Mindy, I added k. palmata to my garden just a year ago, dappled shade, clay based soil heavily amended with compost, top dressed with more each Spring - it looks good and is blooming, although it hasn't gained much size so far.

What Dan says :) " Both palmata and coreana are equally hardy, some of the best garden specimens that I have observed were growing in southern Vermont. Though Kirengeshoma will live and blossom in average garden loam, by far the best effects are achieved in rich, moist soils heavily amended with organic matter" Explorer's Garden

It hates lime.

Great tip, Mad Gal, I am glad I checked here since most of my beds need to be limed this year. I'll skip the area where the Kirengeshoma is growing. Wish I hadn't planted it so close to hellebores, which are waiting for that limestone boost. Now that I've checked, Tracy D-A says "prefers slightly acidic soil."

Mindy, mine is growing fairly well in proverbial "average garden soil" that is free-draining, in fairly deep shade, with little (haphazardly-applied) supplemental water. It's been slowly increasing in size for the 4 or 5 years I've had it, so I can't claim that it's got the exact conditions it likes but it seems reasonably happy.

thanks youall. btw, slugs adore my kireng. Not yours?
mindy

Mindy, I bait for slugs 11 months out of 12, and still can find them after dark (armed with an ammonia/water spray and a flashlight) in my dwarf solomons seal, couple of other things....but not the kirengeshoma so far.

this year I moved my 3 year old plant to a slightly sunnier spot in order to see it better. It bloomed mid July, whereas I remember it beginning to bloom in August. It is stressed this year. Old foliage is brown. It wilted several times in this dry summer, and has needed deep watering to revive it. Nevertheless, it grew another foot across, still has buds and is still blooming. I'm sure it was planted in "ordinary" garden soil, perhaps enriched with compost, with about 3 - 4 hours of sun. No slug damage this season, but not many slugs around anyway this summer. Even with irrigation, I think the lack of rainfall and high heat spells stressed a lot of plants. I have an entire bed of astilbes that have never failed; they are toast now.

marie

I do pretty well with Kirengeshoma palmata. I have 3 of them and all prosper, but the one that is doing best of all occupies a site that gets a decent amount of sun. It's located in front a privacy fence and faces east/northeast.

I double dug the bed several years ago and amended it with loam, compost, peat moss, and native leaf mold. Companion plants are: Cimicifuga "Atropurpurea", Asarum europeum, Dicentra eximia, Heuchera "Purple Palace"? (pointy burgundy leaves).

In general, the soil here is moist and to the acid side. It's also humusy; real "woodsy". I have very few places that qualify as "full sun" and the Kirengeshomas receive morning/early afternoon sun.

The biggest one is pushing 3'high and is about as wide, although the fence panel behind it tends to push it forward. I've noticed some nibbles out of the leaves, but nothing that comes close to an infestation or has endangered the health of the plant, at all.

I really like it... pretty leaves and I like the late bloom time. Nice plant.

Mindy, I hope you remember how K. planted in Oliver's display garden: in almost full sun SE exposure, but with constantly wet feet at the edge of the creek. This should give you a clue since it's 7-8' wide. In such conditions it start blooming in early August
I have two fairly large clumps, both receive no more than 1 hour of direct late day sun, but they are in a high shade the whole day. Both locations are naturaly wet.
They are in bloom since last week. Slugs never touched them.

all right, george comes through again!!now i'm gonna move some to the edge of one of our waterfalls; the k's can squish their toes around with the astilbes!!
thanks again, george!
mindy