Try a Leopard Plant
If you are looking for a plant that is hardy, easy to care for, and unique in style and appearance, you should take a look at adding a Leopard plant to your garden. While these plants are easy to grow and easy to find, they are still relatively unknown to most gardeners. These exciting plants are defiantly worth doing a little bit of research on so that you can discover what they can bring to your home garden.
Appearance
The Leopard plant is very attractive. These plants grow in tight clusters about 2 feet in width and produce round and heart shaped evergreen leaves that have a leather feel to them. Their real attribute is their flowers. Leopard plants are late bloomers and will fill your garden with their bright yellow blooms each October. These daisy-like bright yellow blooms come from the end of 18 inch spikes that grow from the center of the plant. These will continue to bloom through November, often right when your garden could use an extra bit of color. The leaves can also be slightly different depending of the variety of the plant. Some Leopard plants leaves have a waxy feel to them, while others are fuzzier in appearance. A few varieties have leaves with yellow spots on them. The large varieties have leaves that can reach a foot in length, which adds to the plant’s overall character.
Growing Conditions
This type of plant was originally native to Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It was introduced in the English horticultural world in 1856. One of the factors that make these plants stand out from some of the other and more common varieties is their ability to grow extremely well in shady areas. This means that you can add bright yellow color and the effects of a later blooming plant to parts of your garden where you would normally have trouble adding flowering plants. For example, these plants can be used to cover a shady area of the garden in the place of ferns or hostas. They will definitely give you garden a different look than hostas or ferns will.
Leopard plants are also relatively easy to grow and can be hardy in many different climate types. They will grow well in the shade, but prefer soil that is both well draining and that does not dry out. In areas with warmer climates, these plants may require a slight bit more water to avoid letting the roots dry out. They also prefer a fertile soil type. Leopard plants can survive in colder zones down to zone 7, and grow very well in colder climates if they are placed in containers. They are perennials and should be planted several feet apart from one another in order to allow them to grow fully. The Gigantea variety of the Leopard plant can reach heights of 4 feet; the smaller varieties stay closer to 1-3 feet in height. They will also grow well in most soil pH types, ranging from 5.6 to 7.5, or acidic to neutral.
Leopard plants are easy to grow from seeds, or in the springtime they can be propagated by using divisions of the growing clumps. You should be aware that the Leopard plant may be poisonous if ingested, so some precautions may be necessary. These plants will do very well as border plants, on their own or as decorative container plants. They may be slightly harder to find at your local nursery, but their uniqueness and bright colors make them well worth the extra effort to locate them. So try adding the attractive foliage and bright yellow colors of the Leopard plant to your garden.