Tricyrtis (Toad Lily) is sort of like Smuckers™ jelly...with a name like that, it's gotta be good. For late summer- and fall-flowering shade plants, there is nothing better than tricyrtis. In late summer, toad lilies burst open with orchid-like, butterfly-attracting blooms that can last almost until frost. We feature exciting new tricyrtis varieties this year, with many more to come.
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Although toad lilies prefer a slightly moist, woodland garden site, these shade perennials will tolerate some drought once established. If tricyrtis are kept too dry the leaves will become brown along the edge and will produce fewer flowers.
It is best to grow tricyrtis where their small intricately beautiful flowers can be appreciated up close. Plant the upright tricyrtis varieties in the front of a border, while the arching toad lilies are best displayed weeping over a wall or on a hill. Toad lilies look great planted with other shade garden plants like hosta, anemone, ferns, astilbe, helleborus, Solomon's seal, carex, and heuchera. When you're ready to buy tricyrtis, you'll find our current list of toad lilies for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
This stunning Japanese selection of Taiwanese Tricyrtis formosana boasts a wide yellow border around the dark green leaves...the widest and most dramatic edge on any of the other variegated Tricyrtis formosana selections we have grown. The 2' tall stalks make a large patch, 3' wide in 3 years topped, starting in early July (NC), with clusters of orchid-like amethyst-purple flowers with dark spots. Tricyrtis formosana 'Autumn Glow' will not perform well in deep shade and really prefers a couple of hours of sun for best growth. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Variegated plant nuts read on...this new PDN introduction boasts bright golden foliage, with each leaf surrounded by a nice creamy-white edge. Tricyrtis 'Emperor' is a slightly stoloniferous species that will make a nice patch, especially when grown in a slightly moist woodland location. In midsummer, the clumps are topped with 1" wide, dark purple speckled, orchid-like flowers. Tricyrtis 'Emperor' makes a bright beacon in an otherwise dark woodland! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This unusual attention-getting selection of the commonly grown Tricyrtis hirta makes an outstanding feature in the woodland garden. The bright golden foliage is streaked with green on 2' tall arching stems. Even though the pattern of streaking is variable, we have had no green reversions in several years of trials. In early fall, the stems are highlighted with 1" light lavender, orchid-like flowers in the leaf axils. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' is a strain of the Japanese native Tricyrtis hirta that was selected for its shorter, more arching habit than the typical species. In late summer and early fall, the 1" purple and white spotted, orchid-like flowers burst forth in the leaf axils. Slightly moist soils are best, although Tricyrtis hirta can endure extended droughts by diminishing its flower production. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We have watched this Plant Delights seedling (Tricyrtis hirta x Tricyrtis formosana) x Tricyrtis hirta) carefully for over a decade and every year are amazed by its performance. For us, it makes a rigidly vertical clump to 4' tall, adorned in September and October with typical purple and white Tricyrtis hirta-like flowers in every leaf axil. We think this selection is special not just for the great habit, but also for its incredible floriferous nature. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Most times when you grow plants from seed, you know what to expect, but every now and then a surprise comes along, as was the case when we sowed seed of Tricyrtis 'Minazuki'. We wound up with hundreds of seemingly identical bright gold dwarf toad lilies. Tricyrtis 'Precious Medal' is quite different from the other gold forms we have grown, since it reaches only 8", has much brighter golden foliage, and is quite vigorous. The clumps are topped with light lavender, orchid-like flowers in late summer. We are introducing this as a seed strain since we still cannot see an iota of difference in the batch. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Tricyrtis formosana 'Amethystina') This is one of the most spectacular toad lilies for warmer climates. In the wilds of Taiwan, we saw this growing atop rock cliffs in nearly full sun, reinforcing our experience that this is not a deep shade lover. Tricyrtis lasiocarpa makes a tight clump of 3' tall, upright, ladder-like stems clothed with green and purple speckled glossy foliage. From midsummer until early fall, the clump is topped with multiple-branched, large, terminal sprays of 1" white, orchid-like flowers with tips of amethyst and blue. This toad lily was originally introduced by John Elsley of Wayside Gardens under the incorrect name, Tricyrtis formosana 'Amethystina' (an extinct clone of the running species). Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Tricyrtis 'Momoyama' (dyslexic Japanese for "yo mama is a toad") is one of several toad lilies bred for the Japanese cut flower industry. Tricyrtis 'Momoyama' appears to have primarily Tricyrtis hirta blood with a tiny bit of Tricyrtis lasiocarpa mixed in. Tricyrtis 'Momoyama' makes a 3' tall clump topped, starting in mid-September and continuing through October, with heavily-branched terminal panicles of mauvy-lavender virtually unspotted flowers, although the stigma is heavily spotted purple...not such a bad stigma to live with. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Tricyrtis 'Lunar Eclipse' is a selection of the dwarf Japanese Tricyrtis ohsumiensis, which forms a small, tight rosette of basal green leaves that extend upward on a short 8" stalk. Each glaucous leaf is edged with a narrow band of creamy white, and the clump is topped in September with large, up-facing, bright yellow flowers. Tricyrtis 'Lunar Eclipse' is a small grower that can easily get lost in a large overflowing garden, so site it carefully. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
