For drama and excitement, nothing beats these behemoths of the plant world
Whether you set out to design a garden with big - leavedperennialsor you materialize upon one or more in the nursery that you just can not resist , adding anarchitecturalgiant to any landscape painting straightaway transform it from lackluster tolively . But select a big - forget perennial can be daunting ; after all , the plant will take up a lot of blank and command significant attention . So it ’s authoritative to prefer sagely . The following selections include my favorite big - leave behind perennial .
1. An exoticflair that few plants can match
Name:Sacred lotus(Nelumbo nuciferaand cvs.)
It might seem strange to recommend an aquatic plant as a favorite large - leaved , sun - loving perennial . But if you drop down consecrated lotus into a pot and put the quite a little in the ground , then the plant can grow mighty alongside your other perennials to sensational effect . Its unparalleled round of golf leave can reach more than 2 feet in diam , and they have an alien flair few plants can match . The striking efflorescence in shades ranging from soft yellowness to tap , get up , and livid — not to mention blends and bicolors — are hold just above the leafage , each hold out a few days before the petals fall to reveal the recrudesce decorative seedpod . Success with hallowed lotus in the open garden reckon on planting it in a nondraining container ( lotus tub or other pot without hole ) that will hold the water it require to fly high .
USDA Hardiness Zones:4 to 11
Size : Up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet all-encompassing
Conditions : Full sunshine ; wet soil to bear piddle
2. It’s tall, tropical, and hardy
Name:Japanese fiber banana (Musa basjoo)
The tropic look has increased in popularity , perhaps , in part , to the introduction of the dauntless Japanese fibre banana tree . Gardeners in regions as insensate as Zone 6 ( Zone 5 , with protective covering ) now have the power to raise tropic bananas without having to replant them every class . Nipponese fiber banana tree is not for the faint of heart or for nurseryman with an extremely confined distance because the plant stick big . Dying back to the terra firma each wintertime , it can easily touch 15 feet tall in a single time of year if well irrigate and fed . Bananas are hungry and athirst plants ; the richer the dirt and the more you feed and water them while they are growing , the larger they get . Individual leaves might reach 6 feet long by 2 human foot full .
Zones:6 to 10
Size : Up to 15 feet tall and wide
condition : Full Sunday ; rich , moist , well - drain soil
3. A strong, spiky statement
Name:Bear’s breeches (Acanthus spinosusand hybrids)
Apopular plant for its bold , almost thistlelike foliage , bear ’s knickers is unsurpassed for creating a strong architectural front . Most industrial plant betray asAcanthus spinosusin garden center are actually loan-blend , but this does not make them any less desirable as all bear ’s rear of barrel are deserving the investment . The leathery leave-taking are deeply dual-lane and lightly to heavily spined at their tips ; they can attain up to 2 foot long and 18 inches wide . Good drain is crucial ; bear ’s breeches despises heavy clay soils that appease cold and wet , especially during wintertime . This plant is the most Lord’s Day tolerant of allAcanthusand needs at least half a twenty-four hours of sun to perform well , even in the South , where other species tend to melt . The white - and - dusky - purple - hooded flower come out on 3 - groundwork - tall spires in early to midsummer .
Zones:5 to 9
sizing : Up to 5 feet magniloquent and 3 feet extensive
Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; fecund , moist , well - debilitate soil
4. Jazz up masses of smaller leaves
Name:Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)
Cup plant life is one of three metal money ofSilphium(also do it as gum plant ) that are worthwhile additions to the back of the border or for naturalise in undetermined meadows and prairie planting . Some might reckon it coarse , but cupful plant life ’s sheer foliage ( and soaring superlative ) is perfect for breaking up the sameness of smaller - result perennials . Because it is a prairie native , cup flora is also an ideal full complement to decorative pasturage . Its leaves , which might be more than a foot long and virtually as wide , are borne opposite one another and brooch the stem to organise a “ cup ” where rainwater collect , which stick out a motley of grassland birds and beneficial insect in its aboriginal habitat . Daisylike , bright xanthous blossom appear in mid- to late summer , and the seeds , which mature in fall , are a favorite of finches .
size of it : Up to 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Conditions : Full sun ; moist to wet soil ; tolerant of clay soil
5. Give this bold ground cover plenty of room
Name:Butterbur (Petasites japonicusand cvs.)
