside (here)! I have only ever known it as a completely forgettable (and therefore perfect) houseplant (and wrote about it last year: http://blog.blithewold.org/fave-rave/cast-iron-plant/) Definitely keep us posted on how yours fares this year… and maybe I’ll liberate some of ours.
@Kris: I bet if I can keep it alive through just one winter on this side of Boston, you guys would have even better luck! I think the key would be hiding the tattered springtime/early summer leaves, and giving them a spot where the soil warms quickly. Mine probably benefit from being next to the foundation of the house, but it’s very shady and stays cooler longer into the growing season in the spot where they are too. Oh, the microclimate possibilities.
A. elatior seems tough enough in SW UK. Have had it in pot in south facing garden against house wall for a number of years. Have now tried it in two north facing spots in pots again sheltered this winter. One pot was at river level, the other 200 metres above sea level
Until last winter we had had a run of many mild winters and then wham we have had two cold ones. I know us Brits have been real wusses about the weather. Well the Aspidstra hasn’t!
I will be dividing my pots and am going to establish it beneath shrubs/trees such as magnolia and fuchsia.
The only drawback as I see it is the slow rate of spread. But stunning ground cover potential.
Robert
Robert
@Robert: Congrats on your terrific luck with Aspidistra! I imagine it will do beautifully in your part of the UK. I’d also be willing to bet it will spread more quickly under those trees than you think. Slower than many perennials, certainly, but compared to shrubby groundcovers like juniper, Arctostaphylos, and others I’d say right on par. Let us know how it works out for you!