Podophyllums, An Affair to Remember

You may see it as a May (apple) December sort of thing. It started as an infatuation when I first saw Podophyllum delavayi growing in a pot at Heronswood years ago.   I had known.  grown, and loved  P. pleianthum but this new cousin was pretty sweet!  P.  'Kaleidoscope' and  P. 'Spotty Dotty' are also quite wonderful.  Collecting all of these has led to a full - fledged love affair with these gorgeous plants.   Unfortunately, slugs seem to love these darlings nearly as much as I.   Here are a couple pictures of some of my P. delavayi in early fall. 

 

Later in the fall with visible fruit.  Oops, I was going to try collecting seed last year.  At least I'll be on top of repotting this one this year.  Hopefully!

 

 

In the fall, these little promises of spring were visible at the feet of the current year's dying foliage.

Now that spring has arrived, these adorable relatives of our native Mayapples  send up their new leaves looking much like umbrellas that gently open and rise from the soil. 

 

P. pleianthum has these beautiful shiny leaves that, like all the podophyllums like light shade.  Notice that the flower buds are expanding under the leaves even as they emerge from the ground. 

The eastern U.S. native P. peltatum is hardy to zone 3 but these Chinese cousins are only hardy to zone 7; some sources say 6.

P. delavayi looks downright weird but fascinating as it awakens for the season.

 'Spotty Dotty' has some sort of rust issue that hasn't responded to various treatments.  She still happily sends up lots of growth each year in spite of  her travail.

There are several gorgeous patches of podophyllums at Far Reaches Farm which I hope to visit again soon.  Maybe it's time to add a few more of these.   

Spring is in the air, it's a great time for a green affair!  What's your latest plant infatuation?