Tricyrtis
Toad Lily
Some say this fascinating species owes its common name to the Philippine Tasaday Indians’ practice of wiping their hands with juice from the blossoms before setting out to collect frogs. Others say it’s the unusual spotted flowers that account for the name. Whichever story is true, the blooms have such detail and quiet beauty that they should be admired close up. They open on gently arching stems for long periods in late summer and early fall, when most other flowers are already spent. With a moist, humus-rich soil, all the Toad Lilies will form elegant clumps.
Renown for its extralarge and wider open flowers, this exquisite, newly introduced Toad Lily is a formosana hybrid. Fanciful, spidery spaced petals are inscribed by occasional darkened tips and irregular rich deep purple spots, stipples and mottling on a creamy white background. An enticing fall mainstay in the darker corners of your landscape, ‘Empress’s showy terminal blooms are supported by a robust upright gathering of shiny, semiclasping dark green foliage that stays dapper all season. Moist humus-rich abodes ensure a luxe clump.
Blooms August–September
Size: 2-1/4' high x 18" wide.
Hardy to zone 5.
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