The little-known Tricyrtis puberula was incorrectly thought to be a synonym for the Japanese Tricyrtis latifolia by herbarium botanists, who had only seen dead herbarium specimens...another reason live plants make for better ID's. Tricyrtis puberula emerges with large, hairy, glaucous leaves, highlighted by huge, attractive black spots. The stalks rise upward until late June (NC) when they are topped with terminal sprays of light brown flowers, each spotted dark brown with contrasting yellow anthers. This is a long flowering species, but one which goes dormant long before Tricyrtis hirta comes into flower. The leaves, whose blotched pattern fades in heat, clasp the 30" upright stems, unlike Tricyrtis latifolia. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We are very excited to offer a new toad lily species for the first time in the US. Tricyrtis ravenii, named after retired Missouri Botanic Garden director, Dr. Peter Raven, was published as a new species in 2007, so in 2008, we headed to Taiwan to find this elusive mountain dwelling species. This offering represents our seedlings from a Cryptomeria forest population in Taichung County at 6,347' elevation. In the garden, Tricyrtis ravenii produces upright, 3' tall, slowly spreading clump topped from late July until frost with flower spikes produced from the terminal leaf axils. Each 1" wide flower is white with heavy purple speckles. A few hours of sun to light open shade is recommended. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We are very excited to offer a new toad lily species for the first time in the US. Tricyrtis ravenii, named after retiring Missouri Botanic Garden director, Dr. Peter Raven, was published as a new species in 2007, so in 2008 we headed to Taiwan to find this elusive mountain dwelling species. This offering represents our seedlings from a population in Taitung County at 5,700' elevation. In the garden, Tricyrtis ravenii produces an upright, 3' tall, slowly spreading clump, topped from late July until frost with flower spikes produced from the terminal leaf axils. Each 1" wide flower is white with heavy purple speckles. A few hours of sun to light open shade is recommended. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Oh, my! I can't remember how many times I repeated those words when I first saw this amazing toad lily. Usually a plant this beautiful proves equally as difficult to grow, but not so with Tricyrtis 'Nakatsugawa'. The wide, creamy white borders highlight the succulent, light green leaves to the point that...who cares about flowers? Visitors are constantly mistaking this for a choice hosta. The 10" tall clump is topped in early fall with large, butter-yellow flowers...almost too much beauty for one plant. Propagation is painfully slow; hence, the high price. This selection comes from Garden Chicory Nursery in the city of Nakatsugawa, Japan. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Tricyrtis affinis 'Meigetsu' is to Tricyrtis hirta like caviar is to a cheeseberger...more deliciously unique than a "wow, got to have it" plant for the masses. Tricyrtis affinis 'Meigetsu' is a small, slow-growing Japanese selection that emerges with a black-purple stem adorned with creamy white leaves, each surrounded by a narrow, but heavily-ruffled dark green border. In the heat of summer, the leaves turn green as the 20" tall stalk is topped with both terminal and axillary flowers of white, marked with a dark purple eye zone as well as dark purple spots. Find a very special place for this gem. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Tricyrtis 'Purple Beauty') We have grown this Tricyrtis formosana x hirta hybrid since 2007 and it has made a very impressive garden specimen. The giant 4'+ sturdy stalks, clothed with 8" long x 3" wide glossy leaves, form a widely spreading clump to 15" in 5 years. The stalks are adorned both terminally and in the upper leaf axils with branched panicles of purple and white spotted flowers in September and October (NC). Tricyrtis 'Dark Beauty' is an excellent selection for the woodland garden. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Tricyrtis 'White Waves' is a toad lily that we found hiding amongst our stock of Tricyrtis 'Imperial Banner'. While similar to its parent, Tricyrtis 'White Waves' has none of the green streaking in the middle of the creamy central part of the leaf. This results in a more dramatic leaf variegation but slightly less vigor. For us, the 15" tall clumps are topped in early October with attractive purple-spotted flowers...very stunning! Because of all the white in the leaves, Tricyrtis 'White Waves' has little tolerance for all day shade, so a few hours of morning sun is essential. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Tricyrtis 'Togen') If you like toad lilies, you are going to love this robust and easy-to-grow Japanese hybrid...perfect for moist or slightly dry shade. The gigantic foliage is nearly three times as large as most of the other tricyrtis species and remains attractive all summer. Tricyrtis 'Tojen' forms a massive 2' tall x 3' wide clump topped, starting in midsummer, with terminal clusters of unspotted orchid-lavender and white flowers with yellow throats...a BIG WOW! Unlike other toad lilies that seed a bit, this one takes after its reproduction-preventing namesake and will leave you with no unwanted offspring. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
.jpg "Epimedium wushanense (Wushan Fairy Wings)")
.jpg "Tricyrtis 'Tojen' (Tojen Toad Lily)")