Gunnera manicata
Gunnera manicata
Gunnera manicata grown from seed by us from our plant (mother plant second picture, early on in the year.) 3ltr pots. This is a beautiful plant with leaves reaching up to 3m accross. The grandest foliage plant for damp or boggy soil, giving a tropical air to temperate gardens. You may shelter beneath huge parasol-like leaves, held aloft on wrist-thick, bristly stalks. Curious flower spikes hide beneath, differing from G. tinctoria as they are finger-like rather than club-like. Apply farmyard manure lavishly. Protect coconut-sized resting buds in winter with own foliage bent over, plus bracken or herbaceous remains. Full sun.
A broad, medium-sized deciduous tree with handsome ovate or shallowly-lobed leaves to 25cm in length. Fragrant, light lilac-purple flowers in large panicles. Fruits ovoid, thinly woody. Pollard in the Spring to keep the large leaves with no flowers or leave to grow to have the tree in flower. 3ltr pot