I have two different varieties of this genus, and neither of them tends to "cascade". One is hirta--I don't remember what the other is and it is too cold and rainy to go out and look--but both are very upright in my garden.

Eleanor

Sounds like a nice garden, good choices. Beware, though, Toad Lily is very hard to grow, likes lots of moisture. Eleanor is right, the do grow upright, about 16", or so.

Thanks for the moisture info. I imagine they will like living near my moisture loving astilbies. Glad they don't really cascade. Good to hear that. :D Thanks for the help.

Hi, Alicia!

I have mine in a big half-barrel on the patio so I can see it to enjoy it. I use a small pebble mulch to hold in the moisture. I love this plant. Mine is not completely upright and sort of "cascades while upright", if you can conceptualize that. By the way, I like your choice of plants a lot.

Wendy

Wendy I think I am getting the idea. Believe it or not I can totally visualize "cascades while upright". Thanks a bunch.

I think the word your looking for is "arching". T.hirts "Miyazaki" has it's flowers arranged along the main stem on short stalks that "cascade/arch" while "Tojen" has long flower stalks from the tip of the main stem making it upright.

I have 10 or so varieties in my shade beds in hot and humid zone 8 . Only lost one variety last year. It was brand new variety bought thru mail order so it could have been trans plant shock. They do look a bit ragged in the hottest part of summer but that's mostly the browning of the tips of the leaves. They always bloom well for me.

Hope that's clear as mud. Just got up and only a couple sips of coffee.

Mornin'
Peggy

Hi,

My 'hirta' grows upright - about 3-1/2 feet tall - when it is heavy with blooms it kind of sprawls. I have anemone, pulmonaria, other toad lilies and hostas in the same bed.
Brenda

Mine sprawled too much in the first year so the next year I provided a green metal wire hoop (from a nursery) for the stems to grow through and it worked out well. The green color doesn't stand out in the shady corner and is quickly hidden by the emerging foliage. It is situated under a Japanese Maple and the toad lilly is underplanted with sweet woodruff and they seem to go well together.

I have both 'Miyazaki' and 'Tojen', and both have grown VERY well . . . not any more moisture loving than Astilbe or Hosta (actually much less finnicky than Astilbe), but the extra moisture is always welcome. Anyway, whether your T. hirta is "arching" or "upright" depends on the variety (as indicated above). I have found this plant to be very adaptive and hardy here in z5 (Indiana), and a gorgeous and prolific bloomer. I just wish they would bloom in July instead of late August/September for me (mine are still blooming today, with lots left to open). This is one species I plan on getting more varieties of because it is such a great growing and beautiful plant.

The best planting using Tricyrtis was at Longwood Gardens, PA. They used the white form of hardy begonia, Begonia grandis 'Alba'. I could also see a Callicarpa shrub, with its purple berries near by and a late-to-go dormant hosta, like H. 'Halcyon' there. Slugs love tricyrtis for me and the most resistant to slugs has been T. 'Sininome' which is awsome - in my humble opinion.

Just bought a tiny chunk of a plant at Walmart, it seems to be taking well, there is no name other than tricyrtis hirts and judging by the desctription is stands up on its own. I have another of a variety i don't know but it grows so fast and easily I have to divide it in half nearly every year.