Western Wild Ginger
Asarum caudatum
Other Names: Long Tailed Wild Ginger, British Columbia Wild Ginger
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-8b in hot summer climates; 4a-9b in cool to mild summer climates Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Perennial
Height at Maturity: 4-5″
Width at Maturity: 48″+ in 5 years
Spacing: 24-36″ for groundcover
Spacing: 24-36″ for groundcover
Growth Habit / Form: Spreading, Carpet Forming
Growth Rate: Moderate
Flower Color: Red shades
Flower Size: 2-3″
Flowering Period: Mid Spring to Early Summer
Flower Type: Single, 3-petaled
Fragrant Flowers: –
Foliage Color: Green shades
Fragrant Foliage: –
Berries: –
Berry Color: –
Sun Needs: Part Shade to Full Shade, avoid direct afternoon sun
Water Needs: Average
Soil Type: Clay (well-draining, moist), Loam, Sandy (amend quick draining soils for moisture retention), Silt
Soil Moisture / Drainage: Consistently Moist to Wet But Well Drained
Soil pH: 4.5 – 7.0 (Highly Acid to Neutral)
Maintenance / Care: Low
Attracts: Beneficial Pollinators, Butterflies, and Moths
Resistances: Cold Temperatures (-40F), Disease, Humidity, Heavy Shade, Wet Soil
Description
Asarum caudatum , commonly known as Western Wild Ginger is an excellent and easy-to-grow native evergreen perennial groundcover plant with a misleading common name. It is not related to true ginger, Zingiber officinale, and though it’s native to the Western U.S., it also thrives well in the Eastern U.S. It gets its common name due to its leaves and roots that, when crushed, smell like ginger. It grows to only 4 inches high and spreads by underground rhizomes that will form a patch about 4 to 5 feet in as many years, which makes it an excellent choice as a thick understory groundcover in partially to fully shaded woodland and landscape borders or home foundation plantings. Beautiful, heart-shaped, satiny, evergreen green leaves 4 to 6 inches wide grow in pairs on each node. In mid to late spring, there are very unusual three-petaled red flowers with long tail-like appendages at the ends of each petal that are sure to be a conversation piece.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 4 to 5 inches tall and spreading to form an evergreen carpet 4 or more feet wide, Western Wild Giinger is excellent as a groundcover in shady borders and home foundation plantings. It looks really nice around garden ponds and combines beautifully with ferns, hosta lilies, heuchera, and many other shade-loving plants. A fine addition to native plant gardens, woodland shade gardens, white theme gardens, and beneficial pollinator and butterfly gardens.
Suggested Spacing: 2 to 3 feet apart for groupings
Growing Preferences
Great Western Wild Ginger is easy to grow in consistently moist to wet, well-drained soils of average or better fertility and partial to full shade, even under large shade trees, provided the soil stays damp. Avoid direct afternoon sun and provide supplemental water during extended periods of drought. Otherwise, it is a low-maintenance plant.
Plant Long & Prosper!
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