Gunnera manicata
Habitat: pond sides
Flowering: summer, but grown for foliage
Height: 2.5 m
Width: 3.0 m
Soil: with plenty of humus
Habitat: pond sides
Flowering: summer, but grown for foliage
Height: 2.5 m
Width: 3.0 m
Soil: with plenty of humus
Like it or not, you can't deny that this is the big daddy of all big-leaved plants! It is grown mainly for the enormous leaves, so give this plant plenty of room. They are often seen growing beside water, where they provide wonderful reflections. From the base of the plant comes thick stems, each carrying one umbrella-like leaf which is spiky on the underside, and heavily textured on the topside. Each leaf can grow from the ground to its full height and diameter of a couple of metres in six weeks or so in the spring. Curious thick and tapered flowering spikes appear in late summer. During autumn the spikes are host to lots of wonderful orange balls of seed. Our tip is to cut the leaves down at the base at first frost, and lay them over the plant to protect the crown.
2 litre pot £8.00