Ligularia przewalskii

 (lig-yoo-LAR-ee-uh  sha-VAL-skee-eye)

General Information:

Ligularia przewalskii is a great plant for part shade to heavy shade. It likes lots of moisture but does just fine with medium moisture levels. It has interesting toothed leaves and tall yellow flower spikes that contrast well with other shade plants. I cut it back after flowering and that is all the maintenance it gets. By spring, in zone 5, the leaves are on the ground and you can just leave them there. New foliage will soon cover them.

Ligularia przewalskii:photo by Robert Pavlis

Ligularias go by the common name leopard plants and L. przewalskii goes by the names Shavalski’s ligularia, Przewalski’s leopard plant and Przewalski’s golden ray. Przewalskii is pronounced a variety of ways including, sha-VAL-skee-eye and prez-VAHL-skee-eye.

Ligularia przewalskii:photo by Robert Pavlis

The plant was named by Nikolai Przewalski, a Russian army officer, who also named the Przewalski's horse.

The Rocket is a ligularia that looks very similar but its dissected leaves are less deeply cut. The Rocket is sold as a cultivar of L. przewalskii and sometimes as a cultivar of L. stenocephala, but the leaves look more like the latter.

Ligularia przewalskii:photo by Robert Pavlis

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 90cm (3 ft), not including flowers

Bloom Time: mid-summer

Natural Range: China, Mongolia

Habitat: stream banks, forest margins and grassy slopes

Synonyms:  Senecillis przewalskii, Senecio przewalkii

Cultivation:

Light: part shade to full shade

Soil: humusy

Water: moist to wet

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4- 9

Propagation: seed, division

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