If you have a expectant area in need of a bold and aggressive primer coat cover , butterbur might be the perfect pick . There is no denying that when it comes to large - go out plant that lend an almost primeval feel to the garden , Petasites hybridus is it . Its 30 - in - wide leaves , borne on stems almost as marvelous , are rounded or kidney mold and are lightly toothed around the edges . dark-green lily-white blossom seem at ground point in late wintertime or early springtime and often go unnoticed . If an even prominent plant is on your want leaning , look for giant butterbur ( P. japonicusvar.giganteus ) with leave that can reach up to 4 foot across on petioles 6 foot tall . Both plant fly high in moist areas or at the water ’s bound .
size of it : Up to 3 feet improbable and 5 feet wide
condition : fond to full shade ; consistently moist to wet soil
6. A piece of gold for the shade
Name:‘Sun King’ spikenard (Aralia cordata‘Sun King’)
Ifrequently recover myself looking for something unexampled and different to get me out of the hosta / hellebore / genus Heuchera groove in my spectre garden . Not that there ’s anything wrong with any of those plants ( I grow them all ) , but I sometimes just require something unusual to split up the monotony . accede ‘ Sun King ’ spikenard . This golden god will brighten and buoy up shady corners . And its shrubby habit and compound leave , which can get up to 3 feet long , are a welcome change in form and grain , contrast well with broad folio but bold enough to provide an excellent foil to lacy folio or all right foliation . ‘ Sun King ’ will mature at 6 foot tall and wide and show excellent underground to cervid and other garden pest .
Zones:4 to 8
Size : Up to 6 feet tall and wide
circumstance : Partial spook ; moist , well - drain soil
7. Silver foliage this size can’t be missed
Name:Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus*)
Cardoon is a stunning cosmetic plant , closely related to the artichoke , that has come into its own . The basal foliage , which , in mild climates , is present much of the year , is an arched mound of profoundly divided and lightly reel , silvery green leafage with a pure lily-white underside . item-by-item leaf may attain upwardly of 3 feet long , form clumps 5 feet across when grow by rights . Cardoon needs rich , well - drained soil and episodic mystifying watering during geological period of dry weather . In former to midsummer , stout flower stems birth with child spiny bud that open up to thistlelike over-embellished blooms . Cardoon will benefit from a hard cutting back immediately after blossoming , forcing it to flush unexampled basal foliage , which will stay attractive into tardy autumn .
Zones:7 to 9
sizing : Up to 6 foot tall and 5 feet wide
Photo: S&O/gapphotos.com
condition : Full Sunday ; fecund , moist , well - run out soil
- See invading alerting below .
8. Dark foliage that lasts through the season
Name:‘Britt Marie Crawford’ ligularia (Ligularia dentata‘Britt Marie Crawford’)
‘ Britt Marie Crawford ’ is arguably the best of the dark - will forms of ligularia , far excel ‘ Desdemona ’ and ‘ Othello ’ in deepness of color and ability to hold that color throughout summertime , even in lovesome climate . As they emerge , the glossy leaves , which might touch 1 foot in diam , are a cryptic purplish Joseph Black . In late summer , bright orangish - yellow flowers egress to striking effect on 40 - inch - marvelous black stalks . Ligularias are generally undemanding and well-off to grow given a few basic necessary : deep , productive , moist soil ( even boggy condition ) ; occasional feeding to keep plants growing smartly ; and some protection from midday sunshine in hot climate . Where it can be well watered , ‘ Britt Marie Crawford ’ pee an striking unmarried specimen in a great container .
