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Growing Toadlily

Toadlily or Tricrytis is a weird little plant with its starfish-shaped flowers. In my zone 4 garden, they are perhaps the last flower to open each fall but because of this, they never last long enough to fully set seed. I have to purchase new plants every few years when a particularly bad winter kills them as they are really hardy into USDA zone 5

About

Flower height – 2-3 feet
Width – 12-18 inches
Bloom time: November
Hardiness: Zone 5 reliably, zone 4 in most years
Use: Woodland, Cut flower

Planting

Plant each toad lily plant at the front of the perennial border as the flower is small and inconspicuous when mixed into the larger hosta and other fall survivors in the shade garden.

Soil

And do note that this is a shade lover that appreciates a woodland type soil – one high in organic matter with regular waterings. They will tolerate dry conditions but the operative word here is tolerate – they will not thrive in dry shade. If you live in a warmer zone that USDA 5, you will find that dividing the clumps every 3 – 5 years will keep them growing more vigorously and producing more flowers. http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/images/hostacare.jpg

Plants to Look For

http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/images/hostacare.jpg T. formosana (Formosa toad lily)
This plant blooms a bit earlier than the Japanese toad lily and has some interesting varieties commonly available in garden centres.

’Dark Beauty’ is a late flowering variety with soft mauve petals and heavily spotted with dark purple blotches and yellow eye.

’Samurai’ is a compact Japanese variety. The green leaves have a narrow gold-yellow edge while the flowers are a medium purple with darker spotting. May not be quite as hardy as other varieties (but the jury is still out on it)

’Seiryu’ is another Japanese variety that has been in the nursery trade for many years (often found as Hatatogisa’ – the common name in Japanese) :-)


T. hirta or Japanese toad lily

This plant produces arching stems of white flowers that are usually heavily blotched with purple. Foliage is a medium green and usually makes a good clump.

Albomarginata  (pictured) The flowers are white with purple spotting and the foliage is dark green. The leaves however are edged with a white stripe. This plant does not like hot sun at all and has been very slow to establish in my garden.





If you want to ask a question about growing toadlily click here