Bottle Rocket Ligularia - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Bottle Rocket is a compact ligularia with dense clumps of thick, serrated green leaves and spikes of mustard yellow flowers on dark chocolate stems. The flower spikes cluster at the center of the clump like a bouquet, and there are more of them than on its parent.

It grows about 28 to 34 inches tall in bloom and 2 to 2½ feet wide, and it stays upright in summer heat better than many ligularias. It blooms in midsummer and suits rain gardens, damp woodland beds and large containers.

What it looks like

Large, rounded to triangular green leaves with serrated edges, thick and slightly glossy, forming a dense, mounded clump. In midsummer, several narrow, upright spikes of small mustard-yellow flowers rise on dark chocolate-brown stems from the center of the clump like a bouquet. The plant is about 28 to 34 inches tall in flower and 24 to 28 inches wide. At peak the yellow spikes glow above the bold green foliage.

Growing it with lavender

Ligularia needs shade and constantly moist soil, the opposite of lavender's dry, sunny bed, so plant it by a pond, in a rain garden or in a damp, shady spot with hostas and ferns.

Care

Plant in part shade, ideally morning sun with afternoon shade, in rich soil that stays consistently moist; the leaves wilt quickly in hot afternoon sun or dry soil. Hardy in zones 4-9. Water deeply in summer, watch for slugs on young leaves, and cut spent flower stems after bloom.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Ligularia
• Flower color: Mustard yellow on chocolate stems
• Foliage: Green
• Growth habit: Dense, compact clump
• Mature size: 28–34 in tall × 24–28 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
• Light: part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-July
• Peak bloom: Mid-July
• Bloom pattern: Single Flush
• Deer resistance: Resistant
• Pollinator value: Good

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.