sizing : Up to 2 feet improbable and 3 feet wide
Conditions : Partial to full shade ; humusy , rich , moist to blotto grease
Photo: S&O/gapphotos.com
9. The best of the big hostas
Name:‘Sum of All’ hosta (Hosta‘Sum of All’)
When it comes to a big - leaved perennial for the tint , few plants can outcompete hosta , especially when you look at the broad range of clime and soil eccentric where it successfully grows . At , or certainly close , the top of the giant hosta listing is ‘ Sum of All ’ , a atomic number 79 - margined sport uprise from the pop cultivar ‘ Sum and Substance ’ . In addition to the variegated edge , its huge , low-cal green leaves feature salient rippling . Once it has reached maturity , ‘ Sum of All’—like all hostas — should be divided every three to five years to aid keep it vigorous . A few minute of morning sun or high-pitched , dappled shade will raise the colouration of the leaf , which , on well - grown plant life , might gain up to 18 inches tenacious and 16 inch wide .
Zones:3 to 9
Size : Up to 3 feet marvellous and 6 feet wide
Photo: Jennifer Benner
10. Your options for dry shade just got more interesting
Name:‘Spider’s Web’ Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica‘Spider’s Web’)
If it ’s a tropic or semitropic look you want for your garden , you’re able to hardly go wrongly with ‘ Spider ’s World Wide Web ’ Nipponese aralia . In cool regions , it makes a splendid summertime one-year or container plant and can be successfully overwintered as a houseplant or greenhouse plant to apply again in the garden the following year . In warmer clime , where wintertime temperatures are moderate and freezing atmospheric condition is spare or fleeting , it will thrive in the garden yr - round and make impressive chunk of foliage , with leaves reaching 2 foot in diameter on plant up to 5 foot tall . Nipponese aralia thrives in rich , well - ameliorate land in fond to full shade and is a tough plant once demonstrate . ‘ Spider ’s Web ’ will more than hold its own in teetotal shade , with its unique and beautiful white - vary leafage margins .
Zones:8 to 11
Size : Up to 5 feet tall and wide
Photo: Michelle Gervais
Conditions : fond to full shadiness ; rich , humusy , moist , well - drained dirt
Putting Large-Leaved Plants to Work
No garden is too small for a large - leaved flora . The headstone is knowing how , where , and when to apply it , all of which look on the impression you require to make .
Punctuate with a single plant
A large - leaved perennial snap your attention and causes your creative thinker and optic to take a brief interruption in a landscape . It get out up what might otherwise be a monotonous mix of perennial whose folio form and form — and often their blooms — are too interchangeable . A with child - leaved industrial plant suppose , “ Stop here , and look at me ! ” and , in doing so , makes you pause and focus not only on it but also on the plants surrounding it . Even in the smallest gardens , a large - leave perennial might be featured in a container to dazzling effect , lifting it above other plant and helping to create layers while provide that all - significant exclamation full point in a confined space .
Plant en masse for impact
Where space is not constrained , no more dramatic statement can be made in the garden than planting a bluff and attention - capture plant en masse shot . Large Mass of a undivided kind of any form of flora create an impact , but when the plant also materialise to have a particularly powerful presence , the result is enhanced . telling rivers of large hostas rolling through a woodland garden , for example , or the striking demarcation created between a mass of spiny bear ’s breeches and the solid backdrop of a wall or introduction are scenes that read well from retentive distances , while up close , the big - leaved plant themselves offer the pure backdrop for smaller plants among them .
*Invasive alert: Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus)
This plant is consider invasive in CA .
Please visitinvasiveplantatlas.orgfor more info .
Troy B. Marden specializes in garden design , hostsVolunteer Gardeneron Nashville Public Television , and is a reader and avid garden lensman .
Photos , except where notice : Lynn Felici - Gallant . Illustrations : Martha Garstang Hill
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