Epigaea asiatica
| Epigaea asiatica | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Epigaea asiatica
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame[1]. Another report says that the seed requires no pre-treatment and can be sown in late winter in a cold frame[2]. Surface sow and place the pot in light shade, do not allow it to dry out[2]. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 5 weeks[2]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, pot up the seedlings into individual pots. Be very careful since they strongly resent root disturbance. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse and plant them out in their permanent positions in the late spring of their second years growth.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[1].Take the cutting with a part of the previous year's growth[2]. (This report is unclear as to whether it means a heel of older wood or just a small section of older wood[K])
Plants self-layer and can be divided in the spring but this must be done with great care since they deeply resent root disturbance[1].
Cultivation: Requires an open lime-free humus-rich soil and shade from direct sunlight[3][1], succeeding also in deep shade[4]. Grows well in the shade of rhododendrons and other calcifuge shrubs[5].
A difficult plant to grow in cultivation[1], though it is easier than E. repens[4].
The flower buds require a period of chilling to about 2°c before they will open[1]. The flowers are sweetly scented[5]. They are produced in terminal racemes on the previous year's shoots[6].
Range: E. Asia - C. and N. Japan.
Habitat: Open woods in the mountains[7]. In forest margins at elevations of 100 - 1700 metres[6].
Edibility: Fruit[7][8][9]. No more details are given. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[1].
Usage: A ground cover plant for a shady position[10], forming a carpet of growth[11]. Plants should be spaced about 25cm apart each way[11]. This species is probably not very worthwhile for ground cover in Britain because of its difficulty to cultivate[11].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Parapyrola trichocarpa.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Flora of Japan.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.