Asarum candense, Wild Ginger, Quart pot

Asarum candense, Wild Ginger

Shade to PS & Dappled Sun, Zone 3, Blooms April to June, 6” x 6-12”, Medium wet to medium dry, deer, rabbit and woodchuck resitant

This is a ground cover for shady or sun dappled areas. It also requires moist, well-drained soil such as in a woodland setting. It will not thrive if the soil is too dry or too much clay. It is nor drought resistant.

The leaves are heart shaped and shiny when fully open with hairy stems. It will keep it’s foliage all season, does not go dormant as other early spring blooms do. So, plant it with other spring blooms that do tend to fade out after they bloom. The bloom is dark red, that fades fairly fast. The bloom is located at the base of the leaf stalk. The plant is totally self-pollinated and needs no help producing seeds to carry on. Ants dispense the seeds by removing a fleshy attachment called a Elaiosomes which is rich in fats and proteins. The ants take this mixture back to their nests and then disperse the seeds. Wild Ginger spreads by rhizomes which make it easy to take divisions in the spring after the Gingers leaves have emerged. The plant can slowly spread each year outwards up to 6-8”

This plant is in a separate plant family from culinary ginger. Wild Ginger is the common name. It does have a similar smell to the culinary ginger. However, Wild Ginger contains Aristilochic Acid (AA). Native Americans used it in medicine and food flavoring. They had no idea AA causes Kidney damage!

It is the larval host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly