It's only been in the ground since the spring, ever since my early spring trip to Portland with Peter The Outlaw Gardener for the Portland Bloggers Plant Swap, which also entailed a visit to Cistus Nursery, where I bought the Fatshedera, along with plenty of other great plants. You can read about that day trip on this post here.
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| It's a little bigger than it was when I bought and planted it, but not much. |
Unlike Hedera helix (English ivy), an invasive, pernicious weed with absolutely uncontrolled spreading and strangling tendencies that should never ever be planted in the ground, Fatshedera is a restrained, sterile grower with the upright, shrubby habit of its other parent Fatsia.
Here's what the tag from Cistus has to say about it: "This cultivar is a particularly nice example of this interesting and non-invasive hybrid between Fatsia and Hedera. Shared with us by East Coast plantsman Don Jacobs, it has evergreen foliage with a reliable large and golden maple leaf pattern in the leaf center, foliage that burnishes red when temperatures fall to the 20s F or below. Plants have all the vigorous characteristics of x Fatshederal lizei 'Aureovariegata,' scrambling and leaning to about 5 ft tall and 3 ft wide. Needs summer water in dry places and shade to part sun. Frost hardy well into USDA zone 7. Wonderful as a container plant."
I couldn't find much on the web about 'Gold Heart,' but you can read about Fatshedera lizei 'Annemieke' aka 'Aureovariegata' aka 'Aureomaculata' (this plant has a lot of aliases) on the excellent informational website Plant Lust here.
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| Great fall color |
x Fatshedera lizei 'Annemieke' is also on the list of Great Plant Picks, and you can read their info about it here. Do you know about Great Plant Picks? From their website: "Great Plant Picks is an educational program committed to building a comprehensive palette of outstanding plants for maritime Pacific Northwest gardens. Great Plant Picks is one of the educational outreach programs for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden, providing a forum for sharing horticultural information with the wider gardening community." Read more about the Great Plant Picks program here.
Debbie Teashon who writes Rainy Side Gardeners also grows this plant, and has some excellent info about it here.
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| The newer leaves are just as beautiful |
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| It looks wonderful next to ferny foliage |
I have it planted in a mostly shade bed (shade for most of the season from the pin oak foliage that towers over the bed, but dappled shade/sun in the early spring). It got watered about once a week in the summer. With that promise of it growing as high as 5 feet and as wide as 3 feet, I have high hopes for this plant in future years, although it is reputedly slow-growing and I might eventually have to stake it. We'll see.
Here are some stats:
Height: 5 Feet
Width: 3 Feet
Hardiness: Zone 7a-10b
Light Requirements: Deep Shade/Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Moist, but well-drained, can take some dryness
You can buy x Fatshedera lizei 'Annemieke' aka 'Aureovariegata' aka 'Aureomaculata' at these online nurseries:
Plant Delights
Avant Gardens
Almost Eden
Forestfarm
Secret Garden Growers
The Favorite Plant in the Garden meme is hosted by Loree at the blog danger garden, and you can read about her current favorite here. Don't forget to check out the comments, where other bloggers will leave links to posts about their current favorites as well. Interestingly, Fatshedera lizei was Loree's favorite a couple of months ago, and you can read her post about the plant here.
